KINGSTON, Jamaica – The opening session of the Jamaica Trials began Friday with nearly 50 sprinters contesting the preliminary round of the men’s 100 metres, all aiming to advance to the quarterfinals and keep their hopes alive for a place on the national team to the World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025 this September.
Under the selection format, athletes ranked outside the top 25 are required to contest an opening round to fill out the 32-man field for the next phase.
Christopher Taylor, best known for his 400m performances, signaled his intent to challenge the short sprints this season. The 26-year-old from Titans Track Club produced the fastest time of the round with 10.27 seconds into a -0.2 m/s wind in Heat 4.
Joining him in the next round are clubmate Andre Bent (10.37), MVP’s Nishion Ebanks (10.37), and New Era’s Odaine Crooks (10.43), who ran in the strongest headwind of the morning at -1.8 m/s. Dynamic Speed’s Ashanie Smith (10.45) and MVP’s Ramone Barnswell (10.45) also moved through, along with Jhordane Morgan (10.46).
Awaiting them in the quarterfinals are Jamaica’s top-ranked sprinters.
Kishane Thompson of MVP leads the list with a season and personal best of 9.77 seconds, making him the fastest Jamaican in 2025. Oblique Seville, representing Racers Track Club, enters with a best of 9.81 and is expected to challenge strongly for the national title.
Ackeem Blake, from Dynamic Speed Track Club, brings a personal best of 9.89, while Bryan Levell of Uptimum is the youngest of the main contenders with a 9.98 to his name.
The men’s 100m quarterfinals will take place later on Thursday as the field narrows toward Friday’s final, where three athletes will earn the right to represent Jamaica in Tokyo.
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