The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

  AT the 13th IAAF World Championships in Moncton, Canada in 2010, Shaunae Miller was the toast of the women's 400 metres. This year in Barcelona, Spain, Anthonique Strachan surpassed that feat by emerging as the queen of the women's 100/200 sprint double.

While Miller was denied another trip to the medal podium on Friday in her speciality, Anthonique Strachan was firing on all cylinders, winning her second historic consecutive gold medal in the 200 to add to her triumph in the 100 three days earlier.

The duo, who are heading to their first appearance at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England following the completion of the championships, were pegged to join high jumper Ryan Ingraham and sprinter Teray Smith in a bid to increase the Bahamas' medal haul at the biggest global junior meet.

Instead of four, the Bahamas ended up with just two more - one from Strachan and the other, a bronze from Ingraham - to push the Bahamas' total to three for a tied sixth place with Cuba on the Medal Table.

The United States has overtaken Ethiopia for the lead with 13, including four gold. Ethiopia sits in second with five medals, followed by Kenya with seven, Russia in fourth with four and Great Britain in fifth with five. All four nations have two gold. Jamaica is 10th with a gold and bronze.

The Bahamas has also moved up to number 11 on the Placing Table with 29 points. The United States also leads with 129 points. Cuba and Jamaica are tied for ninth with 33 apiece.

Strachan, the former St. Augustine's College standout, became the first Bahamian and just the second female to complete the sprint double 100/200, matching the feat achieved by Jamaican superstar Veronica Campbell-Brown as she did it in grand style, erasing the championship record of 22.82 that was set by American Shalonda Solomon eight years ago.

Her time, a personal best of 22.53, sets her apart from all other historic performances posted so far by a Bahamian.

"That's never happened before in the history of my country," said Strachan, in an interview on the website. "That will change my life and I can't imagine the atmosphere when I'll be back home."

Strachan, the 19-year-old training in Auburn, was so sensational that the rest of the field caught themselves watching her from behind as Americans Olivia Ekpone and Dezerea Bryant did identical timnes of 23.15 for second and third place respectively.

Miller ran 51.78, but it was only good enough for fourth place in the hotly contested race.

American Ashley Spencer shattered the championship record in a time of 50.50, while Guyana's Kadecia Baird had an area record in 51.04 for the silver and American Erika Rucker took the bronze in a personal best of 51.10.

In the men's high jump, Ingraham was the world leader heading into the championships, but on Friday, he ended up with the bronze on fewer knockdowns. The former CI Gibson basketball player and both gold medalist Andrei Churyla from Bulgaria and silver medalist Falk Wendrich from Germany cleared the same height of 2.24 metres.

"My competition was pretty good, although I was aiming to get the gold medal. I had some problems with my technique," Ingraham said in an interview on the website. "I am focused now on London Olympics, where my goal is to reach the final. Therefore I will have to jump 2.31, which could me a perfect atmosphere to break my current personal best (2.28)."

And Smith finished eighth in the men's 200 in 20.99. The gold went to Delano Williams from in a national junior record of 20.48. Americans Aaron Ernest (PB of 20.53) and Tyreek Hill (20.54) got the silver and bronze.

Also Friday, just one of the identical twin brothers moved on to the final of the men's triple jump.

Latario Collie-Minns, the champion of the 7th IAAF World Youth Championships from Lille, France last year, earned a spot in the final when he cleared 16.51 metres on his second of three attempts for the second best performance in Group A of the qualifying round.

Lathone Collie-Minns, the IAAF World Youth Championship bronze medalist, had a disappointing performance with a leap of 13.30m for 14th in Group B.

Devinn Cartwright, competing in the semifinal of the women's 400 hurdles, clocked 1:03.88 for ninth place in the last of three heats as she failed to get into the final.

Meanwhile, the Bahamas had mixed results from its women and men 4 x 100 relay teams in the semifinals.

The women's team of Devynne Charlton, Carmiesha Cox, Rashan Brown and Anthonique Strachan did not finish along with Slovenia in the first of three heats. Australia was disqualified. The United States won in a world junior leading time of 43.95 with the Netherlands taking second in 44.68 to advance.

However, the men's team of Anthony Farrington, Blake Bartlett, Shane Jones and Stephen Newbold ran a national junior record time of 39.48 for second place behind the United States' season best of 39.25 to advance out of the second of three heats.

As the championships start to wind down, the Bahamas now only has the men's 4 x 400 relay team in lane two in the first of three heats and the men's 4 x 100 in lane eight on the final today. Then on the final day of competition on Sunday, Collie-Minns will be the second competitor on the run way in the men's triple jump final and if they qualify, the men's 4 x 400 relay team will bring the curtain down in the grand finale.

Elsewhere, at least one Bahamian was in action on Friday as the Aviva London Grand Prix got underway.

Veteran sprinter Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie ran in her second race since coming off an injury. She was eighth in 23.890 in the women's 200 that was won by American ChaRonda Williams in 22.75.

Today, Chris 'Fireman' Brown will run in the men's 400; Grand Bahamian Donald Thomas will be in the men's high jump and Leevan 'Superman' Sands will contest the men's triple jump.

The meet will serve as a prelude to the Olympics that will be held in London from July 27 to August 12.