The Tribune

In the continuation of what has been an eventful year, sprinter Anthonique Strachan sped to victory in the women’s 200 metres at the 2022 Spitzen Leichtathletik in Lucerne, Switzerland, yesterday.

Competing against a competitive field at the event running out of lane eight, Strachan powered back on the home stretch to take the tape in 22.68 seconds as she edged out Nigeria’s Aminatou Seyni out of lane three, who did 22.12 for second.

American Jenna Prandini was third in 22.82 with hometown favourite Mujinga Kambundji fourth in 22.89. Egypt’s Bassant Hemida rounded out the top five in 23.05. It was Strachan’s first test at the 200m since she pulled up with an injury at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July.

“I’m very content with the performance because it was my first 200m since the Worlds,” said Strachan, who celebrated her 29th birthday on August 22, the same day she left the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships where she was voted in as a Member-at-Large for the Athletics Commission.

As the race got underway, Strachan came off the curve in the middle of the pack. But as she ascended down the home stretch, she was able to accelerate to surge ahead of the field to secure the win.

“I tried to come off the curve first, but I didn’t execute that well,” Strachan said. “But once I came off the curve, I picked up more speed and I was able to hold onto whatever momentum I had.”

With no expectations for the race, Strachan said it was just a good test to see where she’s at, coming off the injury at Worlds that prevented her from competing at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before she participated in the 100m and on the Bahamas women’s silver medal 4 x 100m relay team at the NACAC Championships in Grand Bahama two weeks ago.

“Technically, I didn’t compete in a 200m since the trials (Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Nationals) before I didn’t finish the 200m at Worlds,” Strachan reflected.

“So I just wanted to finish the race. I did that, so I’m content with that.”

Still not at 100 percent fully recuperated, Strachan said it was good to know that the process is working and not to rush into it and reaggravate it.

“The competition was rather stiff. I didn’t expect this to be the way it was,” she said. “I honestly thought my team would have put me in a lighter 200m, knowing that I was scared to run the 200m. I thought they would have eased me in there, but it was like they tossed me into it.

“But in any event, they had the better vision and so I can’t complain about it. They know best.”

Strachan, one of two Bahamians competing in the meet, is expected to participate in another event next week in Europe, but the national double sprint runner-up is uncertain yet whether or not it will be in the 100m or the 200m.

Commonwealth Games champion LaQuan Nairn, who missed out on getting on the podium with a fourth-place finish at NACAC, produced a seventh place finish in the men’s long jump with a best leap of 25-feet or 7.62 metres on his sixth and final attempt.

The top three spots went to Simon Ehammer of Switzerland with 26-3 (8.00m), Tajay Gayle of Jamaica with 26-2 ¼ (7.98m) and Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece with 26-0 ¾ (7.94m).

All three performances came on their final attempts in a classic showdown at the end of the competition.