‘We will be back’

TOKYO, Japan:

Only three teams have won more medals than Jamaica in the men’s 4x400-metre relay at the Olympic Games and, although the Jamaicans could not replicate that success at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the general belief among the current cohort is that they will return to the podium in short order.

The Jamaican team of Demish Gaye, Christopher Taylor, Jaheel Hyde and Nathon Allen crossed the line in sixth position in a time of 2:58.76. The event was won by the United States in 2:55.70, ahead of the Netherlands, 2:57.18, and Botswana, 2:57.27.

Allen, who pointed to injury issues among team members as a major factor in their individual levels of preparation and readiness for the championships, also underlined that, given the talent available, the team should return to contesting for medals on the biggest stage in the near future.

“I give God thanks for being here. I will take personal responsibility for the team finishing where it did. I should be better than I have been this season, but I think we gave it our best today. Unfortunately, we were beaten by five better teams on the day. However, I am sure that Jamaica’s 400-metre programme will be back soon,” said Allen, a silver medal winner in this event.

“If you look at it, we have four guys capable of challenging for the gold medal. Persons have had a lot of injuries. Akeem Bloomfield is not here, I’m not at my best, Demish is not at his best, so we have a lot of room to improve. What matters is getting back to our best. Today we weren’t there and we now have to look forward to the future and I am sure we’ll have a good one,” added Allen.

These sentiments were shared by Hyde, who pointed to the upcoming international calendar which has three World Championships and an Olympic Games scheduled for the next four years.

Did our best

“There are a lot of positives to take away from this championships. For one, we finished injury-free. We did our best on the day, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough to get a medal for the country,” Hyde stated. “Another positive is that we have a lot to look forward to in the future. There are a lot of championships coming up in the next few years that we can really do well in.

“We also have age on our side, so the next four years are very crucial. A lot of us will be in our prime, we just have to keep working hard and hopefully we will stay injury-free,” Hyde added.

This was Jamaica’s ninth Olympic final in the men’s 4x400-metre relays. The country has won five medals in the event - one gold, three silver and a bronze.

After missing out on a medal at the previous three Olympics, the Jamaican team of Peter Matthews, Allen, Fitzroy Dunkley and Javon Francis won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in 2:58.16.

andre.lowe@gleanerjm.com