On Sunday afternoon in Barcelona, Spain, at the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) World Junior Track and Field Championships, triple jumper Latario Collie-Minns jumped 16.37m (53' 8-3/4") for the bronze medal.
This effort by Collie-Minns brought The Bahamas a total of four medals - two gold and two bronze, the best The Bahamas had ever done in these championships.
The winner was Cuban Pedro Pichardo, who jumped 16.79m (55' 1-1/4"). Russian Artem Primak jumped 16.60m (54' 5-3/4).
A total of 20 years ago next month Frank Rutherford won The Bahamas' first Olympic track and field medal in Barcelona with a bronze in the triple jump.
Strachan is Double Champion
Anthonique Strachan captured two gold medals, in the 100 and 200 meters (m). In the 100m, she ran 11.20 seconds, a personal best. In the 200m she ran 22.53 seconds, a new championships and Bahamian National Junior record.
Ingraham Wins Bronze
Ryan Ingraham cleared 2.24m (7' 4-1/4") in the High Jump. His performance was tied with the gold and silver medal winners but Ingraham had more misses.
Miller Finishes Fourth
Shaunae Miller achieved fourth place in the 400m in 51.71 seconds. The winner Ashley Spencer from the United States did a new championships record of 50.50 seconds. Miller won the 2010 championships in the 400m and the 2011 World Youth Championships.
Men's 4x100m National Junior Record
The men's 4x100m relay team of Blake Bartlett, Teray Smith, Shane Jones and Stephen Newbold ran 39.74 seconds for seventh place in the final. This was the second time that a Bahamian 4x100m men's relay team made it to the final. To get to the final the team of Anthony Farrington, Blake Bartlett, Shane Jones and Stephen Newbold ran 39.48 seconds, a new Bahamian National Junior record.
At the inaugural IAAF World Junior Championships in Athens, Greece, in 1986, The Bahamas' team of Garland Miller, Glendale Miller, Mark Johnson and Michael Newbold finished sixth.
Smith seventh in 200m
Teray Smith placed seventh in the 200m in 20.99 seconds.
Other Regional Highlights
The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) region had some splendid and unusual performances.
World Youth Champion Frederick Dacres of Jamaica won the discus event one more time. This time he threw 62.80m (206' 0"). Then Trinidad & Tobago's Keshorn Walcott threw the javelin 78.64m (258' 0") to win that event. Two weeks ago in El Salvador at the CAC Junior Championships, Walcott threw the spear 82.83m (271' 8-3/4") for an Olympic qualifying spot and world leading performance for a junior.
The region is known for sprinters and jumpers. Cuba has done well in the throws in international competition. The performance of these two junior athletes in Barcelona provides the region with promise. The Dominican Republic's Luguelin Santos won the 400m in 44.85 seconds. Delano Williams of the Turks & Caicos Islands captured the 200m in 20.48 seconds for a new national record. Williams had attempted to make the Great Britain team for the Olympic Games without success. His country does not have a National Olympic Committee.
Jamaica's Janieve Russell captured the 400m hurdles with a 56.62 seconds clocking. Colombia's Eider Arevalo clocked 40:04.74 in the 10,000m race walk.
Performances of Note at World Level
There were several performances of note at the world level. I have selected the women's pole vault by Sweden's Angelica Bengtsson. She cleared a new championships record of 4.50m (14' 9-1/4"). In the men's hammer throw, Qatar's Asraf Amagad Elseify set a new World Junior record of 85.57m (280' 8-3/4"). In the stands was Yuri Sedykh who set the world record in the event of 86.74m (284' 7") at the European Championships in Athens in 1986.
The world record holder was there to watch his daughter Alexis Sedykh win the silver medal in the hammer with a throw of 67.34m (220' 11") for France.
Not an outstanding performance in the league of Bengtsson and Elseify, but of note to Bahamians, was the victory of Great Britain's Katrina Johnson-Thompson in the long jump. She jumped a windy 6.81m (22' 4-1/4"). It has been reported that Katrina's father hails from The Bahamas.
The Bahamas' BTC World Junior Championships Team finished in ninth place in the medal standings. The United States finished with eight gold, four silver and seven bronze for a total of 19 medals.
Onward to Eugene, Oregon
The 2014 World Junior Championships will be held in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is called Track Town, USA. We all await the possibilities of the Bahamian team in two years.
The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) was the title sponsor of The Bahamas' team. Hence, this year's team is called the BTC Bahamas World Junior Team. Thank you BTC and everybody else who made this fantastic performance possible.
Medal Standings
Country
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
United States
8
4
7
19
Kenya
4
4
5
13
Ethiopia
3
3
1
7
Cuba
3
0
1
4
Germany
2
4
0
6
Russia
2
2
3
7
Jamaica
2
2
1
5
Great Britain
2
1
2
5
The Bahamas
2
0
2
4
Qatar
2
0
0
2
Others from this region
14th Colombia
1
0
1
2
14th Trinidad & Tobago 1
0
1
2
18th Dominican Republic 1
0
0
1
18th Turks & Caicos
1
0
0
1
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