Steven Gardiner, left, is expected to face Chris "The Fireman" Brown, right, at the BAAA Senior National Track and Field Championships this week at the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
The theme 'Battle of the Stars' will loom large during the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Junior and Senior National Track and Field Championships this week. The juniors will compete on Wednesday and Thursday at the old Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium, and the seniors will see action on Friday and Saturday at the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. Both meets are expected to feature a number of compelling match-ups.
In the juniors, Devine Parker and Brianne Bethel have been running in separate age divisions all season long with Parker running in the under-18 division and Bethel contesting under-20, but both are expected to line up in the under-20 division this week, trying to solidify their spots on The Bahamas' team for the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World U20 Championships. Parker, 15, and Bethel, 17, have both qualified for the world u20s, in both short sprints.
Another interesting battle at the junior nationals could be between Charisma Taylor and Sasha Wells in the women's 100m hurdles. This one has been a rivalry for the past two years, as they compete in the same age group. Taylor has already qualified for the world u20s in this event, while Wells is still looking to book her ticket to the global event that will be held July 19-24 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It was Wells who had better finishes at the CARIFTA Games the past two years though.
Javan "50" Martin and Keanu Pennerman have been arguably the two best junior sprinters in the country over the past two years. They have also both qualified for the world u20s in the short sprints. Martin, 18, and Pennerman, 19, will battle at the BAAA junior nationals this weekend. Both are individual CARIFTA medalists, Martin in 2015 in St. Kitts & Nevis, and Pennerman this past year in St. George's, Grenada. They are expected to run both the 100 and 200m at the junior nationals.
The men's 110m hurdles at the junior nationals could be one the most compelling match-ups over the entire four days of competition. Athletes such as Tavonte Mott, Shakeem Smith, Branson Rolle, and possibly Kendrick Thompson, could go after the top prize, looking to represent The Bahamas on the global stage. Mott and Smith won silver and bronze respectively for The Bahamas at this year's CARIFTA Games, easily qualifying for the world u20s. Thompson competes in the combined events, but is arguably The Bahamas' best junior athlete and is close to the qualifying mark for the men's 110m hurdles, and Rolle has been running strong in the under-18 boys division all season.
On the senior side, Bahamians will be looking to make Team Bahamas for the Olympic Games, set for August 5-21, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Everyone is anticipating the return of Anthonique Strachan on a local track. She is expected to contest the women's 200m, where she will line up against the second fastest Bahamian female over that distance this year, Tynia Gaither. Gaither had a strong collegiate season for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans, ending her college eligibility with personal best times in both the 100m (11.19 seconds) and 200m (22.54 seconds). She has qualified for the Olympics in both events.
Strachan has ran a couple 400m races this year, but is set to contest just the 200m at the nationals. National record holder Shaunae Miller will run just the 400m. Fellow Olympic qualifiers Sheniqua Ferguson and Carmiesha Cox could factor into the equation as well.
Once again, the men's 400m is loaded. All of the big names are home and are expected to compete. National record holder Steven Gardiner is the fastest over 400m this year with his season's best time of 44.62 seconds in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month; Chris "The Fireman" Brown is still going strong at age 37; Michael Mathieu and Alonzo Russell just dropped sub-46 races in Montverde, Florida; and Demetrius Pinder is back and running strong. Just like the women's 200m, five Bahamians have qualified for the Olympics in the men's 400m.
"When you look at all of the match-ups this week, we anticipate that this will be the most competitive nationals in many years, junior and senior," said BAAA Public Relations Officer Phillip Grey.
"The number of athletes alone is unprecedented. The junior athletes are vying for the world juniors and the seniors are gunning for the Olympics. There is going to be fierce competition in a number of events, and that will set us up to have strong teams at both the world juniors and the Olympics. These will be the largest teams we field in quite some time. We have done a lot of work in preparation for this week, so we anticipate that it will be a smooth process from the juniors to the seniors, and then of course to the gala awards show on Sunday. We're just asking Bahamians to come out and support the athletes."
As Grey mentioned, the BAAA Gala Awards Show will be held on Sunday. The event, which will recognize athletes and coaches for top performances during the 2015 season, will get underway at 7 p.m. on Sunday July 26 at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.
Tickets for the nationals this weekend are priced at $7 for adults, $5 for children, $15 for VIP, and can be obtained at the BAAA office at the Thomas A. Robinson stadium.
Sheldon Longley, Guardian Sports Editor
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