BUDAPEST, Hungary - Not only did The Bahamas not win a medal in Budapest, but there was no relay team from the country for the third successive world outdoor championships. It's an unwelcome occurrence given the country's rich history with relay running, and particularly not a good sign with the world relays set to return to The Bahamas in 2024.

What kind of representation will The Bahamas have at the 2024 World Relay Championships at home, and will it be good enough to qualify relay teams for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. The top 14 teams in the men and women's 4×100 meters (m) relay, the men and women's 4x400m relay, and the mixed relay, from the world relays, will qualify for Paris.

Convinced that an aggressive agenda needs to be pursued, chairman of the World Relays Bahamas 2024 Dr. Daniel Johnson said that the planned implementation of a national sports academy will go a long way in ensuring success for The Bahamas in the relays both at the world relays at home and the Paris Olympic Games.

The World Relays Bahamas 2024 is set for May 4-5, 2024, at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in New Providence, The Bahamas. The 2024 Olympics will be held July 26 to August 11, in Paris, France.

"This was really impressive what happened here in Budapest, and now all eyes are turning to The Bahamas for next year's world relays. That will be our fourth edition of The Bahamas' world relays, and we have to make sure it's a fantastic event. Everyone is talking about it," said Johnson, a former minister of youth, sports and culture. "We're building around the world relays, planning some special events to the extent that no one has ever seen in sports."

Johnson said the creation of the national sports academy, inclusive of a talent search from as early as next month, would pave the way for a respectable performance for the host nation at the world relays.

"When you look at other small island developing states around the world, they have really done well with national sports academies where they bring in expert assistance about twice per month. We are endeavoring for The Bahamas to have its national sports academy for the purpose of building better national teams," said Johnson. "The one that jumps out at us right now is the world relays. As soon as next month, I believe that we have to start getting relay teams ready to compete. The people are out there. We just have to get them together in a structured environment and get them ready to run. We have the stars already."

The Bahamas will have a golden opportunity to qualify relay teams for next year's Olympics, just having to finish in the top 14 at the world relays at home next year. Johnson said it's a situation that has to be taken advantage of, and the national sports academy, will pave the way.

Johnson said the idea behind the academy is to bring in college coaches to work with Bahamian athletes in assisting with their development. He said that could commence as early as next month. Already, a couple of Bahamian coaches in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) system have pledged their support - Rolando 'Lonnie' Greene who is the head athletics coach at the University of Kentucky, and Leevan Sands who is an assistant coach with responsibility for jumps with Florida State University (FSU).

Johnson said following the world relays in May of next year, it would be the intention for the national sports academy to branch off into other areas and other sports.

"We have to begin with a specific goal in mind, which is a fantastic showing at the world relays; but after that, there are sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball and others that need attention," said Johnson. "To all of our national and elite athletes who need sports science, discipline training, injury prevention and sports psychology, we invite you to get on board. We will begin exposing them to this on the national level, and at the end of the day, have teams training at home."

Just one Bahamian relay team qualified for the Budapest World Championships, the women's 4x100m relay, but that team was unable to compete due to a conflicting schedule between one of the lead runners and her individual event, injuries to others, and simply a lack of legs.

The 19th World Athletics Championships wrapped up at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday. There were just two finalists for The Bahamas - Devynne Charlton who was fourth in the women's 100m hurdles in 12.52 seconds, and Anthonique Strachan who was sixth in the women's 200m in 22.29 seconds.

The Bahamas Baseball Association (BBA) came down hard on Greg Burrows Jr. and Sr. over the weekend, handing out penalties for infractions it deemed inappropriate, damning and damaging to the image of baseball, and by extension sports, in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

The governing body for baseball in the country handed down a 15-year suspension for Greg Jr. and a five-year suspension for Greg Sr., prohibiting them from national team duties and the representation of The Bahamas internationally, in baseball, for the foreseeable future.

For his role in the incident involving umpire Edaine Cannister, of Curaçao, Burrows Jr. is banned for 15 years from all local and international baseball competition in any capacity including and not limited to player, coach, manager, official, executive and organizer in The Bahamas. He can appeal to the BBA for reinstatement after, and not before, 10 years of his suspension.

Burrows Sr. is banned for five years from all local and international baseball competition in any capacity including and not limited to coach, manager, official, executive and organizer in The Bahamas. He, too, has the power of appeal.

During the Babe Ruth Caribbean Baseball Championship and Invitational at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium three weeks ago, on the final day of the 16-and-Under (16U) invitational, Burrows Jr. voiced his displeasure with a decision made by home plate umpire Cannister in a semifinal game between The Bahamas and Puerto Rico, which led to Burrows eventually being ejected from the game.

According to reports, Burrows questioned an article of clothing worn by the Puerto Rican pitcher under his hat. Cannister said he ruled that the garment was not white and not in violation of the rules of baseball for that particular tournament. He said he allowed the game to continue and after further disruptions in relation to the same issue, he threw Burrows out of the game.

Greg Jr., on the other hand, said that the article of clothing was a clear violation of the rules, and initially the umpire asked the pitcher to remove it, but in the following inning, he allowed the game to continue with the pitcher again wearing the garment.

Cannister went on to say that he was physically attacked by Greg Jr. in the locker room after the game, but Greg Jr. dispelled that notion, saying that all he did was throw some water on him. Cannister said it was much more than that. He said he filed a report to Babe Ruth League on the incident, and at the end of the day, he's just relieved that no serious damage was done and that he didn't suffer any major injury.

Greg Sr. is the commissioner of Babe Ruth Baseball Caribbean Region and was the head of the protest committee for the tournament. According to Cannister, Greg Sr. interrupted the umpire in the carrying out of his duties in an effort to protect and defend his son. It was also revealed that Greg Sr. demanded the replacement of the umpires in the game, overstepping his boundary as the commissioner of Babe Ruth Baseball Caribbean Region.

Cannister said he wasn't backing down and by no means would have allowed Greg Jr. to re-enter the game as a coach. In the end, he filed legal action against Burrows Jr. in hopes of bringing the matter to a resolve.

Legal representative Tony Scriven, another legal representative Keith Seymour, Bahamian professional scout Brian Armbrister and former local player/administrator Tommy Stubbs made up the four-man committee charged with investigating and overseeing the matter. Scriven served as the chairman of the panel.

Cannister, an umpire for more than 40 years, filed a report to tournament organizers, the BBA, and to the Babe Ruth League on the incident, and is also pursuing the matter legally.

At the end of the day, The Bahamas lost the game to Puerto Rico 6-5 and ended up playing North Netherlands in the bronze medal game. They won that game, 8-0. The Bahamas' 12-and-Under (12U) team finished fifth. The Bahamas won both divisions in 2022.

The 12U Division was a qualifier for the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series at Ballparks of America in Branson, Missouri, and the invitational 16U Division featured a number of quality teams from the region, the United States (US) and as far away as Europe.

The BBA issued a statement, mentioning that it understands that this is a grave matter that can affect The Bahamas' tourism product, and in particular, the game of baseball throughout The Bahamas when it comes to hosting any games or sporting events in the future.

It's a situation that could have damaging effects on The Bahamas as a major sports tourism outlet, could stain relationships between local and international baseball officials, and could result in sanctions being passed down from a major international baseball organization to The Bahamas.

Over 200 athletes from countries from around the region, the US and as far away as Europe took part in the five-day tournament. Aruba emerged as the champion in both divisions and Puerto Rico was the runner-up both times. There was no bronze medal game in the 12U Division and The Bahamas won the bronze in the 16U Invitational.

All four Bahamian swimmers were in the pool as The Bahamas wrapped up competition at the World Aquatic Championships at the Marine Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on Saturday. The meet ended yesterday, but The Bahamas' participation was done by Saturday.

The quartet of Rhanishka Gibbs, Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson, DaVante Carey and Lamar Taylor swam in the 4×100 meters (m) mixed freestyle relay to end the competition for The Bahamas. They finished with a national time of 3:43.19, which was lower than their entry time of 3:47.16. They placed fifth in heat three and 27th out of 43 countries.

Taylor led the team off and powered his way to a national record in the 100m free when he swam a blistering split was 50.10 seconds on the first leg. He lowered his own record which was 50.25 seconds, done at the 2022 edition of the Bahamas Aquatics Federation's National Championships. Carey was next in the pool and he posted a split of 51.84 seconds. Gibbs swam the third leg and posted a split time of 1:02.16 and Thompson anchored The Bahamas home in a split of 59.09 seconds.

In the individual races on Saturday, Taylor missed out by one one-hundredth of a second in qualifying for the semifinals of the 50m backstroke - a race he set the national record in less than a month ago at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. He finished 17th overall after touching the wall in 25.12 seconds. Japanese Irie Ryosuke swam 25.11 seconds for the 16th fastest and final qualifying time for the semis. The Bahamian placed sixth in heat six of that event.

Gibbs was in action in the 50m free and she finished 51st overall in a time of 26.64 seconds. There were 102 total swimmers in action in that event. Swimming out of lane four out of heat six, Gibbs placed second in that heat. She missed out on lowering her personal best of 26.29 seconds.

Bahamas Aquatics Federation President Algernon Cargill was at the meet and was impressed with the performances of the Bahamian swimmers.

"The team performed at a high standard," Cargill said. "Our athletes were excited to compete at a high standard and all performed at their best. Lamar Taylor had an exceptional performance in the 50m back and barely missed the semifinals, by one-hundredth of a second, placing 17th."

It was a busy day on Friday for The Bahamas as Gibbs, Taylor and Carey were all in action and they swam personal best times. Taylor set another national record, this time in the 50m free. He stopped the clock at 22.26 seconds to shave nine one-hundredths of a second from his previous personal best and national record time of 22.35 seconds. He finished second behind Aruba's Mikel Schreuders in heat nine and 28th overall out of 119 swimmers. Schreuders clocked 22.10 seconds.

Carey got a personal best in the 100m butterfly as he posted a time of 55.48 seconds after swimming splits of 25.52 seconds and 29.96 seconds. His previous personal best was 56.11 seconds. He finished fourth in heat three out of lane one. Overall, Carey was 52nd out of 74 swimmers.

Gibbs swam a personal best in the 50m butterfly when she posted a time of 28.43 seconds. It was her first individual race at the competition. Her time placed her 39th out of 64 swimmers overall. She was the first to touch the wall, swimming out of lane five in heat number three. Her previous personal best was 28.62 seconds.

Overall, there were five national records broken - three individual and two relays. There were seven personal bests and each of the four Bahamian swimmers set at least one personal best time.

A total of 10 world records were broken at the meet and there were 2,361 total athletes from 191 countries and also the World Aquatics Refugee Team. Cargill said it was a competitive championship and it has inspire Bahamian athletes to train harder in order to qualify for podium positions.

Thompson, Carey and Taylor will now get ready for the collegiate season with Carey competing as a graduate student at McKendree University. Thompson enters her junior year at Howard University and Taylor gets his junior season underway at Henderson State University. Gibbs is set to begin her freshman season at Texas Christian University (TCU).

The Bahamas had its second best performance ever at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 (U18) and Under-23 (U23) Championships, winning six gold medals, nine silver and seven bronze for a total of 22 medals at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica, over the weekend.

Additionally, in a pair of exhibition events, The Bahamas got two gold medals from Kenny Moxey Jr. - one in the under-18 boys pole vault and the other in the under-18 boys decathlon.

Moxey held off Leonardo Jeremiah Oliveros, of Guatemala, the only other competitor in the pole vault competition, clearing 3.90 meters (m) – 12' 9-1/2" – compared to 3.45m (11' 4") for Oliveros. In the decathlon, Moxey took the title with 6,095 points, defeating the only other athlete in the under-18 boys decathlon, Maxwell Denzel Alvarez, of Guatemala. Alvarez scored 5,528 points.

Zion Miller was a double gold medalist for The Bahamas, and both of his medals were added to the team's total.

The two Zions, Miller and Shepherd, finished first and third, respectively, in the under-18 boys 400m in times of 48.08 seconds and 49.10 seconds. Joshua Wint, of Jamaica, split the Bahamian duo, in 48.68 seconds. Miller and Shepherd both ran on the winning mixed 4x400m relay team and the under-18 boys 4x400m relay team.

On the mixed team, they joined Nya Wright and anchor leg Alexis Roberts, winning the gold medal in 3:31.29. Canada was second in 3:31.96 and Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze in 3:33.13. In the under-18 boys 4x400m relay, Miller and Shepherd teamed up with Berkley Munnings and Morgan Moss. They won the silver medal in 3:19.80. Jamaica won the gold in 3:12.80, The Bahamas was second and Trinidad and Tobago claimed the bronze in 3:26.81.

The Bahamas got a gold from Johnathan Rodgers in the under-18 boys triple jump. He produced a best jump of 15.01m (49' 3"). Banjuan Kulainthiran, of Canada, won the silver medal with a jump of 14.92m (48' 11-1/2") and Aaron Massiah, of Barbados, took home the bronze with a best jump of 14.12m (46' 4"). The other Bahamian in the field, William McKinney, placed fourth with a best jump of 13.98m (45' 10-1/2").

Cailyn Johnson was special in the under-18 girls discus, turning in a massive throw of 40.85m (134') for the gold medal. Ruth Irvine, of Trinidad and Tobago, won the silver medal with a toss of 33.82m (110' 11") and Luna Sherlyn Mora, of Costa Rica, won the bronze with a throw of 32.76m (107' 6"). The other Bahamian in the field, Annae Mackey, just missed out on the bronze, turning in a throw of 32.67m (107' 2").

Johnson and Mackey was back it, competing in the under-18 girls shot put. Mackey was second with a toss of 13.09m (42' 11-1/4"), and Johnson finished fourth with a best throw of 12.28m (40' 3-1/2"). Peyton Winter, of Trinidad and Tobago, won the gold medal with a toss of 14.53m (47' 8"). Mikayla Brown, of the Cayman Islands, won the bronze with a toss of 12.65m (41' 6").

Javelin throwers Keyshawn Strachan and Rhema Otabor continue to lead by example for The Bahamas, winning gold medals in the under-23 men and women's javelin events.

In the under-23 women, Otabor had a record-setting throw of 57.48m (188' 7") for the gold medal. Maura Huwalt, of the United States, was a distant second with a throw of 49.25m (161' 7"), and Kimberly Smith, of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), won the bronze medal with a toss of 37.54m (123' 2").

Among the men, Strachan had a throw of 78.37m (257' 1") for the gold medal. Dash Sirmon, of the United States, won the silver with a throw of 75.28m (246' 10), and his teammate Braden Presser finished third with a throw of 72.60m (238' 2").

Antoine Andrews won a pair of silver medals for The Bahamas. He originally crossed the finish line in third in the under-23 men's 110m hurdles, but was upgraded top second after Canada's Craig Thorne was disqualified. American Connor Schulman won the race in 13.40 seconds. Thorne crossed the finish line in 13.49 seconds but was disqualified. Andrews was timed in 13.57 seconds. Jamaica's Jaheem Hayles was upgraded to the bronze medalist, finishing in 13.73 seconds.

Andrews was also a part of the silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team for The Bahamas. That team included Adam Musgrove, Carlos Brown and Terrence Jones, and they stopped the clock in 39.59 seconds. Jamaica won that race in 39.04 seconds, The Bahamas was second and the United States finished third in 39.62 seconds.

Darvinique Dean also picked up a pair of silver medals for The Bahamas. She crossed the finish line in second in the under-18 girls 400m hurdles, out-leaning Keneisha Shelbourne, of Trinidad and Tobago, for the silver medal. Dean was second in 1:01.13 and Shelbourne settled for the bronze in 1:01.68. Michelle Smith, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, won the gold in a meet record of 56.99 seconds. The other Bahamian in the race, Jaynae Pinder, finished fourth in 1:07.66.

Dean was also a part of the silver medal-winning 4x400m relay team for The Bahamas. The team of Dean, Shatalya Dorsett, Nya Wright and Alexis Roberts, crossed the finish line in 3:51.20 for the silver. Canada won the gold in 3:49.97, The Bahamas was second and Costa Rica won the bronze medal in 4:08.98.

Dorsett was also on the silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team. The team of Phebe Thompson, Dorsett, Nia Richards and Shayann Demeritte, finished in 46.42 seconds for the silver medal. Trinidad and Tobago won the gold medal in 45.99 seconds, The Bahamas was second and Puerto Rico won the bronze medal in 46.49 seconds after their anchor leg hobbled to the line after apparently suffering a hamstring injury. Puerto Rico had a good lead until that unfortunate turn of events on the last leg.

The Bahamas also got a silver medal from Brenden Vanderpool in the under-23 men's pole vault. Vanderpool cleared 4.95m (16' 3") for the silver. American Hunter Garretson won the gold in a new meet record of 5.61m (18' 4-3/4"). Taking the bronze was Jonathan Jose Lopez, of Puerto Rico, with a leap of 4.75m (15' 7").

The Bahamas secured silver and bronze in the under-18 girls javelin. Dior-Rae Scott won the silver with a throw of 41.39m (135' 9") and Taysha Stubbs claimed the bronze with a throw of 40.68m (133' 5"). Ciara Marie Martinez, of Puerto Rico, won the gold with a throw of 44.94m (147' 5").

Cayden Smith won a pair of bronze medals for The Bahamas. He crossed the finish line in third in the under-18 boys 200m, finishing in 21.76 seconds. Kasiya Daley, of Antigua and Barbuda, won the gold in 21.40 seconds and Ainsley McGregor, of Jamaica, took the silver in 21.70 seconds.

Smith also ran as a part of the under-18 boys 4x100m relay team. The quartet of Johnathan Rodgers, Smith, Trent Ford and Ishmael Rolle, finished in 41.19 seconds, just behind Jamaica who won the silver in 41.18 seconds. Trinidad and Tobago took the gold in 41.14 seconds. That was also the second medal of the meet for Rodgers – the gold medalist from the triple jump.

Koi Adderley won a bronze medal for The Bahamas in the under-18 girls high jump, clearing 1.65m (5' 5"). Jah'Kyla Morton, of the British Virgin Islands, won the gold with a meet record clearance of 1.74m (5' 8-1/2"). Trinidadian Shelbourne added to her bronze from the 400m hurdles, winning the silver medal in the high jump with a clearance of 1.71m (5' 7-1/4"). Adderley was third and the other Bahamian in that event, Androsian Tylah Pratt, finished fourth with a height of 1.60m (5' 3").

Shaun Miller Jr. won a bronze medal for The Bahamas in the under-23 men's high jump event, clearing 2.15m (7' 0-1/2"). Romaine Beckford, of Jamaica, won the gold with a height of 2.21m (7' 3") and Kason O'Riley, of the United States, won the silver medal with a clearance of 2.18m (7' 1-3/4).

Shaun's sister, Shaunece Miller, won a silver medal in the under-23 women's heptathlon event, but that was an exhibition. She scored 4,291 points to trail American Jadin O'Brien who won the gold with 5,778 points.

Overall, 24 young men and 24 young women competed in the three-day biennial championships for The Bahamas, giving the country 48 athletes in total. A total of 442 athletes from 28 of the 31 countries of the NACAC region competed in the championships.