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WHEN the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) selection committee gets together to pick the team for the Tokyo World Championships - scheduled for September 13-21 - it could be a major headache for the Garth Gayle-led body, as several athletes who finished in the top three in their respective events are yet to attain the automatic qualifying standard.

"Having our National Championships early was a good thing, as these athletes now have over a month and a half to hit the qualification mark," said Gayle after the four-day Championships.

"It is a good opportunity for those athletes not yet attaining the standard not only to earn, but to sort themselves out."

With the World Athletics qualification standard much more rigid than those for the Olympic Games, it is significantly more difficult for athletes to attain the marks. The period to meet the specific standards set by World Athletics is August 1, 2024, to August 24, 2025. Most athletes who do not meet the standards will be hoping to qualify via world rankings in their disciplines, which is calculated 50 per cent by performance and 50 per cent by placing.

At the just-concluded National Championships, the women's top three finishers in the 200m are yet to meet the required standard of 22.57 seconds. Winner Ashanti Moore clocked 22.66, ahead of Gabrielle Matthews (22.80) and Roneisha McGregor (22.86), who placed second and third, respectively.

Jamaica was guaranteed four spots for Tokyo in the event, with defending champion Shericka Jackson having a bye.

Seventh-place finisher Niesha Burgher, who was timed at 23.23, is the only one to have attained the standard, clocking 22.39 for victory in New Mexico in February. Matthews, the second-place finisher at the Trials, just missed the mark with a personal best of 22.59 in the semi-finals at the recent NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, while competing for the University of Florida.

Despite being crowned national champion in the 800m for the first time, Kelly Ann Beckford's winning time of 2:00.23 was well outside the standard of 1:59.00.

Multiple national champion Natoya Goule-Toppin, who was second in 2:00.97 has a season best of 1:58.43, done in Shaoxing, China. She is comfortably within the qualifying mark.

Olympian Ackelia Smith, is yet to meet the standard in either event. She won the long jump with a season best 6.81 metres, just shy of the required 6.86m. In the triple jump, she ended second with 14.44m, narrowly missing the 14.55m mark. Third-place finisher Kimberly Williams managed only 13.80m and will have a herculean task hitting the automatic qualifying standard.

Several male athletes are facing similar situations, with the men's 200m topping the list. Event winner Brian Levell, who clocked 20.10 seconds, is the only one to have met the standard of 20.16. Second-place Christopher Taylor (20.28) and third-place Adrian Kerr (20.49) fell short.

None of the top three finishers in the men's 400m met the qualifying mark of 44.85 for Tokyo. However, winner Rusheen McDonald, the national record holder, must be kicking himself for not doing so. McDonald, who has shown good form this season, appeared to be on course to qualify. But with a commanding lead, he eased up significantly in the final 10 metres - putting his finger to his lips in a gesture to silence critics, and slowing to almost a walk to the finish line. He barely held off the fast-finishing Delano Kennedy to win in 44.88 - just three-hundredths of a second outside the required mark. Kennedy was timed at 44.91, with Jevaughn Powell third in 45.08. Notably, Powell ran a season best 44.90 in the semi-finals.

Seventh-place finisher Bovel McPherson, who clocked 45.91 at the Trials, is the only Jamaican male so far to have met the standard, with a 44.78-second performance in Lubbock, Texas, back in May.

It's the same story in the men's 800m, won by Tyrice Taylor in a personal best 1:45.26. National record holder Navasky Anderson was second in 1:46.03, and both were well off the qualifying mark of 1:44.50. Anderson's best this season, 1:44.61, came when he set the national record early last month in Newark, New Jersey, putting him closest to the required time.

With several of the top male field event athletes absent from the Championships, the country will find it difficult to match its performance in these areas compared to the Paris Olympics. Discus gold medallist Roje Stona, silver medallist Wayne Pinnock, shot put bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell, and long jumper Tajay Gayle, the former World champion.

Ralford Mullings, who won the men's discus at the Trials, is the only male thrower to have met the automatic qualifying mark of 67.50-metre so far this season, with a season-best 69.31m.

In the men's long jump, national champion Carey McLeod has a season best of 8.30m - inside the qualifying mark of 8.27m.

Gayle remains the top Jamaican this season with a jump of 8.34m.

Both male high jumpers - Raymond Richards, with a season best of 2.30m, and Romaine Beckford, with 2.26m - are below the required qualifying mark of 2.33m.

All athletes who have yet to attain the qualifying standard for Tokyo still have enough time to do so. However, the key factor now is getting into quality meets. If they fail to do so, they will have to rely on their world rankings to secure selection - an avenue generally more favourable for field event athletes.