The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ON the eve of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Open Track and Field Championships, Derrick Atkins, Michael Mathieu and Sheniqua ‘Q’ Ferguson turned in A qualifying times for the IAAF World Championships as they led a field of Bahamians at the Star Athletics Sprint Series in Montverde, Florida, on Saturday.

Atkins, the 11th IAAF World Championship silver medallist, posted a fourth place finish in the timed final of the men’s 100 metres in a season’s best of 10.06 seconds to go under the A qualifying standard of 10.15 for the Worlds, scheduled for Moscow, Russia, August 10-18.

Fellow Bahamian Adrian Griffith just fell short with his seventh place in 10.16, while Jamial Rolle got eighth in 10.20 and Rodney Green was 14th in 10.30 in the five races contested.

“I feel pretty good. I feel very confident. My training and everything is coming together,” said Atkins when contacted by The Tribune. “It’s still a lot more work to do before the Worlds, so I’m just taking it one meet at a time and just slowly working on where I need to be when the time comes.”

Atkins, fresh off his fifth place in 10.08 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on June 1, was third in heat one and in heat two, Griffith got third ahead of Rolle, who was fourth. Green was sixth in 10.30.

In the preliminary rounds, Atkins had the eighth fastest time of 10.12 after he got second in the fourth of seven heats. Griffith was 10th in 10.29 with a second place in heat five and in heat one, Green got third in 10.30, followed by Rolle in fourth in 10.31 for 11th and 14th overall.

Michael Mathieu, a member of the men’s 4 x 400 relay team that clinched the gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, won the first of three heats in the men’s 400 in 45.21 for the fastest time in the 12-man field. He also dipped under the A qualifying time of 45.28 for the Worlds.

Mathieu’s nearest rival was David Dickens, who finished second in his heat in 46.29.

In the men’s 200, Jamial Rolle won the second of six heats in 20.51 for second place overall as he also attained the Worlds A qualifying time of 20.52. Another Bahamian, Antillio Bastian, won heat three in 20.77 for sixth overall. American Mitchell Curtis, winner of heat one, had the fastest time of 20.25.

On the women’s side, Sheniqua Ferguson ran under the Worlds A 100m qualifying time of 11.28, clocking 11.26 for fourth place, while Grand Bahamian Nivea Smith was seventh in 11.83. American Alexandria Anderson took the tape in 11.14.

In the preliminary rounds, Ferguson (11.33) and Smith (11.75) qualified with the third and fifth fastest times respectively in heat one.

“Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, who at 33 is still clicking, was fourth in heat two in 11.46 in the preliminaries, but she didn’t run in the final.

Smith was also fourth in the women’s 200m in 23.51, which was off the Worlds B qualifying time of 23.30.

Grand Bahamians Myriam Byfield was seventh in 23.88 and Shakeitha Henfield was eighth in 24.04.

The fastest time was produced by American Olympian Dee Dee Trotter in 22.83. Trotter won heat two with Smith taking fourth, while Byfield and Henfield were first and second respectively in heat three.

And in the women’s 400 hurdles, Katrina Seymour came in fourth in 59.31. Winning the race was Ellen Wortham in 57.02.

Atkins, 29, is working on getting back to the standard that enabled him to lower the Bahamian national record to 9.91 when he got the silver at the 11th Worlds in Osaka, Japan, in 2007 behind American Tyson Gay and ahead of Jamaican Asafa Powell.

“Half of the battle is staying healthy,” said Atkins, who has had his share of injuries that prevented him from competing at a high level over the last few years. “I want to be able to step on the track and compete at a high level every time, so I’m pretty happy with that.

“I just have to keep working on it, keep building on it and taking it one meet at a time.”

With the BAAA Nationals just a week away, Atkins said he won’t compete again until he goes to Grand Bahama. Once the Nationals, which serves as the final trials the for the Worlds, is completed, Atkins said he intends to compete in a few meets in Europe as a lead up to Moscow.

“At the end of the day, I’m a little disappointed that we have to go to Grand Bahama because we just got a new stadium built and it’s certified and everything and for the first time, they can’t have the meet there,” he said. “I’ve only ran in Freeport once, so I’m looking forward to going back there and competing again and putting on a show for the Bahamian people.”

Atkins, who has not lost a national title to any of the current competitors still competing, noted that the competition is expected to be keen this year with a lot of the guys running fast, but he’s not concerned at all.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to these guys coming to compete, hopefully they are up to the challenge,” he said. “Hopefully we can get a good crop of guys who can come together to help us to get a 4 x 100 relay team qualified. It’s a progress that was in the making for a long time. Hopefully this is the year that we will get it done.”

So far, the men’s 4 x 100 relay team is the only one that has not yet ran one of the top 16 times in the world that will make them eligible for Moscow. Atkins, however, said he doesn’t see why the Bahamas can’t field a team that can qualify with the amount of sprinters that are performing this year.

“We just have to have the guys ready to go and get in a meet to do it. The hardest thing is to get in a meet right now to qualify,” he said. “But if we can get the guys together and we can get in a meet, I’m sure that we will be able to qualify this year.”

Atkins said he’s looking forward to the challenge from his local rivals over the weekend of June 21-22 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.

ATHLETES IN JAMAICA

ARMBRISTER

CARRIES THE FLAG

As the lone representative at the Jamaican All Comers Meet on Saturday at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, Cache Armbrister, competing for the Racers Track Club, got fourth in the women’s 100 in 11.56. Winning the race was Schillonie Calvert in 11.17.

Armbrister also doubled up in the 200, taking the tape in 23.50 well ahead of her nearest rival Celia Walters, who ran 24.10.