With one of the original "Golden Girls" back on the track on Bahamian soil for the first time in quite some time, The Bahamas' women's 4x100 meters (m) squad gave it a gallant effort last night in front of a jam packed Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, but just barely came up short in its pursuit of a spot in the final and an automatic qualifying spot for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The team of V'Alonee Robinson, Tayla Carter, 16-year-old Brianne Bethel and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, in that order, ran a season's best time of 44.11 seconds last night, narrowly missing out on the final of the event at the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2015. They were fourth in their heat, and ninth overall.
That same team came back and ran 44.14 seconds in the 'B' final to finish second in that race.
The ageless one Ferguson-McKenzie said that it was a complete joy to be back running in front of the Bahamian people. She competed in the women's 4x200m at the Penn Relays two weekends ago, running for the first time in two years. Last night, it was all about competing at home again, as over 15,000 spectators cheered her and Team Bahamas on.
"It feels wonderful running here in this wonderful stadium," said Ferguson-McKenzie last night. "There were a lot of emotions out there, but it certainly was an honor. I'm sure that if we had put together the team that we could have, we could have contended for a spot in the final and maybe even a medal. Nevertheless, I'm happy with these ladies. These girls have the best attitude. They just want to go out there and compete hard, and they did that."
Ferguson-McKenzie has had a glorified career that has spanned 20-plus years. Last night was the first time she actually competed in the country's new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium though.
"It's an awesome track and a wonderful stadium. For me right now, it's just about helping the ladies get to that next level. I feel that we have a team that can still qualify for the Olympics. That's the goal. I feel really good about our chances.
Hopefully we could get it done, and by then, my job should be done."
The Bahamas could still qualify for the Olympics in the women's short sprint relay on time over the 12-15 months. Ferguson-McKenzie is extremely confident that they could get it done. Anthonique Strachan, Sheniqua Ferguson nor Shaunae Miller ran in that heat last night.
Running the lead-off leg for The Bahamas, Robinson said that she wanted to go out there and get the team off to a good start.
"I just wanted to focus on getting a good start for the team," she said. "It was intense and the crowd was amazing. We had pretty good exchanges and got the stick around. That's the important thing. I feel very good about the run that we had." Carter, 21, ran the backstretch for Tem Bahamas. She said that she just wanted to keep the team in contention for one of the top spots.
"These are some great ladies and it felt really good running with them. I just wanted to go out there and execute, and I felt I was able to do that," she said. "I just wanted to get the stick to my teammate as fast as I could. The atmosphere here was just electric. It was so much fun running with these girls."
The baby of the team Bethel said that it was a joy to make the team much less running with a local legend such as Ferguson-McKenzie and against some of the best runners in the world.
"I felt really good about it. I went out there and did my best and we came out with a season's best time," she said. "I just looked at it as if I was at CARIFTA. It was a joy to run with these girls and also to see a lot of runners out there who I look up to. It was amazing. Everyone gave it their all, and that's what matters."
At just 16-years-old, Bethel shows promise of a great future.
At the end of the night, the second International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Relays came to exciting conclusion, but just one Bahamian relay squad is booked for next year's Olympics - the men's 4x400m.
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