Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie confirmed yesterday what many Bahamians knew for years - that she 'bleeds black, gold and aquamarine', and will do anything to help her country progress athletically.
With The Bahamas on the borderline, as it relates to qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's sprint relay, all hands needed to be on deck. In stepped The Bahamas' second fastest woman ever, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie. Originally thought to be out of this weekend's action, and next weekend's BTC/Scotiabank Olympic Trials with a bone bruise in her right ankle, Ferguson-McKenzie said yesterday she decided to give it a go and will do whatever she can to help The Bahamas qualify.
Tape up that ankle, take some pain killers and let's go! That's the mind frame that Ferguson-McKenzie is taking this Saturday heading into the Thomas A. Robinson Track Classic at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The one-day meet is being staged by the Silver Lightning Athletic Club and will get underway at 9 a.m.
"This is no time to think about injury," she said yesterday. "The Bahamas is in danger of not qualifying so I have to do whatever I can to help. Mentally, I feel like I can do it but there is still some pain there. I just met with my coach and we decided to give it a go. The girls that we have, with 'Q' (Sheniqua Ferguson) running well, and Anthonique (Strachan) running well, we have a great shot to qualify. I'm just ready to do my part, work through the pain and help us qualify. This is no time to be selfish. The team needs me so I have to be available to help."
The entire nation can breathe a sigh of relief now. Given the latest London Olympics relay rankings which were released yesterday, The Bahamas is currently sitting in the 15th spot with an aggregate time of 87.36 over two races - 43.62 seconds from last year's BTC Jr. and Sr. National Championships, and 43.74 seconds from last year's Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Sr. Track and Field Championships. The top 16 teams qualify for the London Olympics.
Ferguson-McKenzie last ran at the Jamaica International Invitational in early May. She finished seventh in the 100m at that meet, in 11.26 seconds.
"Well, the ankle was bothering me from then. I competed in Jamaica with the pain," she said yesterday. "I continued to train and it got worst. I didn't want to suffer a stress fracture so I had to rest it a bit. Today at my workout, it felt good. Long-time injury does cross your mind, but the team needs me so I have to be ready to go. This is my last Olympics so I just want to go out there and represent my country well. If I injure it more and have to take the rest of the year off, then so be it. At least I'll know that I was able to do my job and help us qualify for the Olympics. I can't guarantee that I will be healthy for the Olympics, but I have to give it a go this weekend. Together, we could do it. I'm not sure of the condition of the rest of the girls, but I'm confident that once we get the four fastest together, we will stand an excellent chance of qualifying."
Sheniqua Ferguson has the leading time among Bahamians this year, with her personal best run of 11.07 seconds in Auburn in April. Anthonique Strachan follows with her personal best time of 11.22 seconds, and then there is Ferguson-McKenzie's 11.26 seconds in Jamaica. Veterans Chandra Sturrup and Christine Amertil are also expected to be available this weekend. Ferguson, Strachan, Sturrup and Amertil ran 43.97 seconds at the Brazilian Grand Prix last month.
"Experience is always good, but I think that we have to set it up where the four best runners are running," said Ferguson-McKenzie. "We had a team in 2009 with Chandra, myself and Christine which ran 42.29 and won the silver medal at the World Championships. I'm not saying we could do that again, but it just goes to show what can be accomplished when you have four girls working together. That's the key - we have to have the four fastest girls running and we have to work together as a team. Once we do, we should have no problem qualifying."
One of the stipulations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that for a meet to be deemed as an Olympic qualifier for relays, a minimum of three international teams must compete in the race. About eight international teams, men and women, are expected to compete against The Bahamas sprint relay teams this weekend. The women's 4x100m relay team is currently in the 15th spot on the Olympic relay ranking list while the men's team isn't in the top 20. The men will have to run two national record times in order to qualify. South Africa, which is sitting in the 16th and final spot, has an average time of 38.90 seconds over two races. The Bahamas' national record is 38.98 seconds.

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