The Tribune

BY BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in the local sports scene, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

If there was any speculation about whether Team Bahamas was ready for the IAAF/BTC Word Relays Bahamas 2015 this weekend at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, it was answered over the weekend at the various meets in the United States.

At the Drake Relays in Des Moines, veteran Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown may have found the fountain of youth as he opened his season by finishing third in a blistering time of 44.78 seconds in what could have easily been a global final at one of the major international meets. The time not only allowed Brown to dip well under the qualifying standard of 45.50 for the IAAF World Championships in August in Beijing, China, but it turned out to be the fifth fastest posted so far this year. Race winner Kirani James of Grenada took the tape in 44.22 to surpass his previous world-leading time of 44.31.  Yousef Ahmed Masrahi of the Republic of South Africa came in second in 44.70.

Despite his finish, Brown said he was comfortable in his performance because he felt that the off season work that he has put in with his coach Innocent Egbunike (the former quarter-miler from Nigeria who won a 4 x 400m bronze at the 1984 Olympic Games and 400m silver at the 1987 World Championships) and his training partner, Angelo Taylor, has paid off.

His performance should bode well for the men’s 4 x 400m relay team this weekend at the World Relays as the quartet  of Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, Alonzo Russell and Ramon Miller ran 3:01.63 to take second place behind arch-rivals the United States, who took the title in 3:00.86. The Americans and the Bahamians now have the top two fastest times this year, which should set the stage for the ultimate showdown in the grand finale on Sunday night.

The weekend also saw the Bahamian connection of Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Anthonique Strachan, Lanece Clarke and Sheniqua ‘Q’ Ferguson take third place in the women’s 4 x 200m at the Penns as well in 1:32.40. The Americans clocked 1:31.98 for the win with Jamaica trailing in second place in 1:31.98. What was of interest was the return of Ferguson-McKenzie, the ageing ‘Golden Girl’, who competed for the first time in two years.

Ferguson-McKenzie, now an assistant coach at the University of Houston, is eager to compete in the World Relays because it will be the first time that she gets to run in the stadium that was named after her godfather and former idol, the late Thomas A Robinson. I think that because of her experience, Ferguson-McKenzie will be able to help Team Bahamas whether she suits up for the 4 x 100 and or the 4 x 200m.

One thing we know for sure, Strachan, Clarke and Ferguson will definitely be entered in the 4 x 200m and they will be joined by Shaunae Miller, who skipped the initial World Relays last year because of an injury. Like Brown, Miller proved that she’s fit and ready to go after she won the women’s 400m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational at the Percy Beard Track at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida over the weekend in 50.17. Her time was also a qualifier for the World Championships and has her sitting in second place on the performance list that is headed by American Francena McCorory, who won the title at Penns in 50.13.

It’s a pity that the top elite female sprinters will not be entered in the 4 x 100 nor Miller on the 4 x 400 team because this would be the ideal time for the Bahamas to attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The top eight teams in both the men and women events will automatically qualify for the Olympics, as was the case with the top eight last year booking their trip to the IAAF World Championhips in Beijing, China in August.

Despite the fact that she won’t be competing in the mile relay, to have Miller’s presence on the track competing in an event is just as significant as the appearance of Ferguson-McKenzie. Together, they will bring the kind of stability that Team Bahamas will need on the female side as Brown and Pinder will provide for the men.

It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff, headed by Rupert Gardiner, will utilise these athletes along with the mixture of youth that the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has inserted in the relay pools this year.

CONGRATS TO HIGH

SCHOOLERS

Coming off their performances at the CARIFTA Games in St Kitts and Nevis and the BAAA National High School Relays, teams from Grand Bahama and Nassau shined in the High School segment of the Penn Relays’ festivities.

Grand Bahama’s Tabernacle Falcons team of Johnathan Smith, Javon Martin, Ken Russell and Holland Martin, St Augustine’s team of Xavier Coakley, Carlos Outten, Duane Murray and Tavonte Mott, SAC’s team of Coakley, Outten, Justin Major and Justin Pinder, Tabernacle’s Ricardo Richardson, Martin, Jullian Brown and Kendrick Thompson on the boys side and SAC’s team of Dreshanae Rolle, Marissa White, Keianna Albury and Doneisha Anderson as well as the team of Blayre Catalyn, Albury, Taj Dorsett and Anderson should all be commended for their performances in their respective relays.

However, kudos should be extended to Denzel Pratt of St Augustine’s College, who made history by winning the high school boys’ javelin with a toss of 63.61 metres or 208-feet, 8-inches on his third attempt. SAC’s versatile Serena Brown and Queen’s College Comets’ Laquell Harris and CARIFTA double gold medallist Charisma Taylor all made their marks and should be commended as well.

THE WEEK AHEAD

It’s finally here. The second edition of the IAAF World Relays, sponsored by BTC, is all set to kick off on Saturday night at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Everybody and anybody in the world of athletics will be here, including the IAAF executive body, which is campaigning going into the elections during the congress at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China in August when they will seek to replace outgoing president Lamine Diack, who was first elected to the top post of governing body in 1999 and re-elected for his second term in 2011.

Of course, our own ‘Golden Girl’ Pauline Davis-Thompson would like to make sure that all of the delegates are impressed with their stay here as she will be seeking another term in office as a council member. She holds the distinction of being the second Bahamian to occupy a seat on the prestigious board, following in the footsteps of Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson, who was elected in 1999.

This is the biggest sporting event to hit the Bahamas and although there has been some conflicting statements from the Bahamas Government over any pending power outage due to the loadshedding by BEC, we have to make sure that all systems are go and there are no interruptions during the exciting two days of competition. We certainly want to make this another ‘Bahamazing’ experience for all.