Imagine Chris “The Fireman” Brown meeting the challenge from young Steven Gardiner head on in the men’s 400 meters (m), or Anthonique Strachan trying to continue her dominance over what is now a much improved Shaunae Miller in the women’s 200m. What about young Latario Collie-Minns trying to unseat a rejuvenated “Superman” Leevan Sands as the best triple jumper in the country. That is just a taste of the intense match-ups that could be on display at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ (BAAA) Senior National Track and Field Championships this weekend. The two-day meet is set for Friday and Saturday at the old Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.
“I think that this particular group of athletes represent some of the highest level of competition and match-ups that we have had, across the board, in quite some time,” said BAAA President Mike Sands yesterday. “All of the events are stacked - the 100, 200, 400, hurdles, long jump, triple jump, and of course the high jump. There are going to be interesting match-ups all around, and the crowd is going to be in for quite a treat. We encourage the public to come out and support these fantastic athletes.”
The senior nationals will get underway at 5 p.m. both days.
The men’s triple jump competition will see the return of national record holder Sands to his signature event at the nationals. He has a season’s best leap of just 16.35m (53’ 7-3/4”), while the up-and-coming Collie-Minns has soared 17.18m (56’ 4-1/2”). The qualifying mark for this summer’s Beijing World Championships is 16.90m (55’ 5-1/2”). Sands is confident that he will achieve that mark before the end of the qualifying period.
In the women’s 200m, Strachan and Miller are expected to face off against each other. Strachan has owned that match-up in recent encounters, but Miller has broken the national record this year (22.14), and is at number two in the event worldwide. Strachan has a season’s best time of 22.69 seconds.
The men’s 400m is stacked, just like it has been for more than a decade now. National record holder Brown, although he hasn’t officially stated his intention to run that event yet, could be under fire from young Gardiner, just 19-years-old, Michael Mathieu, who has run close to his personal best this season, former three-time National Champion Demetrius Pinder, and Ramon Miller who is trying to make a successful return from an ankle injury. LaToy Williams is expected to be back as well. However, just Brown and Gardiner among that group has run under 45 seconds this year - Brown at 44.54 seconds, and Gardiner at a personal best time of 44.64 seconds. Both, along with Mathieu, have already qualified for Beijing in the men’s 400m, but Brown and Mathieu could very well run the 200m at the nationals. National record holder in the men’s 200m Mathieu, along with Shavez Hart (20.23) and Teray Smith (20.34) have qualified in that event for Beijing.
“We always encourage and strongly recommend that athletes participate in the event that they intend to compete in at the world championships, because number one, it takes away the subjectivity of the selection committee when it comes down to selecting athletes for national teams. The reality is the men’s 400m is stacked, and any number of them could go under 45 seconds and qualify for Beijing. Also, in some cases, athletes have to prove that they are on point to secure spots on the world championships team. We don’t have the luxury of depth as some of the larger nations, so we have to be very stringent when it comes down to selecting athletes. At the end of the day, given certain circumstances, we expect to consider each situation case by case. We don’t want to leave any athlete disenfranchised, so in that sense, we are strongly recommending to all athletes to participate in the event that they would wish to compete in at the nationals.”
The 15th International Association of Athletic Federations’ (IAAF) World Championships is now less than to months away, August 22-30, at Beijing’s National Stadium, otherwise known as the “Bird’s Nest”, in Beijing, China. Sands is hopeful that The Bahamas could be represented by about 20-25 athletes, including all four relay teams. So far, just one relay team has qualified, the men’s 4x400m team, but there is still time as the cut-off date for qualification os August 10.
“Well, we still have the NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean) Senior Championships and the Pan Am Games, so the opportunity is still there to qualify relay teams,” said Sands. “We don’t like being pushed to the last minute, but we do have several meets remaining. Of course, it would have been far more easier for us to qualify those relay teams at the world relays. We missed out on that opportunity but we can’t look back at that. We have to press forward. We’ve always maintained a level of confidence knowing what we are going up against. We’re going into the Pan Am Games in Canada, and NACAC in Costa Rica, and our hope is that the athletes will recognize the opportunity that is at hand and qualify the relay teams for Beijing.”
The 17th Pan American Games is set for July 10–26, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and just the 2nd NACAC Senior Athletics Championships is set for August 7-9 in San José, Costa Rica.
Both are qualifying competitions for the Beijing World Championships.
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