While Jamaica’s football teams will be absent from Paris Olympic Games, the country will be represented otherwise, as referees Daneon Parchment and Odette Hamilton have been selected by FIFA to officiate at the global multi-sport spectacle this summer.

The two Jamaicans are among 89 match officials –21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video match officials and six support referees – from 45 countries appointed by the FIFA Referees Committee for the football tournaments at the Games.

Parchment will work as a Video Match official (VAR), while Hamilton has been selected as support staff. 

The women’s tournament will commence on July 25, and conclude with the gold medal match at the Parc des Princes August 10. The men’s competition will begin July 24, with the gold medal match scheduled for August 9, at the same venue.

The match officials’ preparation will be regularly and closely monitored before and during the Olympic Games by a team of FIFA technical trainers, including referees and video assistant referee (VAR) instructors, as well as match analysts, fitness coaches, physiotherapists and sports scientists, all of whom will provide the officials with the best possible guidance and support.

While the Olympic football tournaments are this year’s flagship football competitions, for Parchment and Hamilton, among others, they represent the next important step on the road to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled for 2027.

Tokyo Olympics relay gold medalist Briana Williams is set to make waves this year as she gears up for an ambitious dual challenge – competing in both the 100m and 200m events. Speaking with Sportsmax.TV at the launch of the 2024 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Wednesday, Williams shared her plans for what she considers a pivotal year in her burgeoning career.

"This year is a very big year. I owe myself a lot. I am not thinking about what the crowd or people have to say; I'm doing it for me,” expressed Williams who has had to face her fair share of public criticism in recent times.

“I am doing this to raise the flag of Jamaica in Paris, and I am really focused on this year, doing everything I can to just give myself the glory and to fulfill the dream that I have had since I was little – to be in Paris. I really want to make myself, my mother, my family, my coaches, and Jamaica proud. I really owe it to myself, and I feel like I can do it."

At the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland that concluded last weekend, Williams produced times of 7.22 and 7.19, which saw her bow out at the semi-finals, a step back from her 2022 campaign in Belgrade where she was fifth in the finals in a lifetime best of 7.04.

Williams emphasized that she is not overly concerned about what happened in Glasgow as her primary focus this year is on returning to her best form in the 200m. Reflecting on her indoor achievements, she explained, “I wasn’t really preparing for World Indoors. I am opening up next week in the 200m (Velocity Fest) and I really want to focus on that this year because the 200 holds a special place in my heart because I feel like the last time I had a great 200m was in 2018 and that was when I really fell in love with it so I want to pick up back from there and continue to excel in the 200m.”

At the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, Williams won both the 100m and 200m, the latter in what was then a championship record of 22.50, which still remains a lifetime best for the soon-to-be 22-year-old.

To achieve her goals this year, Williams said she is also honing in ramping up her fitness.

"I am focusing on toning my body this year and being in the best shape of my life. It's not going to happen overnight, but I have been seeing the progress, and so we are just focusing on speed now, running these races and winning," she affirmed confidently.

In the world of athletics, dreams are often forged on the track, shaped by the relentless pursuit of excellence. For Lanae-Tava Thomas, a 22-year-old sprinter with aspirations of donning the vibrant colors of Jamaica at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the journey has been one of resilience, determination, and a rollercoaster of emotions.

A graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, where she shared the track with compatriot Kevona Davis and St Lucia's track sensation Julien Alfred, Lanae-Tava Thomas boasts impressive personal bests of 11.06 in the 100m and 22.38 in the 200m. Born in Jamaica and educated at Vaz Prep, she migrated to the United States over a decade ago and pursued her studies in Human Biology at the University of Texas.

Thomas's desire to represent Jamaica led her to initiate the complex process of transferring allegiance from the United States. However, administrative roadblocks threatened to shatter her dreams, as she discovered last July after the Jamaica national championships to select a team for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Devastated after finishing third in the 200m, Thomas believed she had secured a spot on her first national team for the World Championships, only to learn that her transfer had not been completed. In an exclusive interview, Thomas recounted the emotional turmoil she experienced during that tumultuous period.

“I was informed (by World Athletics) that whenever I sent through the transfer, it was completed. I was informed that it was already completed by the time I started competing (at the national championships). So then we got there they said that I needed to get a passport or something like that for the transfer to be… I don't even remember the term they used,” Thomas revealed.

The confusion persisted as Thomas, armed with the belief that her transfer was complete, faced further setbacks at the national stadium after advancing to the finals of the 200m.

 “They (meet officials) kept leaving me off the finals board, saying that I couldn't compete in the finals because of something to do with the transfer. And I said ‘No, my transfer was already completed, I have the passport and everything was already set, which is what both I and JAAA had thought."

Yet, the twist of fate unfolded when World Athletics emailed her coach Eldrick Floreal, revealing the transfer was not completed due to a scheduling change. Thomas, left in the dark, faced the harsh reality that she would miss the World Championships despite her outstanding performance.

“It was traumatic. After the national championship, I was so excited. I feel like as a track and field athlete, the two things you look forward to are World Championships and Olympics," she said. "So competing and making it into the World Championship, not because of any technicality but because you actually run and place, that's like a great thing for you to achieve, it's just something that is very hard to do, especially for Jamaica."

Reflecting on the moment she discovered she wasn't on the team to Budapest, Thomas shared, "It was very devastating. They didn't notify me whatsoever when they posted the list online of all the athletes competing for Jamaica, and I wasn't on it. That's when I was notified. No one, no one like World Athletics, nobody had told me personally that I wasn't competing."

Despite the heartbreak, Thomas remained resilient. The completion of her transfer of allegiance in October 2023 opened the door to a renewed sense of hope and determination. As she anticipates the Jamaica national championships in June, where a top-three finish secures her spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Thomas, who signed a professional contract with PUMA following the Jamaican trials, is eager to make a statement.

“It feels so great. All I will say is that they better be ready for me. I already competed last year and proved that we can do what we can do. They're not supposed to expect nothing less. I'm just going to get there and do what I've been doing, what I can do, and what I have done in the past. Nobody can stop me from there," she declared with confidence.

Track and field icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has revealed that she is being patient with her recovery as she jump-starts her preparation for what will be her final Olympic Games in Paris next year.

The Jamaican superstar, who will be 37 years old in December, is attempting to win a third Olympic 100m gold medal to add to the ones she won in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. She will also be hoping to extend her incredible record of being the only woman to win a medal in the 100m at five consecutive Olympic Games.

It is a tall order, especially when one considers that she will be attempting these history-making feats against possibly the fastest women’s 100m field ever assembled, especially if the likes of world champion Sha’Carri Richardson (10.65), Shericka Jackson (10.65), Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54), Marie Josee Ta Lou (10.72) and Julien Alfred (10.81) show up in their best form.

However, like the warrior she has been for more than a decade, the self-styled Pocket Rocket remains undaunted. But first, she has to heal her body that has been showing signs of wear and tear with knee, hamstring and other undisclosed injuries that significantly impacted her 2023 season.

 “It’s not really my knee alone that has been giving me trouble but at this stage of my career I am trying to be patient in my recovery, making sure I give myself enough time to come back and not to rush coming back,” said the five-time world 100m champion.

“One of the beauties about me is the fact that I am really tough mentally and I know what the end goal is, what I want to achieve and what I need to do to get there. So, I really want to be patient with myself and trust in my doctors and my team to make sure that next year I am ready to stand on the line first at the national championships and then ultimately, in Paris.

“I know within my heart that there is so much more to come and once I have that belief and that God will give me the strength to get to that point.”

She expressed unwavering confidence that once she is healthy again, she will be capable of taking on all challengers who will likely line up in Paris.

“Without a doubt. It’s athletics, injuries happen,” she declared. “I have been blessed to not have many throughout my career and I think that is what I am relying on, the fact that I have been relatively good in terms of health; apart from my knee and whatever else is happening, I’ve been good. I am just looking forward to just getting healthy 100 per cent fit and sometimes you won’t be 100 per cent but 90 is good enough for me.”

Fraser-Pryce, who boasts a personal best of 10.60 which makes her the third fastest woman all time, said she will rely on her tried and proven method of success that has seen her win two individual 100m gold medals, five World 100m titles, a 200m title and a chest full of other medals during the course of her career that began 16 years ago as a relay substitute at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

“The depth of the sprinters has always been there, for female sprinting. There’s always a host of different athletes that are coming and preparing and for me the focus is staying focused on your own lane, on what you need to do to get to the top, “she said. “As far as I am concerned having competition is good. It pushes you, it makes you aware that you can’t just go to practice and think that’s enough. You have to work, you have to be committed to that work and you have to be willing to go the extra mile.

“I don’t think about the depth, really, it’s always been there, it’s not going to change. It is what it is. It’s the Olympics, everybody wants to win an Olympic medal. So I don’t want to spend my time focusing on what others are doing but instead I invest the time and effort in my own craft and make sure that when the Olympics come around I will be ready.”

Great Britain sprint star Dina Asher-Smith is breaking up with her long-time coach John Blackie and is moving to the USA to train under the guidance of Eldrick Floreal.

Coach Blackie has been Asher-Smith’s coach for the past 19 years guiding her to tremendous success through her junior years and into a senior career that peaked at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar where she won gold in the 200m and a silver medal in the 100m.

However, since then, the five-time British 100m champion whose parents are Jamaican, has had a hard time of it since then.

She was eighth in the 100m final at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and seventh in the 200m final. At the 2022 championships in Eugene, Oregon, Asher-Smith finished fourth in the 100m final and third in the 200m finals.

Given the recent disappointments and ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, while thankful for the success she enjoyed with Coach Blackie, the 27-year-old has decided it was time to shake things up in order fulfilling her ambitions of winning gold medals at global championships.

“After 19 years, John Blackie and I have ended our coach-athlete relationship,” Asher-Smith posted on her Instagram account Friday.

“My life changed by meeting him and I will be forever grateful to him. His intellect, patience and dedication has taken me from an energetic eight-year-old to a World Champion with over 20 international medals and many Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European finals.

“John and I will, or course, remain close friends.”

She expressed gratitude for her now former coach.

“Thank you to John and thank you to all my team in London whose talents and hard work have helped me realize so many dreams to date,” she said while revealing her new destination.

“My next chapter will be led by Eldrick Floreal based out of Austin, Texas, I am very excited to join his talented training group as we head to Paris 2024.”

With the Floreal training group, Asher-Smith will be training alongside St Lucian sprint queen Julien Alfred and Irish quarter-mile queen Rhasidat Adeleke.