National association refutes claims of favouritism for Olympic judo spot

Produced by Daniel McLeod

The Jamaica Judo Association (JJA) is refuting claims of favouritism in its decision not to register joudoka Ebony Drysdale-Daley for the final qualification competition before the Paris Olympic Games.

Drysdale-Daley has accused the JJA of deliberately barring her from the Lima Panamerican Open in an attempt to prevent her from making it to the Paris Games.

In a release on Wednesday, the JJA said its decision was "solely based on her consistent failure to comply with deadlines and her repeated attempts to circumvent the processes established by the JJA for efficient management of competition entries."

The JJA also denied claims that it had any connection with Drysdale-Daley's main competitor for the Olympic spot or any other Jamaican judo athlete in the United Kingdom. The deadline for registration is Thursday, June 13.

Only one spot is available for a Jamaican to make it to the Olympics and that is currently being occupied by Ashley McKenzie. Drysdale-Daley currently sits 9 points behind McKenzie in qualifying.

The 29 year old Drysdale-Daley is Jamaica's first ever competitor in judo at the Olympic games, having appeared at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Meanwhile, noted sports attorney Stuart Stimpson says the JJA has not provided enough reasons in its release to justify not allowing Drysdale-Daley to compete at this weekend’s Olympic qualification tournament.