Jamaica’s women’s 4x100m relay team put on a dazzling performance to smash the U20 world record at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia on Friday.

The quartet of Serena Cole, Tia Clayton, Kerrica Hill, and under-20 100m world champion Tina Clayton took apart the field to stop the clock at 42.59.  The mark improved on the previous record of 42.94, which was also set by a Jamaican quartet at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya last August.

The mark was also just outside of the 42.58 clocking set at the Carifta Games earlier this year, by Cole, Tina and Tia Clayton as well as Brianna Lyston, which was eventually rejected by World Athletics because one of the members of the team, Tina Clayton, was not drug tested at the completion of the race, due to a procedural issue. 

The United States were a distant second in the event but also set a new national record after clocking 43.28.  The USA was represented by Jayla Jamison, Autumn Wilson, Iyana Gray, and Shawnti Jackson.  The home team quartet of Maria Alejandra, Marlet Ospino, Melany Bolaño and Laura Martínez took bronze in 44.59.

In the men's equivalent the Jamaican quartet of Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, Bryan Levell, Mark-Anthony Daley, and Adrian Kerr crossed the line in third position behind South Africa and Japan but were upgraded to silver following the disqualification of South Africa.