No wildcard guarantees for Diamond winners
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Jamaica’s Tina Clayton celebrates winning the women’s 100 metres at the Diamond League athletics meeting in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday.
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Jamaica's Oblique Seville celebrates winning the men's 100 metres at the Wanda Diamond League Final athletics meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday.
World Athletics has overhauled the wildcard system for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing, and the changes could affect several of Jamaica’s biggest stars from last weekend’s Diamond League Final.
Their 2026 titles will no longer automatically translate into a guaranteed place at next year’s global showpiece.
Under the updated rules, wildcard places for Beijing will now be awarded through three routes, up from two: automatic entry for defending 2025 world champions, winners of this weekend’s inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, and winners of the 2027 Wanda Diamond League season.
That final distinction is the crucial one.
It means Diamond Trophy winners from last weekend’s final in Brussels, including 100m world champion Oblique Seville and reigning world silver medallist Tina Clayton, cannot count their 2026 titles towards a Beijing wildcard.
Seville’s place is already secure as the reigning world champion from 2025. Clayton is not in the same position and will need either to successfully defend her Diamond League title next year or win gold in Budapest this weekend to secure an automatic berth.
Long jumper Tajay Gayle remains well positioned for a fifth consecutive World Championships appearance, but his route now appears more likely to run through Budapest this weekend or by retaining the Diamond League crown next summer.
A further 26 Jamaicans are set to compete at the Ultimate Championships in Budapest from September 11-13, where victory could provide a more direct route to a Beijing wildcard.
Checks by Gleaner Sports revealed that the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association will discuss the wildcard rule changes and their implications for team selection in the coming weeks after the Budapest meet concludes.
Meanwhile, Jamaica appears unlikely to benefit from the outstanding form of Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell, who became the first Jamaican to surpass 23 metres in the shot put while claiming the Diamond Trophy.
The national record holder, who is favoured to win the Ultimate Championship, has reiterated his intention to represent Türkiye at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, signalling that he has no plans to compete for Jamaica at the 2027 World Championships.