The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS 

Chief Sports Editor 

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

PARIS, France — When it was all said and done, the Bahamas mixed 4 x 400 metre relay team of Wendell Miller, Javonya Valcourt, Alonzo Russell and Quincy Penn could do no better than eighth place.

Competing in the first of two heats of the event at the Stade de France, the quartet ran three minutes and 14.58 seconds as the United States of America took the top spot in a world record time of 3:07.41.

The next four finishers behind the USA all established national records as France got second in 3:10.00, Belgium third in 3:10.74 and Jamaica fourth in 3:11.06. Poland was fifth in a season’s best of 3:11.43.

It was a totally different team, except for Russell, who won the B final of the relay at the World Relays in May at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium to qualify for the Olympics.

Both Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who featured significantly on the team in Nassau, are here, but are focusing on their individual 400 metre races where they are both the defending Olympic champions.

The other member of the team Shania Adderley, from Grand Bahama, was embroiled with a dispute whether or not she or Lacarthea Cooper should compete here. While Adderley was in the relay pool, Cooper came here as an alternate.

With what was considered the best quartet to compete, the Bahamas ended up 13th overall out of a field of 16 countries.

But despite not qualifying for the final, each member of the quartet admitted that it was the best they could achieve on the day.

For starters, 21-year-old Miller, who has been training in Jamaica for the past two years, said he tried his best.

“That was a difficult heat for us, but we did the best we could. We didn’t make it, but we have the World Championships next year and Olympics in 2028, so you will see more from The Bahamas.”

Valcourt, the women’s national 400 metre champion going into her junior year at the University of Tennessee, said it was all about getting international experience on the global stage.

“We didn’t get the results we wanted today, but I’m so proud of us. We went out there and did the best we could. Next year, I feel we will come back stronger.”

At 19 years old, Valcourt said she’s confident that the quarter-milers will come back stronger to put in a much better showing at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

In running the third leg, Russell said it wasn’t the best for the team.

“It was good to see the others stepping up now, so I feel going forward, we will be in pretty good shape.

“I’m happy everyone finished healthy.”

Russell, the veteran of the team at 32, said he’s looking forward to competing in the next relay event whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The 18-year-old Penn, who got the baton from Russell fighting with Kenya for the final two spots, said “I ran the best I could. That’s all I could do.”

Penn, a transfer from Alabama State University to the University of Florida, felt that the Bahamas had a good team, but she still felt they could have pushed a little harder to move up in position.

Obviously, it didn’t help that both Gardiner and Miller-Uibo were not available for relay duties in Paris. The question is, what will happen in Japan next year?