A 25-member Bahamian team was introduced yesterday, paving its way to participation in the first ever International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Relays.
Head Coach Fritz Grant said that while they may be missing top-notch sprinter Shaunae Miller and a few other injured veterans, the small unit is prepared to represent The Bahamas to the best of its ability, turning some heads in the process. The IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014 will get underway on Saturday evening at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium and will wrap up on Sunday.
"First of all, I just want to congratulate all of the athletes who are here for making the team," said Grant yesterday. "The training camp has been going extremely well. The athletes are really focused and ready to go. They're looking to go out there and perform exceptionally well for the Bahamian people."
As far as Miller is concerned, a nagging hamstring injury has forced her out of competition for the World Relays this weekend. According to a release from her management team, On Track Management, Inc. out of Atlanta, Georgia, Miller is about a week away from race-readiness. She will still be in The Bahamas as an IAAF World Relays ambassador, a title afforded to all of the world championships and Olympic medalists for The Bahamas.
"Anytime you could run a 22 in the women's 200 (meters) and you have that type of leg speed and strength, you will be missed. It will impact us, but nevertheless, we have to move forward to give these athletes who are here the best opportunity to experience success. The athletes who are here, we are going to make sure that they are indeed ready to compete," said Grant. "When you look at the men's 4x400 meters (m) relay team, they are obviously one of the favorites. I think that with the women's 4x200m, we still stand a good chance in that event. We intend to put a very competitive team together regardless.
"With the women and men's 4x100m, I think that they stand a very good chance to advance to the final. The exchange zones, and paying attention to the rules, are going to be very important. The little things count in the 4x100m, and we have to pay special attention to that. We will do what we need to do to get Team Bahamas to execute in stages and advance to the respective finals. Once you get in the finals, anything is possible."
The team members include: Adrian Griffith, Warren Fraser, Trevorvano Mackey, Blake Bartlett, Jamial Rolle and Johnathon Farquharson for the men's 4x100m; Griffith, Mackey, Bartlett, Rolle, Farquharson and Andretti Bain for the men's 4x200m; Chris Brown, Ramon Miller, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, LaToy Williams and Alonzo Russell in the men's 4x400m; Sheniqua Ferguson, Anthonique Strachan, V'Alonee Robinson, Tayla Carter, Cache Armbrister and Nivea Smith in the women's 4x100m; Ferguson, Strachan, Carter, Smith and Rashan Brown in the women's 4x200m; and finally, Brown, Lanece Clarke, Shakeitha Henfield, Christine Amertil, Miriam Byfield and Katrina Seymour in the women's 4x400m. The coaches for the team are Fritz Grant, Rupert Gardiner, Rodger Charlton and Cherish Hollingsworth.
The team members have been engaged in a training camp since Saturday.
"The team is very focused, and the synergy is being developed," said Mike Sands yesterday. Sands is the president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) and deputy chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014.
"Team Bahamas is ready to do battle. We are going to war with the armor that we have, and I am sure that we will make The Bahamas very proud of us," added Sands.
The team is currently in transit from the Paradise Island Harbour Resort to SuperClubs Breezes, the official athletes village of the relays. They are working out on a daily basis at the old Thomas A. Robinson stadium. With the athletes being at home, most will be able to utilize the services of their own personal coaches, in addition to the team coaches.
"With the team being home, all of their regular resources are available to them," said Sands. "When you look at the coaching staff, while that may appear skeletal, bear in mind that we are in a position to have other local coaches accredited, and that will give them the opportunity to work closely with the athletes.
"This is a global event. What is exciting about these World Relays is that there is prize money being offered for the top finishers and also prize money for any world record that is set. It is reasonably expected that a world record could fall in the men's 4x200m and the 4x800 and 4x1,500m events which are not normally ran. Those events, particularly the 4x800m, are usually run in the U.S. college system, so when you put together a team like Kenya that can probably average 1:44 in the men's 800m, you could definitely envision a world record being set. The Bahamian public is going to see some very exciting performances throughout the course of the event."
The IAAF recently announced that the total prize purse for this event is USD $1.4 million. A total of $50,000 is being offered for first place and another $50,000 for a world record. The second through eighth spots will all receive prize money ranging from $30,000 for second to $4,000 for eighth.
The official broadcaster for the two-day meet is ISB (International Sports Broadcasting) based in Madrid, Spain. They are offering feeds to various companies around the world, one of which was purchased by the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. Out of the United States, Universal Sports (DirecTV channel 625) will be providing coverage of the event.
As far as the injury sustained by Miller is concerned, Sands said that members of the BAAA were unaware of the unfortunate mishap until recently.
"There were rumors flying around over the weekend, but the BAAA wasn't officially notified until Tuesday morning," he said. "Let me just say that injuries are a hazard of our trade. Often it comes at the most inopportune time. They are unfortunate, but we cannot allow injuries to deter us from our stated objectives. Whilst we might not have the entire squad that we wish to have, we will go to war with the army that we have. At the end of the day, we cannot dwell on what could have been. We are faced with a challenge from the best in the world, so we will focus our attention to performing to the best of our ability under any circumstances."
Head Coach Grant remained confident of the team's chances this weekend.
"The BAAA sent out the criteria in terms of what is needed for team selection, the top six times, and based on the information and results that we had, we put together the best team possible to represent The Bahamas," said Grant. "In all of the events, I think that we are going to be very competitive. We might not be as strong as we would have liked due to some of our key athletes having injuries, but nevertheless, we are going to put together the best combination that we have to be able to compete at a high standard. Everyone is locked in, and we are ready to go. We just have to continue to focus on the task at hand, and we should do extremely well. We are going to strategically place our athletes in the best possible positions, based on the strengths and weaknesses of the team, to maximize their potential and give The Bahamas the greatest chance of success."
The 25 members selected to the team will represent The Bahamas in six relay events this weekend - the men and women's 4x100m, the men and women's 4x200m and the men and women's 4x400m.

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