Sports

World Relays: Jamaica’s 4x400m teams miss out on early World Championships qualification

Loop News

May 10, 2025 2:27 PM ET

3 mins read

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Jamaica

Jamaica’s men’s and women’s 4x400m teams failed to secure early qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, in the opening round at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, on Saturday.

All non-finalists in Guangzhou will compete in additional qualifying heats on Sunday, with the top three from each of the two groups securing World Championships berths.

Should the Jamaican teams fail to secure Tokyo 2025 spots in Guangzhou, they can still qualify based on their ranking in the top performance lists during the qualification window, from February 25, 2024, to August 24, 2025.

Only the top two teams from each of the four heats advanced to Sunday’s men’s 4x400m final, with those teams also securing automatic qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo, set for September 13–21.

The World Relays double as a qualification event for the Tokyo World Championships.

Jamaica’s men’s 4x400m team, featuring Javier Brown, Zandrion Barnes, Rusheen McDonald, and Tarees Rhoden, completed the race in 3:03.54 for their fourth place in their heat.

South Africa produced a world-leading run of 3:00.00 to win the heat. Anchor leg runner Zakithi Nene already had a comfortable lead, but that didn’t stop him running a 43.97 split to secure their victory.

Behind them, China came through to take second place – much to the delight of the home crowd, smashing their national record with 3:01.87 and booking their place at the World Championships ahead of Spain (3:02.04).

Jamaica wasn’t the only relays powerhouse to miss out on the final. The likes of the USA, Poland, and the Netherlands – all of whom are often in contention at major championships – will have to try again in round two on Sunday.

For the second World Relays in a row, the USA failed to advance automatically.

The world and Olympic champions were beaten into third place in their heat. France, the world silver medallists, put forward a full-strength team and were rewarded with victory in 3:00.30, helped by a 44.45 leg from Loic Prevot. Kenya came through to take second place in 3:00.88, while the USA finished third (3:01.23).

Qualified for World Championships and progressing to World Relays men’s 4x400m final

Heat 1: South Africa (3:00.00), PR of China (3:01.87)
Heat 2: Botswana (3:01.23), Portugal (3:01.78)
Heat 3: Belgium (3:01.35), Great Britain & NI (3:01.38)
Heat 4: France (3:00.30), Kenya (3:00.88)

In the women’s 4x400m relay heats, Jamaica’s team of Jodean Williams, Roneisha McGregor, Kelly-Ann Beckford, and Ronda White finished sixth and last in their heat, clocking 3:40.54.

South Africa won the heat in a national record of 3:28.01. Germany took second place in 3:28.63 ahead of Ireland (3:30.06).

Only the top two teams from each of the three heats, along with the next two fastest, advanced to the final and earned automatic qualification for the World Championships.

Olympic champion the USA won the first heat in 3:26.05, beating France (3:26.46) and Norway (3:26.61).

Spain produced a gun-to-tape victory in the second heat. Belgium, Italy, and Great Britain all tried their best to make inroads on Spain’s early lead, but they could not catch them and ultimately won with a comfortable margin, clocking 3:26.25.

Italy claimed second place in 3:27.03 ahead of Britain. Despite utilising four of the eight squad members that earned Olympic bronze last year, Britain’s 3:27.47 wasn’t enough to advance to the final.

Qualified for World Championships and progressing to World Relays women’s 4x400m final

Heat 1: USA (3:26.05), France (3:26.46), Norway (3:26.61), Canada (3:27.28)
Heat 2: Spain (3:26.25), Italy (3:27.03)
Heat 3: South Africa (3:28.01), Germany (3:28.63)