JOA names largest ever delegation for Rio Games

Forty-four first time Olympians were named in Jamaica?s 63-member contingent, which was yesterday announced for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) outlined the country?s largest ever delegation to an Olympics.

This eclipses the 50 athletes that represented the island at both the 2008 and 2012 instalments.

It was a point of great pride for JOA President Mike Fennell, who also used the occasion of a press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus yesterday to underline the wide range of representation on the team.

Track and field will as usual account for the largest number of athletes on the squad with 59 entries ? 41 of which will be travelling to their first Olympic Games.

Jamaica will also be represented in gymnastics following the historic qualification of Toni-Ann Williams, who will become the country?s first Olympic gymnast with Yona Knight-Wisdom set to compete in the 3m springboard diving event and the experienced Alia Atkinson, who is travelling to her fourth Olympic Games and Timothy Wynter carrying the Jamaican effort in swimming.

?We do have good breadth and the young people coming on shows that there is a fantastic succession in place,? said Fennell.

?If you look at the track and field group, one of the interesting features also is the breadth of events we have qualifiers for. We are not just a sprint factory, we are represented in other things - field events, jumps and hurdles and I think this auger well that we are broadening the base and not just focusing on the sprints,? Fennell added.

As expected, sprint king Usain Bolt ? listed for the 100m and 200m, is among the 27 males track and field athletes despite being forced to withdraw from the Olympic trials a couple weeks ago due to injury.

London 2012 sprint hurdles bronze medal winner Hansle Parchment, who also missed the trials and like Bolt had received a medical exemption, is among four 110m hurdles representatives on the team.

Only a maximum of three athletes can compete in an event with that determination expected to be made on August 10 during the Olympic Games technical meeting in Rio.

Thirty-two women including medical exemption recipients Janieve Russell (400m hurdles) and Elaine Thompson, who won the national 100m title but missed the 200m final due to injury, are also listed in their respective events.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Vishwanauth Tolan ? Chef de mission

Martin Lyn ? Deputy Chef de mission

Grace-Marie Collymore ? Administration

MEDICAL

Dr Praimanand Singh ? Chief medical officer

Dr Carl Bruce ? Doctor

Dr Kevin Jones ? Medical personnel

Dr Michael Douglas ? Medical personnel

Physiotherapists/masseurs

Everald Edwards

Gavin James

Turner Stewart

Okeile Stewart

Pier-Ann Brown

Matthew Parchment

SWIMMING

Alia Atkinson ? 100m breast-stroke

Timothy Wynter ? 100m backstroke

DIVING

Yona Knight-Wisdom 3m springboard

Officials

Handel Lamey ? Team leader

Christopher Anderson ? Coach

ATHLETICS (Women) 32

Elaine Thompson ? 100m, 200m, 4X100m relay

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ? 100m, 4x100m relay

Christania Williams ? 100m, 4x100m relay

Shashalee Forbes ? 4X100m relay

Simone Facey ? 200m, 4x100m relay

Veronica Campbell-Brown ? 200m, 4x100m relay

Kali Davis-White ? 200m

Stephenie McPherson ? 400m, 4x400m relay

Christine Day ? 400m, 4x400m relay

Shericka Jackson ? 400m, 4x400m relay

Novlene Williams-Mills - 4x400m relay

Anneisha McClaughlin-Wilby ? 4x400m relay

Chrisann Gordon ? 4x400m relay

Natoya Goule ? 800m

Kenia Sinclair ? 800m

Simoya Campbell ? 800m

Aisha Praught ? 1500m

Megan Simmonds ? 100m hurdles

Shermaine Williams ? 100m hurdles

Nickeisha Wilson ? 100m hurdles

Monique Morgan ? 100m hurdles

Ristananna Tracey ? 400m hurdles

Leah Nugent ? 400m hurdles

Kaliese Spencer ? 400m hurdles

Janieve Russell ? 400m hurdles

Kimberly Williams ? triple jump

Shanecka Thomas ? Triple jump

Tarasue Barnett ? Discus

Shadae Lawrence- Discus

Kellion Knibb ? Discus

Danniel Thomas ? Shot put

Daina Levy ? Hammer throw

ATHLETICS (Men) 27

Yohan Blake ? 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Nickel Ashmeade ? 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Jevaughn Minzie ? 100m, 4x100m

Usain Bolt ? 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Asafa Powell ? 4x100m

Kemar Bailey-Cole ? 4x100m

Julian Forte ? 200m

Javon Francis ? 400m, 4x400m

Fitzroy Dunkley ? 400m, 4x400m

Nathon Allen ? 400m, 4x400m

Rusheen McDonald ? 400m, 4x400m

Javere Bell ? 4x400m

Peter Matthews ? 4x400m

Kemoy Campbell ? 5000m

Omar McLeod ? 110m hurdles

Deuce Carter ? 110m hurdles

Andrew Riley ? 110m hurdles

Hansle Parchment ? 110m hurdles

Romel Lewis ? 400m hurdles

Annsert Whyte ? 400m hurdles

Jaheel Hyde ? 400m hurdles

Roxroy Cato ? 400m hurdles

Damar Forbes ? long jump

Aubrey Smith ? long jump

Clive Pullen ? triple Jump

O?Dayne Richards ? shot put

Fedrick Dacres ? discus

Officials:

Ludlow Watts (team leader)

Warren Blake (team official)

Gregory Hamilton (team official)

Maurice Wilson (technical leader)

Michael Clarke (coach)

Fitz Coleman (coach)

Julian Robinson (coach)

Glen Mills (coach)

Paul Francis (coach)

GYMNASTICS

Toni-Ann Williams (Artistic)

Official

Justin Howell ? Team manager/coach