... JAAA expects missing MVP athletes to join team at Birmingham facility

Jamaica's team manager Ludlow Watts expects all members of the contingent to be in camp by the end of today with several of Jamaica's high-profile athletes yet to make an appearance at the University of Birmingham facilities, less than a week before the start of the Olympic Games in London.

Asafa Powell, who is expected to feature in the 100m and 4x100m, defending 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who will also double for the first time at this level with a 200m assignment, plus her expected 4x100m leg, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker and training partner Kaliese Spencer along with former 100m hurdles World Champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton, are all now expected to join up with the rest of the team today. Watt was, however, not specific regarding the consequences of athletes not joining the team by the end of the day.

"Tomorrow (today) is the day. We would be rather surprised if people are still out on Monday but we will cross that bridge if we get there," Watt said.

"I do not want to call individual names but I expect everyone to be in camp by tomorrow (today)," said Watts. Let us just say for now that we expect everyone to be fully in camp tomorrow."

Ludlow Watts

The MVP group has been training out of the track club's training base in Italy. However, MVP athletes Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Shericka Williams are already in camp. Watts admits that the absence of the athletes continues to be a concern but admits it has been an unusual situation.

"The camp is mandatory but because of the unusual situation this year where a number of people have had to be in and out for various meets; some people came back on Saturday from Poland for instance, but this is the first time we have had a situation like this where there are meets all around us. When we were in Daegu, China and Japan it would not have been easy for people to commute back and forth," said Watts during a recent meeting with Jamaican journalists.

Kerron Stewart (100m, 4x100m), Christine Day (400m, 4x400m), Latoya Greaves (100m hurdles) and Rusheen McDonald (400m, 4x400m) only recently joined the camp, which started on July 15, after training and competing in pre-Olympic meets all across the Europe.