Ebony Drysdale Daley missed out on Olympic Games in battle with McKenzie

Jamaican-British judoka Ebony Drysdale Daley has accused the Jamaican Judo Association (JJA) of bias and unethical behavior, claiming that they are deliberately blocking her path to qualification for the Paris Olympic Games. Drysdale-Daley, Jamaica’s first judoka to compete in the Olympics during the Tokyo 2021 Games, contends that the JJA is favoring her male counterpart, Ashley McKenzie, who currently holds the single available spot for Jamaica, being nine points ahead of her.

Jamaican judoka Ebony Drysdale Daley finished 17th in the -70kg category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She was a silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in her hometown Birmingham, losing to Aoife Coughlan (AUS) in the final. Nekoda has competed in five World Championships since 2019, with her most recent performance being a 17th place finish in the -70kg category at the 2024 World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, she won a silver medal at the 2014 Junior World Championships in Fort Lauderdale in the -70kg category.

Drysdale Daley alleges that despite her self-funded efforts to attend a crucial qualifying event in Lima, the JJA has removed her from the competition registry and failed to provide financial support that was previously available to athletes in her position. She expresses frustration and disappointment, claiming she has been ignored by both the JJA and the Jamaican Olympic Association (JOA) as she fights to be reinstated for the Lima Pan American Open, the final qualifying event before the deadline.

In a nearly four-minute video, Drysdale-Daley shared her grievances, highlighting what she perceives as a lack of fairness and transparency within the JJA, and the emotional toll the situation has taken on her. She emphasized that despite having evidence and emails to support her claims, her communications have been met with silence, leaving her feeling isolated and unsupported in her quest for Olympic qualification.