Jamaica’s quartet had to settle for fifth in the 4x400m Mixed Relay final as the Netherlands, anchored by 400m hurdles stalwart Femke Bol, upstaged United States at the Stade de France on Saturday.

With the Jamaican team of Raheem Hayles, Junelle Bromfield, Zandrion Barnes, and Stephanie Ann McPherson never really in it from the start, Bol, who got the baton in fourth position, bided her time before exploding in the stretch to sweep past American anchor Kaylyn Brown.

The Dutch team, which also included Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, and Isaya Klein, won in an Area Record of 3:07.43, just outside the American’s World Record of 3:07.41. The Americans were second in 3:07.74, with Great Britain third in a National Record 3:08.01.

Jamaica initially crossed the line sixth in 3:11.67, but were later upgraded to fifth after the disqualification of the French team.

Jamaica was the only Caribbean team to secure a lane in the final of the 4x400m Mixed Relay as they were dragged in qualifying by United States, which registered the first World Record of the Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France on Friday.

Running from lane six in heat one, the Americans—Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, and Kaylyn Brown—left the field in their wake to stop the clock in 3:07.41, bettering their own previous mark of 3:08.80 set at last year’s World Championships in Budapest. Poland’s Olympic Record of 3:09.87 set in Tokyo, was also erased.

France (3:10.60) and Belgium (3:10.74) were second and third with national record times, while Jamaica’s quartet of Raheem Hayles, Junelle Bromfield, Zandrion Barnes, and Stephanie-Ann McPherson also clocked a national record of 3:11.66 for fourth. They progressed as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers, along with Poland (3:11.43).

Bahamas struggled throughout and ended at the back of the pack in 3:14.58. The same is true about Dominican Republic (3:18.89) in heat two.

That heat was won by Great Britain in a national record 3:10.61, ahead of Netherlands (3:10.81) and Italy (3:11.59).

There was no fortune for Caribbean countries at the backend of Saturday’s first day of the World Athletics Relays, as the various teams failed to progress in the men’s and women’s 4x400m events at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

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.

As the track and field season prepares to hit high gear, the performances of reigning World 400m champion Antonio Watson is among those that will attract some degree of interest, as Jamaican sporting enthusiasts, in particularly, have harboured hopes that he can repeat his gold medal-winning feat at this Summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

But amidst the anticipation and scrutiny of track and field fans, who often accept nothing short of excellence, Watson remains unfazed, exuding an aura of calm and confidence that all but indicates his readiness for the tasks ahead.

In fact, Watson in sharing his outlook for the business end of the season, revealed a mindset rooted in resilience and self-assurance, as he prepares to grace the track for a second time over 400m this year at the sixth edition of the Racers Grand Prix, on June 1.

“No pressure. I'm not really pressured because I'm just focusing on myself and executing my races to the best of my ability. Yes, the title of World Champion comes with some amount of pressure to perform, but the aim is just to perform at my best,” Watson said during the event's launch at Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, on Tuesday.

“I am still trying to gauge my competition form because I haven't run in 400m since my race in February, but I'm feeling good in training, so I'm just excited to go out there and try to ensure that my fans and my friends have a wonderful show,” he added.

Interestingly, it was at the Racers Grand Prix that Watson broke the 45-second barrier for the first time in his career, and from there, he went on to top a quality World Championships field, with a new personal best 44.13s, in Budapest.

With that in mind, the 22-year-old has every reason to be confident, especially after proving that he has what it takes to succeed at the highest level. Apart from the pedestrian 46.10s he clocked in February, Watson also had a 200m breeze at the Velocity Fest in March, where he clocked 20.84s.

“Well, I'm very excited about it. It's my second year competing at Racers Grand Prix, and I enjoyed last year, so I just want to go out there this year again and put on another good show. My training has been good, I’ve been working on a lot of things over the past few weeks, getting them right, so I'm really excited to just go out there and perform, as the aim for this season is to lower my personal best, obviously, and also get more silverware this season,” he declared.

Despite his achievements, over the past year, Watson remains humble and grounded, never allowing room for complacency or even to underestimate his opponents. This, as he won’t be facing a field of the World Championships or Olympic Games quality, but still views other competitors as equals.

Along with Watson, the 400m field for the Racers Grand Prix includes, American Champion Allison, Nigerian NCAA champion Emmanuel Bamidele, Demish Gaye, Zandrion Barnes and Javon Francis.

“For me, everyone is a threat because just like how I popped up last year, anyone can come out here and pop up this year. So I'm not downgrading anyone, these are good athletes Champion Allison is a sub-44 man, so too is Bamidele from Nigeria.

“So it's a good field and I am looking forward to competing against them. It's going to be a big race and one that sets me up for trials and possibly the Olympics after. So it's going to be a very important race for me and I am just trying to go out there, perform to my best and hopefully get a great time,” Watson shared.

While the rigors of training under celebrated coach Glen Mills at Racers Track Club can sometimes be overwhelming, Watson is unflinching in his desire to achieve excellence and, as such, leaves no stone unturned, as he braces for the challenges to come in the quest for greatness.

“For me, hearing from coach daily really boosts me. He always has encouraging words and when I'm not performing or training to my best, he always points it out. So, for me it's good and also can be stressful at times, but coach says I'm on the right path, so I'm just sticking to the path that I am on, and hopefully I can better it,” Watson reasoned.

“So, once I turn up at training, I'm ready to train, sometimes, it's hard to be focused for a million and one reasons, but as a professional, you have to know that it is time for you to be focused. So, I always try to stay locked in, and I have a good team around me that keeps me focused and ensures that I'm ready,” he ended.

Grenada’s Kirani James signalled that he is gradually getting back to his competitive best, as he clocked a season’s best 44.38s in winning the men’s 400 metres at the Wanda Diamond League in Xiamen, China on Saturday.

James, who was disqualified for a lane violation at the recent World Athletics Championships, ran his usual well-paced race from lane four to stop the clock in the winning time, which betters his previous season’s best of 44.50s.

He just edged American Quincy Hall, who was also given the same time, while Jamaican Rusheen McDonald (44.82s), was third. Another Jamaican Zandrion Barnes (45.29s) finished eighth.

Zharnel Hughes sent shockwaves through the track and field world on Saturday when he sped to a personal best, world lead and British record 9.83 to take the win in the Men’s 100m at the USATF NYC Grand Prix at the Icahn Stadium.

The Anguilla-born Hughes, who currently trains under legendary coach Glen Mills at the Racers Track Club in Jamaica, recovered after being left at the start by Jamaica’s Akeem Blake and the USA’s Christian Coleman to obliterate his previous personal best of 9.91 done five years ago in Jamaica. Blake ran 9.93 for second while Coleman was third in 10.02.

Hughes, a former Class 1 100m record holder at the ISSA Boys & Girls Championships where he competed for Kingston College in 2014, broke the previous British record of 9.87, set by Jamaican-born Olympic and World Champion, Linford Christie, back in 1993.

In the Women’s equivalent, Aleia Hobbs was the only athlete to break 11 seconds, running 10.98 for victory.

Jamaica’s Briana Williams got her customary bullet start and was able to maintain her form and composure to run a season’s best equaling 11.04 in second while defending US champion, Melissa Jefferson, ran a season’s best 11.06 for third.

Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes ran 45.05 to take the win in the Men’s 400m ahead of Matthew Boling (45.58) and Trevor Stewart (45.85).

The women’s equivalent was won by American 400m hurdles world record holder, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, in a personal best 49.51 ahead of teammate Gabby Thomas (50.29) and Jamaica’s Charokee Young (51.02).

2015 World Champion Danielle Williams was third in the 100m hurdles. In a race aided by a 2.8 m/s wind, American former world record holder, Kendra Harrison, ran 12.29 for victory finishing narrowly ahead of Alaysha Johnson (12.30) and Williams (12.33). Olympic bronze medallist, Megan Tapper, was fifth in 12.68.

18-year-old Surinamese phenom, Issam Assinga, ran 20.25 for second in the Men’s 200m behind World Champion, Noah Lyles, who ran 19.83 for the win. The USA’s Elijah Morrow ran 20.30 for third. With that time, Lyles has now tied double sprint world record holder, Usain Bolt, for the most sub-20 times in the 200m with 34.

In the field, Dominican Commonwealth Games silver medalist, Thea Lafond, produced 14.47m to win the Women’s triple jump ahead of the USA’s Kenturah Orji (14.30m) and Canada’s Caroline Erhardt (13.80m).

Traves Smikle threw 65.36m to take the discus crown ahead of Samoa’s Alex Rose (64.63m) and Jamaica’s Kai Chang (63.17m).

2019 World Championship silver medalist, Danniel Thomas-Dodd, threw 19.38m for second in the Women’s shot put behind American world leader Maggie Ewen (19.68m). Chase Ealey threw 19.25m for third.

Jamaica’s Kimberly Williamson cleared 1.83m for second in the Women’s high jump behind the USA’s Vashti Cunningham (1.95m). Jelena Rowe cleared 1.79m for third.