Jamaican netballers were given the chance to examine the Baton ©JOA

Six-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Don Quarrie has insisted Birmingham 2022 will help "revive athletics" in Jamaica after taking a prominent part in the Queen’s Baton Relay.

"Our athletes will rise to the occasion," Quarrie said.

"I think our team will do very well because traditionally we have done well at the Commonwealth Games."

The Relay returned to the island where it had first come in 1966, when Kingston staged the Commonwealth Games and Quarrie was 15 years of age.

Quarrie was still a teenager by the time of the next Games in 1970.

He completed the sprint double in Edinburgh, a feat he repeated at the 1974 Games in Christchurch.

As the Baton continued its journey, it was taken to a church service at the Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega in Spanish Town where a blessing for its journey was given.

"It is a reminder that sport is indeed a Relay in life, which demands of its runners the skill, the judgement and character in ensuring that success is earned," Jamaican Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda said.

It also met members of the Jamaican netball team and was taken to the Usain Bolt Track and Donald Quarrie High School.

The Relay also visited the University of the West Indies in Mona on the outskirts of Kingston.

"Despite the pandemic, Jamaican sport has built back better and stronger than ever," Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said.

"I take this opportunity to congratulate the JOA on your work to develop our sportsmen and sportswomen."

As the Baton reached its final destination, Quarrie passed it to lieutenant commander Donald Wynter of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard.

The Queen's Baton travelled on to Trinidad and Tobago where it has already been the star attraction of the breakfast television programme Now Morning Live, before embarking on a shortened Relay.

"We are not doing the usual Baton Relay that is extensive, with large numbers of people carrying the Baton and passing it to each other," Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee President Brian Lewis said.

"We have a very modified relay-type activity, and the Baton-carriers will include athletes who would have participated at the Commonwealth Games in the past and those who are seeking to qualify for the Birmingham 2022," Lewis added.

Even so, the Baton still visited the sights of Port of Spain including the "Magnificent Seven", a group of mansions in the Queen’s Park area of the city. 

The Baton next heads to Barbados on Saturday (April 23).