Members of the Jamaica women's 4x800m team which competed at the IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, at the weekend. From left: Yanique Malcolm, Simoya Campbell, Chrisann Gordon and Natoya Goule. - Ridley Ingram photo

A fifth-place finish in a time of 8:17.22 is certainly not the worst performance that Jamaica's women's 4x800m team could have registered at the just concluded IAAF World Relays in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Not known for producing an abundance of top quality middle distance runners, Jamaica's participation in the event was met with much curiosity.

The team of Yanique Malcolm, Chrisann Gordon, Simoya Campbell and Natoya Goule was the first national team assembled to compete in the event and the youngsters are looking to make good on the experience gained at the inaugural championships.

The event was won by the United States in 8:01.58, with Kenya, 8:04.28 and Russia, 8:08.19 taking second and third, respectively.

"It was a great learning experience for us, it was the first time for us but we went out there and did our best," said Goule. "We came fifth and we are proud of our efforts. A lot of lessons were learnt today, experience is good and Jamaica should give us all the chance they can to run more often, because I think we can do really well."

Campbell, now a student at the University of Technology, was also pleased with the team's efforts and is convinced that the island's women's 800m programme can only benefit from the experience.

victory

"We didn't win, but I thank God for this victory. This was our first time and we are all very happy for the experience. I can't say that I am happy for the fifth-place finish, because you always want to do better, but next time I'm sure we can have more success, with continued support," Campbell noted before sharing her main lesson learned.

"I certainly learned not to wait too late to run. Also, the thing that is killing us as middle distance athletes in Jamaica is that we don't put in as much mileage as we should and now that we came here and see some of what is being done by others, we realise this is one of the things that is holding us back," said Campbell.

Gordon, a former standout at Holmwood Technical, was also of the opinion that the team will offer more in the future.

"It was the first time Jamaica was competing in this event and it meant a lot for all of us to get this opportunity to represent our country. We all did our best and I think we represented our country very well and I'm looking forward to the next World Relays where we can do even better," said Gordon.