The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the housing location confirmed for the second IAAF World Relays, the USA Track and Field came to town to do a sight inspection of the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island and their representatives left quite impressed with what they discovered.

Sandy Snow, director of International and Teams Championships, along with three-time Olympian Aretha Thurmond, associate director of USA Teams, made the trip to ensure that their team will be coming to the best possible environment when the relays are held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium May 2-3.

“We were here last year for the inaugural World Relays and we stayed at different properties, so this year when they changed the housing, we thought that we would come back down and just visit again and get a bearing on where our new housing will be so that we can provide the best possible situation for our athletes when they arrive for the relays,” said Snow, who his from Atlanta, Georgia.

The first impression, according to Snow, will definitely be one that she feels USA Track and Field will be more than appreciative of the huge atmosphere that the athletes will be placed in.

“As always, last year and this year, it’s a friendly city, people are warm and the housing is more than adequate,” Snow said. “Our athletes will love it here. There’s lots of things for them to do, so we are looking forward to coming back.”

Last year, Team USA won the Golden Baton, the award presented by the IAAF last year to the top team at the championships, and Snow said they are anticipating returning with a 50-60 member team as they compete in all of the disciplines in their bid to repeat as champions.

This year’s team is expected to be a combination of youth and experience, but one that Snow said the public will be impressed with as they represent the United States to the best of their ability.

“It’s early in the season, a lot of them did not run indoors and they are now coming into their training season,” she said. “But I can say that we will be ready when it comes time for the relays.

“We think this is a great benefit (to us) especially with this being the year for the World Championships. It gives our athletes an opportunity to run together because they don’t get that in the United States too often. We don’t get the opportunity to run these relay teams together, so we’re looking forward to it.”

When it’s all said and done, Snow promises that the USA will have a very great team.

Note: In another edition, Snow and Thurmond, a former discus thrower, will give a more in-depth analysis of USA Track and Field.