Not so fast!

That’s the line coming from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) after what appeared to have been two national indoor records set over the past weekend at two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Conference indoor championships.

For performances to be ratified as national or world records, a number of checks must be made. And Garth Gayle, president of the JAAA told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday that until those checks are completed the performances should not be considered records.

The facility where the performance was done must be up to World Athletics standards, the athletes must undergo a drug test within a certain time period after the event, and then a JAAA panel would decide, he explained.

Other stipulations, such as starting blocks for the sprint events would also be considered in the decision to ratify a record.

Gayle said “hysteria” might have led some sections of the media to declare the performances national records.

He added, “We have to be certain that certain stipulations and conditions were met as we cannot afford to look silly in the eyes of World Athletics.”

The JAAA president, who is a World Athletics certified technical official, said while some of the handlers of junior athletes might not be aware of all the stipulations required for records to be ratified, the same could not be said for the seniors, especially those competing overseas.

“The coaches, agents, etc should know the rules and ensure that they are followed, especially the window in which a drug test must be done,” Gayle said.

The Jamaican Under-20 girls 4x100m relay team had run 42.58 seconds to win the event at the Carifta Games in Kingston in April 2022, the fastest time ever run in the event. But World Athletics had refused to ratify it as a world record as only three of the four runners were drug tested afterwards.

On Saturday former Kingston College athlete Tareese Rhoden of Clemson University ran 1:46.61 minutes to retain his men’s 800m at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

And former Excelsior High runner Demar Francis of Baylor University was second in the men’s 200m, running 20.46 seconds at the Big 12 championships at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.

Additionally, Navasky Anderson, the national record holder in the men’s 800m, had run 1:46.58 on February 11 in Nashville, Tennessee, but that time was achieved on a 300m track and cannot be recognised as a national record under World Athletics rules.

The performances were better than the current national indoor records held by Alex Morgan and Omar McLeod, respectively. But Gayle is urging caution, noting the ratification process that must be adhered to.

Morgan’s 800m record 1:46.70 was set in March 1996 in Indianapolis, United States, while McLeod ran 20.48 at Arkansas in 2017.