The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH they didn’t have the full squad in place, head coach Rupert Gardiner was optimistic that when they assemble everybody, Team Bahamas will be well represented in the six relay discipline events this weekend.

Team Bahamas has signed up to contest both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 metre relays at the inaugural International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Relays at the newly refurbished Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. Neither men or women will compete in the 4 x 800 or the 4 x 1,500relays.

Gardiner, and the rest of the coaching staff that include Fritz Grant and Grand Bahamian Roger Charlton, had a chance to look at the majority of the athletes during a workout session yesterday at the original TAR Stadium. Missing were Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown, Michael Mathieu, Anthonique Strachan, V’Alonee Robinson, Cache Armbrister and Christine Amertil, who are all expected in by today.

Quartermiler Shaunae Miller, who was in town last week, has since returned to Georgia. She was entered in the women’s 4 x 200m pool, but withdrew from the relays due to a slight injury. She joins veteran sprinters Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Derrick Atkins, who both withdrew from the 4 x 100 relay pools because of injuries they are currently nursing.

“We’re shaping up good, compared to when our camp opened. Everybody is in good spirits, everybody is in shape, the college athletes are coming from their conference meets and the professional athletes have been running all year,” said Gardiner, who opted not to speak about the athletes who will not be competing.

“Everybody is ready to go. All we have to do (as a coaching staff) is put our heads together and hopefully when we go out there, we will do very well this weekend.”

Gardiner is no stranger to working on the national teams. In fact, he’s just back from Sopot, Poland, where Brown and Shaunae Miller were successful in winning the silver and bronze medal respectively in the men’s and women’s 400m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

In the past, Gardiner served as the coach of the 2000 Olympic Games where the Golden Girls’ team of Chandra Sturrup, Sevatheda Fynes, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Eldece Clarke captured the gold medal in the women’s 4 x 100m.

With his experience, coupled by that of Grant, who also travelled and coached a number of successful men’s 4 x 100 relay teams, Gardiner said the task of sending the best four in the right order for the relays should be an easy one because they know what each athlete is running and what they are capable of running.

“We just have to watch each athlete and their mindset and who is ready to go and we will put the best four out there,” he said.

“When you see us put our four out there, they will be the best four that the Bahamas can put together. We selected the best six athletes based on their times leading up to the Relays, so I think we have the best athletes here representing us.”

There are a couple of athletes who are here that are not at 100 per cent.

Coach Grant confirmed that “there are a few nick and knacks with some of our male sprinters, particularly Jamial (Rolle) and Warren (Fraser). Hopefully, they will be ready to go. We just got Blake Bartlett and Johnathon Farquharson. They have just finished running their regionals and they are sharp in their workouts.

“So far, the team chemistry is coming together. The athletes are really supporting another. Everybody is hitting their times that their individual coaches have sent down and so everybody is looking sharp, so it’s shaping up to be an extremely exciting relays this weekend.”

With all of the athletes expected in now, Grant said they will go through some relay exchanges in practices.

“We are in the Games Village on Paradise Island and all of the athletes have been accredited, so we want to thank God for the camp and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for bringing the team together,” Grant said. “So far, with the young athletes competing for the first time at this level, with the more experienced athletes, I think we will be well prepared for the relays this weekend.”

While they have the athletes lined up in the various pools, the major problem the coaches have to deal with is putting the best four on the track this weekend.