LONDON, England - A total of 22 of the 24 athletes of Team Bahamas are here in London, England, ready for competition at the 16th International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Championships.
According to Head Coach Diane Woodside-Johnson, the remaining two athletes will arrive over the course of the next two days as competition is set to begin on Friday.
First up for The Bahamas will be Warren Fraser in the opening rounds of the men's 100 meters (m), immediately following the opening ceremony on Friday evening.
Team Bahamas had their first workout session on the practice track at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park yesterday morning.
"By Friday everyone should be here, and they should be ready to go," said Woodside-Johnson yesterday. "Only two of the athletes are not here as yet. Shaquania Dorsett has college commitments, and the other one has some personal issues to deal with, but everyone should be here by Friday, and we'll be ready to go."
The Bahamas has 10 athletes who will be competing in individual events, and the remainder are for relay duties. Some athletes such as Michael Mathieu and Carmiesha Cox, could be called upon to run both relays of their respective genders, here in London. Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the only athlete of Team Bahamas who qualified in two events - the women's 200 and 400m. She is currently ranked second in the world in the 200m, and is at number three in the women's 400m, but has run three of the top five times in the latter this season. Bianca Stuart, Tamara Myers and Fraser are the only members of Team Bahamas to be competing in individual events who have not qualified. They were invited by the IAAF based on their global rankings and the IAAF's athlete quota for their respective events.
Stuart will compete in the women's long jump, Myers will take part in the women's triple jump, and Fraser will line up in the men's 100m.
Stuart and Myers are the national record holders in their respective events, and Fraser is the joint third-fastest Bahamian sprinter of all-time, behind national record holder Derrick Atkins and Shavez Hart.
Led by Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner, who has been fantastic in the men's 400m this season, Head Coach Woodside-Johnson is expecting some great performances.
"I think we have a wonderful opportunity to win a few medals. The team is in real good spirits," she said. "It's a little nippy today, but they are out there feeling out the warm-up area, and trying out the stadium. I think they're good. From the first workout this morning, everyone looked pretty relaxed, and they are all upbeat."
Woodside-Johnson herself comes into these championships with a wealth of experience as a coach, having led the 2012 Bahamian Olympic squad and the 2015 world championships team. But, for a number of the Bahamian athletes, particularly the ones in the relay pools, this will be their first time representing The Bahamas at a major senior athletics meet. Be that as it may, Woodside-Johnson said the young athletes are not deterred at all. According to her, they are welcoming the challenge.
The 16th IAAF World Championships get underway this Friday at the Olympic Stadium here in London, and will run through August 13.

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