The Bahamas team of Michael Mathieu, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan and Steven Gardiner celebrate after winning gold at the World Relays in 2017.
By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
AFTER a successful campaign, The Bahamas has been re-awarded the rights to host the World Relays for the fourth time.
On Wednesday at the World Athletic Council meeting in Rome, World Athletics’ president Lord Sebastian Coe announced that The Bahamas has been awarded the hosting of the 2024 World Athletic Relays at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in April or May, a date to be confirmed by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations.
“We have had three wonderful editions of the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, which established this event on the global calendar, so we know we are in safe hands for what will be an important Olympic qualifier for all our relay events,” Coe said.
“We are confident that The Bahamas will offer the best conditions for the athletes and a brilliant atmosphere for both athletes and fans as we mark a key milestone on the road to the Paris Olympic Games.”
The World Athletics Relays return to The Bahamas after it hosted the first three editions in 2014, 2015 and 2017 and before it was moved to Yokohama, Japan in 2019 because of financial difficulties. The last and fifth edition of the event was held in Chorzow, Poland in 2021.
The 2024 World Athletics Relays will also serve as the main qualifier for teams participating in the men’s and women’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 and mixed 4 x 400m metre relays for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
BAAA president Drumeco Archer, who led the pitch for The Bahamas along with Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, was thrilled that The Bahamas won the bid to bring the event to its original home.
"We are incredibly excited for the long-awaited homecoming of the World Athletics Relays 2024 and we are grateful to the World Athletics Council for considering The Bahamas as the host city for this all-important event,” Archer said.
“The BAAA family and stakeholders will be standing at the seashores and airports with the banner of athletics waving high as we welcome the world of athletics and sporting enthusiasts back to our shores.”
Archer, who is seeking to be returned as president of the BAAA during its election of officers on Saturday, said there is mutual excitement with the Government of The Bahamas.
“Both the Government of The Bahamas and the BAAA intend to make the fourth hosting of this event the most ‘Bahamazing’ experience of them all,” he summed up.
The Bahamas brought a new experience to the hosting of the World Athletics Relays with the rhythmic sound of junkanoo music, a colourful backdrop with the introduction of teams into the TAR Stadium and the awarding of medals immediately after the events.
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