A return of relay prominence
By KELSIE JOHNSON, NG Sports Reporter, kelsie@nasguard.com
The Bahamas has had its share of ups and downs on the track, especially the relays, one of the most technical and precise events which is ran.
A few years ago, the women’s 4x100 meter (m) relay team was sitting on top of the world, basking in the glory of Olympic Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games gold medals. The Bahamas had inked its name into the history books. Whenever they stepped onto the track, the team was viewed as one of the top squads, and was definitely a threat, but what statement are they making today, and if there is one, are we seeing a change of the guard coming sooner than expected?
The fastest local time this year was posted by The Bahamas’ junior women’s team, 44.36 seconds, which was ran at the Carifta Track and Field Championships. The senior squad clocked 44.52 seconds at the Penn Relays, which were held last weekend.
The junior team was comprised of a high school athlete Nivea Smith, and three collegiate athletes, (freshmen) Sheniqua Ferguson, Cache Armbrister and Krystal Bodie. Three of the four ladies are highly ranked in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) junior charts, based on their individual performances.
Both Smith and Armbrister are on the IAAF top list in the 200m, and Ferguson is on the list for the 100m. For the senior women, national record holder in the 200m, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, and Christine Amertil-Ling are listed. Ferguson-McKenzie is listed in both the 100m and 200m.
Although it is still early in the season and elite athletes like national record holder in the 100m, Chandra Sturrup, have yet to make their marks, President of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Mike Sands is optimistic about the future for The Bahamas and the tremendous strides the country is making to fill the gap.
Sands noted that there will still be some persons out there who may never understand the bigger picture, but revealed that the association has taken note of it (the picture) and is embracing it. He drew attention to the past, where many wondered how this dream of winning gold medals were turned into reality, but with five to six young ladies running exceptional times, during the reign, they were “unbeatable.”
Dating back to 1983, when the team clocked 44.76 seconds at the 1st IAAF World Championships in Athletics, to the most recent time of 44.52 seconds posted by the Bahamian quartet at the Penn Relays, Sands said: “The Bahamas is still highly respected.”
“To get to the level where we have been with the Golden Girls, I think we are looking at a few years away,” commented Sands. "What you will see is steady progress toward us regaining some level of that dominance that we had with the Golden Girls. When you look at the young girls, the under-20 and don’t forget the under-17 girls, I think the future looks very bright for us in that area.
“It was unfortunate that we were unable to use the services of the junior girls at the Penn Relays because you know there are very stringent rules as it relates to NCAA and we don’t want to ‘contaminate’ them and put them in jeopardy with their eligibility with the NCAA, so we will obviously have to wait until after the nationals to utilize their services,” said Sands.
It is becoming quite clear that one or two of the junior athletes may have to be added to the team’s Olympic list even if they are being used as alternates, but all of this will be determined at the Scotiabank Olympic trials, which are set for June 27-28. The team is expected to be ratified after the meet. Even though Bahamians will get an opportunity to see the Olympic hopefuls up close, the timing for the hosting of the games may affect the team’s chances in the long run.
Aware of the position the team is faced with in terms of qualifying for the Olympics, Sands said the team, like other countries, will be looking to compete in several meets in hopes of running faster times, creating cohesiveness and produce top times which will hopefully stand.
“When the national team is selected, we will hope to work them (junior athletes) into the program and hopefully have sufficient time to qualify as we utilize their services. Hopefully, if don’t do so at that time we would welcome all. It is not the individuals who you are concerned with at this juncture, it is getting a top time and be able to have it stand up. I think the entry deadline is somewhere between July 13-16, so nobody, unless you are far ahead of the pack, is really secured until after the entry deadline.”
The BAAA will continue to compete in the relays right up until the last date for entries. Sands believes this is the best way the team can assure themselves of a qualifying spot. He is also hoping that a conflicting schedule will not hamper the process, but admitted that sometimes things do happen.