Once again, Shaunae Miller has lowered her junior national record.
The latest feat came at the Golden Eagles Track and Field Classic in Freeport, Grand Bahama over the weekend.
The University of Georgia bound sprinter ran 51.25 seconds to win the women's 400 meters (m), lowering her previous personal best time and former junior national record of 51.44 seconds which was done at the Fritz Grant Invitational a little over two weeks ago. Earlier this year, Miller tied the junior national record in the 200m, running 22.70 seconds at the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Championships. Both are Olympic 'A' qualifying times.
Still, it's almost a certainty that she would contest just one at both the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) World Junior Championships and the Olympic Games.
"Well, the main thing is trying to keep her healthy - we are watching that very closely," said her coach and father Shaun Miller yesterday. "When you look at the schedule for the World Juniors, the time frame is very close between the 200 and the 400, so it would be almost impossible to do both back-to-back. We are leaning more toward the 400m so she will have an opportunity to defend her title, but we are being very cautious as far as her health is concerned. We are nearing the end of a heavy work load. She is a little sore right now but nothing much to be concerned about."
Reigning World Youth and World Junior Champion Shaunae Miller said that she was very pleased with the race and is looking forward to defending her world junior title this summer. The 14th IAAF World Junior Championships are set for July 10-15, in Barcelona, Spain, and the Summer Olympic Games are set for July 27 to August 12, in London, England.
"I just want to thank God for my performance," said Shaunae yesterday. "It didn't come as a big surprise because I ran 51.44 at the Fritz Grant meet. I just want to stay healthy and do as best as I can. Training has gotten tougher and the dedication has definitely paid off. I'm looking forward to running at nationals and defending my title at the world juniors."
The Bahamas Association of Athletic Association (BAAA) National Championships, otherwise known as the 2012 Scotiabank Olympic Trials, are set for June 22-23 at the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. As it looks now, Miller will only be competing in the 400m. Probably the biggest surprise coming out of Grand Bahama over the weekend though, were the times turned in by the runners behind her.
Miller's training partners Lanece Clarke and Cotrell Martin ran 52.71 and 53.84 seconds respectively, to complete a 1-2-3 sweep for Bahamas Speed Dynamics. It also sets up a favorable look for The Bahamas in terms of fielding a women's 4x400m team that can qualify for the Olympics. That potential team would have to run around three and a half minutes, on two separate occasions, to qualify for the Olympics. As of the last relay ranking for the Olympics, Brazil is in the 16th and final qualifying spot with an average time of 3:30.09 over two races. The Bahamas' national record is 3:29.53, done by the team of Christine Amertil, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Sasha Rolle and Shakeitha Henfield, at the Penn Relays three years ago.
As for the impressive performances in Grand Bahama, Bahamas Speed Dynamics coach Shaun Miller said that he was very pleased with the times turned in by his athletes, and would love to see them run together on a 4x4 team.
"Those girls ran excellent - I was expecting those times from earlier in the season, but I'm happy that they were able to produce them now," said Miller. "I would love to see us field a 4x4 team for the Olympics, but I don't know if that would happen because we would have to run a qualifying time twice. From what I understand, they take an average of the two fastest times and getting all of the girls together on two separate occasions might be difficult. They are looking forward to the nationals though. They are ecstatic about the times that they are running and are looking forward to continuing their progression."
In terms of a potential women's 1,600m relay team for the Olympics, The Bahamas has in tow Shaunae Miller who has now ran 51.25 seconds, collegian Amara Jones who has a season's best time of 52.43 seconds, Lanece Clarke who has now done 52.71 seconds, CARIFTA Champion Rashan Brown who has a season's best of 53.56 seconds and Cotrell Martin who did 53.84 seconds in Grand Bahama, not to mention former Olympic finalist Christine Amertil who appears to be making a comeback in the sport.

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