Tokyo, Japan – Jamaica, as it did at the previous two World Athletics Championships, earned silver in the women’s 4x400m. The team of Dejanae Oakley, Stacey-Ann Williams, Andrenette Knight and Nikisha Pryce clocked a season’s best 3:19.25 to finish runner-up to runaway winners Team USA, anchored by the irrepressible Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in a championship record of 3:16.611.
Jamaica’s one change to the team that competed in the heats, replacing Roneisha McGregor with 400m hurdler Andrenette Knight, and the move was a master stroke. Knight ran a strong third leg to ensure Jamaica had a two-second margin over the Netherlands, who had the dangerous Femke Bol on anchor. Knight’s run was so superb that it all but ended the Netherlands’ hopes.
Nikisha Pryce, on anchor, was not required to do anything out of the ordinary except not to slip or fall on the wet surface. Pryce knew that Femke Bol of the Netherlands was a clear and present danger. It was Bol, who denied Jamaica gold in the 2023 Budapest World Championship with a stunning anchor to catch Williams on the line. Pryce produced a magnificent 48.50 seconds split to secure silver and ensure Bol was a distant third. The Netherlands crossed the line with a season’s best 3:20.18.
“We know that everyone is capable of running good legs,” said Stacey-Ann Williams. “That’s what we did and ended up with a silver.”
Knight added, “Honestly, my thought process was to come out here and execute my leg. Everyone had confidence in me to be a part of the team, and I just had to play my part. I didn’t come here with the expectation to be on the 4×4 team because I didn’t participate in the 400m flat at the national championships. I was happy to be a part of the team, I was excited, I was pumped after seeing them run last night. I was just excited to go out there and run. I only found out last night that I was on the team. I had very little time to prepare, but I was already hopeful that I would be on the team, so I was prepared as I was warming up with them from yesterday.”