The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The 200-day countdown for the 2024 World Athletics Relays, formerly known as the IAAF World Relays, began last week and now preparations have begun to field the strongest relay teams at next year’s event on May 4-5.

Officials announced the partnership of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) and World Relays Local Organising Committee (LOC) set to ensure The Bahamas has a grand showing at next year’s fourth hosting of the two-day Olympic qualifier at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

The announcement came during a press conference at the Andre Rodgers Baseball stadium yesterday. The host country will compete in four events including the mixed relays, 4x100m men’s relays, 4x100m women’s relays and 4x400m men’s relays.

The various teams will be coached by familiar names in track and field. Shaun Miller will be in charge of coordinating the mixed relays team.

Coach Tyrone Burrows will be responsible for the 4x100m men’s relay team. Golden girl Pauline Davis will head the women’s 4x100m relay team and Golden Knight Ramon Miller will prepare the 4x400m men’s relay team.

Dave Charlton will serve as relay director.

Damarius Cash will handle the logistics of the teams and he will be assisted by Deputy Bernard Newbold.

Rolando Greene will help with coordinating athletes away at university to ensure their availability at the event.

The 2024 World Relays director said the coaches have been given a great responsibility but the vast talent pool of Bahamian athletes makes the job easier.

“It is an awesome responsibility that has been placed on some of the top coaches here in The Bahamas putting together teams so that we can best represent the country come next year’s 2024 World Relays…our job will not be that difficult given the fact that we have such a great pool of athletes to draw from,” Charlton said.

The committee is committed to taking a proactive approach to selecting athletes ahead of the World Relays next year.

Although they have gotten verbal commitments from some of the top athletes to compete at next year’s World Relays, the coordinators will issue official letters to athletes by the end of this week.

The letters will include details regarding information about the World Relays committee, who the members are and their responsibilities, and ask athletes if they intend to partake in next year’s World Relays.

The pool of athletes to be picked from will include sprinters, hurdlers, quarter milers and others.

The criteria will allow for officials to select from the top eight athletes per event based on their performances from last season.

As the season progresses, the list is expected to be narrowed down to the top six athletes in hopes of picking the best team for the World Relays.

“We are good but as coaches and coordinators we have to go after the big one whatever the big one is that is our job as coordinators to make sure that The Bahamas walks away with a minimum of one medal at the World Relays and a minimum of one gold medal at the Olympics,” Charlton said.

The Bahamas hosted the first edition of the World Relays in 2014 and successfully held two more editions in 2015 and 2017. With the event now returning to the sporting paradise, chairman of the LOC Dr Daniel Johnson is excited to host it here once again.

“We have done 2014, 2015, 2017, and now 2024 we are really happy to have the World Relays back with us… the president of NACAC is a Bahamian, NACAC which is the largest and most winningest federation in athletics …but we a little country within the NACAC region get to bring it home and the value of this for The Bahamas is a major marketing expo for our brand sports in paradise,” Johnson said.

The president of the BAAAs Drumeco Archer, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture Mario Bowleg, and president of NACAC Mike Sands are all optimistic about the country’s chances at next year’s World Relays.

The top 14 teams at the World Athletics Relays will qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

More than 1,600 athletes are expected to compete at The Bahamas’ fourth hosting of the World Relays.