BEIJING, China - Teray Smith found himself in the same heat with the fastest man in the world at the "Bird's Nest" on Tuesday, and it was a humbling experience for him. The young Bahamian, only 20 years old, crashed out of the men's 200 meters (m) in the first round, as he finished sixth in his heat in a modest 20.91 seconds. He finished 43rd overall, failing to advance to the event's semi-finals.
Smith's world championship experience isn't over yet though. He will be a part of Team Bahamas for the men's 4x100m relay which gets underway on Friday. The final of the event will wrap up day eight of the 15th International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Championships, on Saturday. As for his race, Smith said that he just got left in the blocks and it was difficult to recover. He said that he is happy with the experience, and will now look forward to the relay.
"It was definitely a good experience for me. It makes me want to come back hungrier for next year," he said. "It wasn't really a good race for me, but I've already put it behind me. There was a little bit of a confusion cause I didn't hear when he said set. I didn't get in a good position, and that kind of threw me off a bit."
Overall, Smith said that he is enjoying the atmosphere of his first senior world championships, and is looking forward to representing The Bahamas for many years to come. It's been a long season for the Auburn sophomore, running both short sprints, and a number of relays. He ran both indoors and outdoors this year. Competing in his first senior global meet, and in the "Bird's Nest" for the first time, Smith said that he is looking to build off it, particularly with next year being an Olympic year. "It feels great to be here," he said. "I had a long college season, so I'm just happy to have that over with, and have the opportunity to compete for The Bahamas. It was definitely a learning experience for me."
Bolt won Smith's heat in 20.28 seconds, Roberto Skyers, of Cuba, was second, in 20.29 and Yancarlos Martinez of the Dominican Republic was third in 20.34 seconds. Turkey's Ramil Guliyev was the top qualifier for the semi-finals, with a national record time of 20.01 seconds in the heats. Alonso Edward, of Panama, qualified second overall in 20.11 seconds, and Zharnel Hughes, of Anguilla but representing Great Britain, was the third fastest qualifier in 20.13 seconds. As for Smith, his run in an individual event is over, but he still has the relay ahead of him. He said that he is looking forward to running the relay and "redeeming" himself. He said as long as they execute and get the stick around, they should earn a lane in the final.
Three of the four members of the national record setting team from last year's Commonwealth Games are here in Beijing - Smith, Shavez Hart and Warren Fraser. The only one missing is Adrian Griffith. After a long collegiate season himself, Hart decided to pull out of the short sprints at these games and focus solely on the relay, hoping to help The Bahamas record a fast enough time to assist in qualifying for next year's Olympic Games. The heats of the men's 4x100m will be held at 12:20 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Saturday. Former junior standout Smith is expected to figure prominently into the mix for Team Bahamas.
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