The Tribune

THE 2024 BTC World Athletics Relays pre-game show “Showdown in Paradise” did not disappoint as Kids Athletics competitors, CARIFTA Games medallists, high school students and Special Olympics Bahamas athletes put on a show before the global main event over the weekend at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Pharez Cooper, the pre-game show organiser, believes that the future is bright for athletics, not only in The Bahamas but also the entire Caribbean region after this weekend’s action.

“The future is bright for athletics in our country. If we channel the potential that we have now, we can achieve success that has not been seen before in our country.

“We have to make the next few moves very calculated by finding ways to bring out the best in our youth, junior and post collegiate athletes.

“This transition sometimes can make or break the athletes where they are propelled to success or leave the sport altogether,” Cooper said.

Athletes from New Providence and Grand Bahama upped the ante to build the excitement before the actual World Relays.

The St Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine got a personal best performance out of Zaria Stapleton, Bayli Major, Darvinique Dean and Nya Wright in the high school girls’ 4x100m relay finals. The quartet came away with a time of 46.29 seconds in the win.

The relay team of Khalon Christie, Trent Ford, Morgan Moss and Eagan Neely ran a time of 41.34 seconds in the boys’ 4x100m relay finals to also make SAC proud.

The Big Red Machine’s Shavano Nixon, Daveigh Farrintgon, Moss and Dean won the 4x400m mixed relay event in 3:36.56 for gold once again.

The CH Reeves Raptors’ relay team of Mariah Joseph, Janae Bain, Raniyah Smith and Samantha Gottshalk made their presence felt in front of the world in the under-15 girls’ sprint medley relay. They secured the gold medal with a time of 1:55.85.

CARIFTA teammates Javano Bridgewater, Keyezra Thomas, Neely and Alexis Roberts represented The Bahamas well in the 4x400m mixed relay event. They pulled off a winning time of 3:26.36.

“As for the rest of the Caribbean, there are many junior athletes that are on centre stage on the world scene. Guyana has a rising star in the female 400m event.

“Trinidad and Tobago has a set of twins on the female side that are showing great potential and this year it seems like the entire Caribbean has gotten one step closer to Jamaica.

“With that being said, Jamaica is far beyond and leads the pack when it comes to track and field in our region but the potential is there and I see more exciting performances in the near future,” he said.

Trinidad and Tobago’s team of Che Wickham, Mikhail Byer, Kadem Chinapoo and Dylan Woodruffe took home a strong win in the boys’ 4x100m relay invitational with a time of 40.42 seconds.

Jamaica trailed behind for second with a time of 40.48 seconds. The host country dropped to third, stopping the clock at 40.65 seconds.

Jamaica managed to get the gold in the girls’ 4x100m relay invitational. Habiba Harris, Theianna Lee Terrelonge, Natrece East and Mickayla Gardener teamed up to run the relay event in 44.11 seconds.

The USA collected a second place finish and Trinidad and Tobago got the bronze medal.

Over the weekend, World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe admitted to reporters that he would like to adopt The Bahamas as the home of the World Athletics Relays.

With that being said, Cooper is optimistic that the pre-game show will continue to precede the World Relays if hosted in The Bahamas in the future.

“It is our goal to always be inclusive of our grassroot athletes and rising stars in some form or fashion. We have always included our young athletes and I believe this will continue in any edition of the World Relays.

“With that being said, this year we have made the ‘Showdown in Paradise’ a part of the World Relays as one event which was never done before.

“I hope that it can continue with the right moves being made in the preliminary planning,” the pre-game show organiser said.

According to Cooper, minor adjustments will be made to future editions of the pre-game show, including the addition of more events in efforts to display a larger variety and number of athletes.

“Showdown in Paradise” hosted athletes from as young as under-7 up to under-20 on Saturday and Sunday.