In the female qualifiers, Jamaica’s quartet of Charokee Young, Ashley Williams, Junelle Bromfield, and Roneisha McGregor placed third in heat three in 3:29.03, behind Poland and France, who clocked 3:27.11 and 3:28.06.
Earlier, Cuba (3:31.56) and Dominican Republic (3:40.93) placed third and seventh, respectively, in heat two.
Ireland headlined the team’s that progressed, as they clocked a National Record 3:24.38 in qualifying. United States (3:24.76), Great Britain (3:24.89), Italy (3:26.28), Norway (3:26.89), Poland (3:27.11), and Canada (3:27.17), also booked their spots in the final, as well as for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, it was more of the same on the male side of action, as Trinidad and Tobago’s quartet of Asa Guevara, Timothy Frederick, Shakeem McKay, and Jereem Richards, clocking 3:04.15 for third in heat one, where Japan (3:00.98) and Germany (3:01.25) secured the coveted spots.
United States initially won the heat, but they were later disqualified for an infringement.
Jamaica’s Malik James-King, Zandrion Barnes, Assinie Wilson, and Demish Gaye, clocked 3:02.46 for third, behind Belgium (3:00.09) and Nigeria (3:01.70). Guyana (3:09.91) was eighth in that heat.
The Bahamas (3:07.45) placed sixth in heat three, which was won by Italy (3:01.68), ahead of the fast-finishing Great Britain (3:02.10).
In the last heat, Barbados (3:03.72) and Dominican Republic (3:08.15), placed third and sixth, respectively, as Botswana (2:59.73) and South Africa (2:59.76) took the top spots.
Despite missing out on this occasion, the teams will have another shot at Olympic qualification in Round 2 action on Sunday.
Williams set a world-leading time of 7.75 at Clemson on February 11, which makes her a medal favourite for the championships. Anderson, 21, ran a lifetime best of 7.82 in Louisville, Kentucky, making her fourth-best in the world this year. Besides her compatriot, only Americans Kendra Harrison and Alia Armstrong, who have both run 7.81 have gone faster.
Goule, who ran world-leading times twice so far this season, has the second-fastest time in the world over 800m this indoor season. Her 1:58:46 set in France on February 17, is only bettered by Keely Hodgkinson's 1:57.20 set in Birmingham on February 19.
The 19-member team also includes Briana Williams, whose 7.09 makes her the second-fastest Jamaican and sixth-fastest in the world over 60m this year and Shericka Jackson, whose personal best of 7.12 makes her the third-fastest Jamaican and tied for 14th in the world for 2022.
The female dominant team also includes Danielle Thomas-Dodd for the shot put, Kimberly Williams in the triple jump as well as Roneisha McGregor and Stephenie-Ann McPherson for the 400m.
Junelle Bromfield, who is an alternate for the 400m, Tiffany James, Tovea Jenkins, Janieve Russell as well as McPherson and McGregor comprise the 4x400m relay squad.
Christopher Taylor has been named for the 400m while Ronald Levy will go in the 60m hurdles and Nigel Ellis will compete in the 60m dash.
The team of Junelle Bromfield, Janieve Russell, Roneisha McGregor and Stephenie-Ann McPherson ran a brilliant race to clock a season-best 3:28.40 pulling away from the Netherlands, who were second in 3:28.57. Poland was a close third, finishing in 3:28.59 in the exciting final track event of the championships.
The win means McPherson finished the championships with two of Jamaica's three medals, 4x400m gold and the bronze medal she won in the 400m on Saturday.
Kimberly Williams won the other medal, a bronze in the Women's Triple Jump on Sunday morning.
Belgium won the men's event in 3:06.52 over Spain (3:06.82) and The Netherlands (3:06.90).
It was a bittersweet day for Jamaica as Natoya Goule, the second-fastest woman in the world over 800m this year, disappointed in the 800m final where she finished fourth.
The race was won by Ajee Wilson in 1:59.09. The silver medal went to Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu (2:00.54) and Uganda's Halymah Nakaayi (2:00.66).
Grant Holloway found redemption for last year's Olympic disappointment when he crowned himself world champion in the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.39. Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde took the silver medal in 7.50 while the USA's Jarret Eaton took the bronze in 7.53.
The championships ended with a world record in the men's pole vault as Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.20m to break his own record set two weeks ago.
The 32-year-old McPherson booked her place on Jamaica’s team to this summer’s Tokyo Olympics when she won the quarter-mile in 49.61s that made her the fifth-fastest woman in the world this year. It was also the first time in eight years that she was dipping under 50 seconds in the event.
Not too far behind was newcomer Candice McLeod, who was making her first Olympic team, with yet another personal-best time of 49.91s. Roneisha McGregor also ran a personal best of 50.02 for third and will also race as an individual in Tokyo.
On a morning when several other athletes produced lifetime bests, it was McPherson’s performance that perhaps the most surprising. Before Sunday, the last time she broke 50 seconds for the 400m was in 2013 when she ran a then-personal best of 49.92 in Monaco. She also ran 49.99 in the final of the 400m at the World Championships that year that won the bronze medal.
Since then, the closest she has come was in 2016 when she ran 50.04 at the national stadium in Kingston in July.
This past offseason, she said, she made changes. She began working on her speed and focusing on her health more than she had before. The work to get her speed up, have seen her times have come down.
Since 2015, McPherson has had respective 200m season-best times of 23.19, 23.12, 23.12, 23.02 and 24.12. This year, her best time over 200m is 22.90.
“The fact that I am faster contributed to today’s (Sunday) performance,” she told Sportsmax. TV.
“Also, I have been working on my technique which has improved a lot. There are a lot of things that contributed to today’s (Sunday) performance or even me being a faster Stephenie. I live like a sprinter and I have gained a lot of weight and strength in the gym. So that’s one of the reasons why I am faster.”
She also revealed that a specific focus on avoiding injury has helped her make the kind of progress she has been denied for such a long time.
“The fact that I was able to stay healthy. That was my biggest problem. I was able to stay healthy this year because I went to the doctor for monthly evaluations,” she said, indicating that the extra effort allowed everything to come together nicely.
“The race plan was to just run even 200s and the fact that I am faster I was able to do that,” she said while revealing that during Sunday’s final she was not aware of anyone else in the race.
“At no point in the race did I see or feel anyone, I was so focused on my lane,” she said.
She closed by saying she had no intention to rest on her laurels before the Olympics.
“There is still a lot of work to do and I still need to get faster,” she said.
The men's 400m was equally dramatic if short on quality as Sean Bailey held on for a close victory in 45.03 ahead of Christopher Taylor 45.13 and Karayme Bartley 45.17.
Demish Gaye, the previous national champion finished fourth in 45.30.
The 30-year-old Trinidadian bested the field that included Americans Morolake Akinosun, who ran 10.98 for second place in the race aided by a legal wind of 2.0 m/s. Twanisha Terry, who ran 10.94 for victory at the Pure Athletics Global Invitational on May 1, finished third in 11.01.
This was the second time this season that Ahye has gone below 11 seconds in the 100m. She ran 10.96 for a third-place finish in her heat at the USATF Golden Games on April 16. She did not finish the final.
Tristan James of Dominica was also among the winners at the meet, jumping 7.86m to win the long jump competition. In what was a close battle, James emerged the victor over Kemonie Briggs, whose best of 7.81 secured second place while Dhanushka Piyarathne of Sri Lanka’s 7.76m leap earned him third place.
The oft-injured Javon Francis made a rare appearance in the 400m where he finished third in 46.09 behind the winner Tyler Terry 45.51 and Paul Dedewo (45.72).
Quarter-miler Roneisha McGregor was also third in the women’s 200m in a wind-assisted 23.18 (3.2m/s). Akinosun won the race in 22.67 with Lauren Rain Williams-James second in 22.83.
