The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tyribunemedia.net

IT came down to a runoff between Anthonique Strachan and Grand Bahamian collegian Brianne Bethel to settle the dispute as to who of the four qualifiers will occupy one of the three lanes for the Bahamas in the women’s 200 metres at the 2020 Olympic Games.

On Thursday in Tokyo, Japan, the Bahamas Olympic Committee management team staged 150m race between Strachan and Bethel. Strachan won the race in a time of 16.32 seconds with Bethel second in 16.76.

As a result of the race, Strachan will join Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Tynia Gaither as the country’s three representatives in the event that will start on Monday with the heats. The final is set for Tuesday.  Bethel will be the alternate.

Prior to the runoff, the Bahamas Coaches Association had made a recommendation that Miller-Uibo and Strachan both be the automatic participants as they both participated in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National at the end of June where Strachan was the last to qualify.

Although both Gaither and Bethel qualified prior to the nationals, Gaither only competed in the 100m the night before and got a doctor’s exemption for the 200m the following day. Bethel did not compete in the nationals after she produced a doctor’s letter as well.

However, Bethel participated in the last chance meet following the nationals on the women’s 4 x 400m relay team that qualified for Tokyo and Gaither came back and ran on the 4 x 100m relay that fell short of earning a berth in Tokyo.

BOC officials in Tokyo declined to give any comments on the turn of events that led to the runoff. The track and field competition got underway on Friday with Gaither competing in the first round of the 100m.

Also in action on day one of the track and field competition were Donald Thomas and Jamal Wilson in the men’s high jump qualifying rounds.

When contacted, a relentless Strachan said while she’s delighted to have secured one of the three spots, she felt the situation could have been better handled from the BOC and the BAAA prospective before they arrived in Tokyo for the games.

“This should have been handled a very long time ago. I should not have had to fight so hard for myself,” she said. “I didn’t like how I had to step on someone else to defend myself and to make that person feel the same way that like I felt.

“That was a really low situation and I’m very sorry for Brianne and how she’s feeling right now. For her to experience this on her first Olympic team and her first big senior international team is not right. The whole process wasn’t handled properly.”

With the process complete, Strachan said she will now have to regroup and get refocused on the task at hand and that is being in the right frame of mind to compete through the rounds of the 200 during the final week of the games.

She thanked the Bahamas Coaches Association for standing with her through the entire ordeal from the nationals to now to ensure that she was awarded a spot in the 200m after coming home and competing in the nationals and qualifying for the Olympics.

Without a lane in the 200m, Bethel will now just focus on the women’s 4 x 400m relay that starts on Thursday, August 5 with the heats. The final is scheduled for Saturday, August 7. She joins the relay pool that includes Miller-Uibo, Strachan, Doneisha Anderson and Megan Moss. High school sensation Lacarthea Cooper had to skip the trip because of Covid-19.

Bethel was not available for comments.