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Williams remains disqualified, ineligible for World Champs selection

Published:Wednesday | June 26, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Danielle Williams reacts after being called for a false start in the 100m hurdles final at the SVL/JAAA National Senior Championships at the National Stadium on June 23.

The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has ruled that 2015 IAAF World Champion in the 100m hurdles, Danielle Williams, remains ineligible for selection as part of its team for this year's event.

Williams was disqualified from the women's 100m hurdles final at the National Senior Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on Sunday night after being judged to have false started. After several minutes of Williams' protests, the race was restarted, but called back after a faulty start, then abandoned.

The JAAA then said because a number of other athletes in the race had been injured after the second attempt to run, a panel would rule on the trio to represent Jamaica at the World Champions in Doha, Qatar at a later date.

After the meeting, the JAAA released a statement which not only said Williams remains ineligible for selection for any of the events in which the competitors in the race were vying for national representation, but also that it is not feasible to have a re-run of the event at this time.

The association said an IAAF certified Start Information System was in use for the event on Sunday and the starter acted appropriately and within the rules of the IAAF.

The statement said that the athletes to travel to Doha will be selected based on the IAAF ranking as of August 16. The three of the seven competitors with the highest ranking in the women's 100m hurdles at that time will, therefore, be selected to represent Jamaica.

Although Williams has been disqualified, under IAAF rules, she can still qualify for Doha if she wins the event in this year's Diamond League, which ends on September 6 in Brussels, Belgium. The World Championships takes place in Doha from Saturday, September 28 to Sunday, October 6.