JOA hails Junior Pan Am women’s 4x100m team
Relay quartet named Best Women’s Team at Games
Published:Friday | December 26, 2025 | 12:09 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has congratulated Jamaica’s junior women’s 4x100m relay team for having been voted the Best Women’s Team at the Junior Pan American Games, which was held in August.
The quartet of Alana Reid, Sabrina Dockery, Marissa Palmer and Serena Cole took home the gold medal in the event in 43.52 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago, 43.89, and Colombia, 44.01.
Their gold medal-winning time also erased the previous championship record set by Colombia in 2021.
The quartet was named the best team, having secured 24.1 per cent of the votes, defeating Colombia’s sprint cycling team, 23.48, and Brazil’s volleyball team, 20.58.
Argentina’s hockey team, Chile’s rowing team and Brazil’s handball team finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the voting, respectively.
JOA President Christopher Samuda congratulated the team on their award-winning performance.
Samuda said the recognition is another global recognition of Jamaica’s excellence track and field programme, which has garnered global attention over the years.
“The JOA celebrates with our juniors in winning Pan Am’s Best Women’s Team Award. The award underscores the excellence that the team demonstrated in the 4x100m relay at the Games,” he praised.
“It was a display of team spiritedness and an unwavering commitment to Jamaica to be atop the podium, where the admiration and pride of a nation beams.”
He praised not just the athletes, but the Junior Pan American Games, which he described as a competitive platform to nurture and develop the current generation of Jamaican athletes.
Samuda said several of Jamaica’s past and current Olympians have also succeeded at the championships, and believes the current crop of junior athletes can actualise their dreams of competing for Jamaica at the Olympic stage.
“It is a hunting ground for young aspirants who dream to make their name one day on the big stage at the Olympic Games.”
Ryan Foster, JOA secretary general and CEO, also applauded the team and praised the importance of the Pan American Games.
The Games are hosted by the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO), and is counted among the sports events in the Olympic cycle.
“As a member of PASO, the JOA treats games staged by our regional organisation as windows to not only the region, but to a world of opportunities for our juniors for self-actualisation and prospective commercial deals.”
The athletes are set to be awarded at the next Pan Am Sports General Assembly to be held next year.