Debbie continues to set the pace

Wed, Jun 29th 2011, 10:48 AM

At 35, some may feel that Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie may be old in track years, but she showed no signs of age as she sprinted across the finish line to win the 100-meter (m) dash and beat out her much younger competition at the recently held Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA)/BTC Jr. and Sr. National Track and Field Championships, which was held at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.

Ferguson-McKenzie won the race in a time of 11.34 seconds, ahead of Sheniqua 'Q' Ferguson (11.38), Nivea Smith (11.56) and Courtney Patterson of the U.S. Virgin Islands (11.90). Also in that race were Timicka Clarke (11.96) and Carlene Johnson (12.74), a line-up of top quality 100m runners. Yet, Ferguson-McKenzie proved that experience out-weighed youth.

"I must give those girls credit because they are great competitors," said Ferguson-McKenzie after the race. "They have the ability to take it to the next level, but I told them not today."

Ferguson-McKenzie, one of the orignal 'Golden Girls', has been competing on the international circuit for a long time and although it has become a struggle to keep ahead of the younger, up-and-coming generation of runners, she continues to make The Bahamas proud with her performances abroad. Ferguson-McKenzie said that she felt the need to come home for the BTC Track Nationals and compete, because she not only wanted to give the home crowd the opportunity to see her compete at home, but she also wanted to encourage the younger Bahamian female runners to keep at it and not give up.

"I want to encourage them to keep pushing and to keep competing because they are the future of track and field in this country," she said. "I have about one more year in this sport and then that will be it for me, but they are the future and they have great potential and I want to encourage them to enhance that potential, because they are the ones who will be representing this country in the future."

Just before she ran the 100m race, Ferguson-McKenzie said that the other competitors wanted to know why she had a certain look on her face, which they thought was a mean look. "I told them because they weren't playing anymore, and they were coming after me," she said. "I had to put my game face on, because I know those girls are fast and they want to beat me. I understand that and I encourage that."
When she was a junior runner, Ferguson-McKenzie set a new Junior National Record in the 100m, with a time of 11.19 back in 1995, and that record still stands today.

Ferguson-McKenzie also competed in the Open Women's 200m race this past weekend, where, again, her experienced, combined with her speed secured her a gold medal. She won the race in a time of 23.09 seconds ahead of Nivea Smith (23.13), CARIFTA Austin Sealey Award winner Anthonique Strachan (23.58) and Cotrell Martin (25.11). Ferguson-McKenzie also holds the National Record for this race, a time of 22.19 seconds set back in 1999.

"The girls are coming and they are right there, but not yet," said Ferguson-McKenzie after winning the 200m. "I wanted to come out here and prove that I still have what it takes to run the 200 and still win it."

Ferguson-McKenzie said she felt the nationals was a test run for her as she heads into Europe to compete there this week.

"It feels good to come back home and compete in front of the home crowd, because the Bahamian people have always supported me," she said. "The fans here in Grand Bahama are great.  They let you know how they feel and they don't hesitate to cheer you on. The track here is very fast and it's good to see a facility like this here in Grand Bahama. I think it will go a long way in helping to produce some outstanding runners from Grand Bahama in the future."

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