Why did Jamaica not qualify for the 4×100 metres relay final at the World Athletics Championships?

World 100 metres gold medallist Oblique Seville was on Saturday deprived of a tilt at a golden double in Tokyo after a fumbled baton saw Jamaica fail to advance to the 4×100 metres relay final.

Ackeem Blake handed off to Seville on the second leg, and the handover to Ryiem Forde on the third leg was slick.

But then came disaster as Forde’s attempt to pass the baton on to anchor leg runner and world 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson failed.

South Africa and Britain will also miss out on the final on Sunday.

The eight teams that qualified are the highly-fancied United States, who did get the baton round safely, as well as Ghana, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Australia and France.

While Noah Lyles, who won a fourth world 200m title on Friday, did not run as part of the US quartet in the heats, he would be expected to take part in the final.

Published on Sep 20, 2025