The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

In addition to the athletes who have qualified to compete in the individual events, the Bahamas is expected to be represented by three of the four relay teams at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, later this month.

At the NACAC Championships in San Juan, Costa Rica, over the weekend, the men’s 4 x 400m relay team solidified their second place in the standings behind the United States of America as the team of LaToy Williams, Alonzo Russell, Wesley Neymour and Ramon Miller ran three minutes and 53 seconds to secure the silver medal. The Americans won in 3:00.07.

The women’s 4 x 400m team of Lanece Clarke, Christine Amertil, Katrina Seymour and Adanaca Brown clinched the bronze in 3:31.80 to trail the Americans, who won the gold in 3:25.39 and Jamaica, the silver medallists in 3:28.65. The women’s team is currently sitting in the top 16 in the standings to earn a berth at the championships.

Also, the women’s 4 x 100m team of Devynne Charlton, Carmeisha Cox, Tayla Carter and Adanaca Brown just missed out on getting on the podium when they placed fourth in 44.28. The United States got the gold in 42.24, Puerto Rico came up with the silver in 43.51 and Trinidad & Tobago were the bronze medallists in 44.24. The team is on the borderline for the final selection for the championships.

However, the men’s 4 x 100m team of Warren Fraser, Teray Smith, Johnathan Farquharson and Trevorvano Mackey ran 40.33 for eighth place. They are sitting outside of the top 16 and will not be eligible to compete at the championships.

Relay teams automatically qualified as being one of the first eight placed teams at the inaugural IAAF World Relays last year at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. The remaining eight spots will be filled by the IAAF as a result of their performances leading up to the championships.

Based on what he saw at NACAC, relay coordinator Rupert Gardiner said the Bahamas is sitting in a good position to go to Beijing and be a contender for a spot in the final. Once they can get in, Gardiner said anything is possible as relays are always so unpredictable.

“The team overall did very well. That was one of the best teams that I coached at that level. Everybody enjoyed themselves and did what they had to do,” Gardiner said. “We had Dexter Bodie as the manager of the team for the first time at a major championship and he really did a good job with the athletes. That is one of the reasons why I think we got some good performances.”

In addition to the two 4 x 400m relay teams, the Bahamas also got a silver and bronze from Trevor Barry and Ryan Ingraham respectively in the men’s high jump and Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands got a bronze in the men’s triple jump. Although she didn’t medal, Tamara Myers turned in a personal best for fourth place, Teray Smith was sixth in the men’s 200m, Devynne Charlton was also sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.01, Alonzo Russell got seventh in the men’s 400m and Lester Taylor got eighth in the men’s 800m.

Gardiner said the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has been pushing to get all four teams qualified for the World Championships. But based on what they have heard, it seems as if only the two 4 x 400m and the women’s 4 x 100m teams will be in Beijing.

Looking back at their performances at the NACAC championships, Gardiner said he’s confident that the Bahamas will perform very well at the worlds.

“Without Chris (Brown), Steven (Gardiner) and Michael (Mathieu), the men’s relay team still managed to run three minutes behind the United States for the silver,” Gardiner said. “That only tells you what sort of team we can put together when we go to the championships.

“And our girls’ relay team was short of Shaunae (Miller), but Adanaca (Brown) stepped up to the plate and ran the 4 x 4 with the quarter-milers. So that was great to see someone like her step and help to fill the void and help our team get a medal. We really feel we can be a contender in Beijing.”

As for the women’s 4 x 100 team, Gardiner said Anthonique Strachan is definitely going to be missed. Strachan, who last month got injured running the 200m at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, is recuperating and won’t be ready to compete at the worlds.

“I think if we get the three of these relay teams to go to Beijing, we will be able to do some big things,” Gardiner said. “We are really excited about going to Beijing. We have a number of athletes in the relay pools, but it’s just a matter of who the coaches select out of the pool to compete.”