Bahamian sprinter says she doubts she will compete at area championships in Freeport

Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 10, 2022 70 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

From Eugene, Oregon, to Birmingham, England, to Chorzów, Poland, and finally to Székesfehérvár, Hungary, it’s been a busy three weeks for Bahamian sprinter TyNia Gaither, and now it appears that she can finally get some rest before heading home.

The Bahamian speedster has been named to Team Bahamas for the 4th North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Track and Field Championships, set for next weekend at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama, but the question is, will she run? Gaither has already said she doubts she will compete because of a compacted schedule.

Gaither, 29, hails from Freeport, Grand Bahama, and is regarded as the best female sprinter to come from the nation’s second city. So, one would naturally expect that she would want to run at home in Freeport in the first ever area championships to be held in The Bahamas. Additionally, a victory would give her a wildcard entry into next year’s World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Gaither is listed to run the 100 and 200 meters (m) in Freeport, as well as the women’s 4x100m relay. She is a part of a 30-member team that will represent The Bahamas here at home. However, it remains to be seen if Gaither will compete. Following NACAC, there are still a few more meets on the schedule in Europe before the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich, Switzerland, from September 7-8.

At her last event, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Meet, dubbed the Gyulai István Memorial – Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix Meet, in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, on Monday, Gaither finished fifth in the women’s 200m in 22.63 seconds. Jamaican Shericka Jackson, the second-fastest woman ever in that event, won in 22.02 seconds, Mujinga Kambundji, of Switzerland, finished second in 22.45 seconds, and American Kayla White rounded out the top three in 22.46 seconds. Another American, Tamara Clark, also finished ahead of Gaither, shopping the clock in fourth in 22.56 seconds.

This has been a phenomenal year for Gaither, coming close to her personal best time (PB) in the 100m and setting a new PB in the 200m. The latter has always been her preferred event – she is a two-time World Athletics Championships finalist in the 200m, just missing a third straight finals appearance in Eugene, Oregon, this year. Still, she was able to run PB of 22.41 seconds in the women’s 200m semifinals in Eugene.

In the 100m, Gaither’s personal best time is 11.02 seconds – just outside the 11-second barrier. She is number eight all-time among Bahamians in the women’s 100m and number seven all-time among Bahamians in the women’s 200m.

Just one other Bahamian was in action at the Bregyó Athletic Center in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, on Monday.

Donald Thomas, now 15 years removed from that world title in Osaka, Japan, finished tied for sixth in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.14m (7’ 0-1/4”). Gianmarco Tamberi, of Italy, won that event, clearing 2.24m (7’ 4-1/4”). Tobias Potye, of Germany, finished second. He also cleared 2.24m but lost to Tamberi based on number of knockdowns. Andriy Protsenko, of the Ukraine, finished third with a clearance of 2.18m (7’ 1-3/4”).

Meanwhile, Gaither apparently has her sights set on finishing the season strong by qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich. Just the top eight athletes in each discipline will qualify for the final. Gaither is currently in a four-way tie for fifth place in the women’s 200m standings with 10 points – five from a fourth place finish in Stockholm, Sweden, at the end of June, and five from a fourth place finish in Chorzów, Poland, on Saturday past.

If Gaither stays in the top eight, she will earn a chance to compete in the final in Zurich, where she will have an opportunity to be crowned Wanda Diamond League Champion.

In the last three weeks, Gaither has run eight races – four rounds of the 100m and another four rounds of the 200m. Be that as it may, she continues to progress nicely through what has been one of her better seasons in athletics.

https://thenassauguardian.com/will-tynia-run-at-nacac/

As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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Alonzo Russell being interviewed.

Alonzo Russell checking the replay.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BIRMINGHAM, England: Alonzo Russell felt he gave all he had but, despite a comeback down the stretch, it wasn’t enough to get a lane in Sunday’s final of the men’s 400 metres.

#In his semi-final run at the Commonwealth Games on Friday night at Alexander Stadium, Russell had to make up a huge deficit in lane nine coming off the final curve – but he managed to surge from sixth place to fourth.

#At the finish line, he was timed in 46.40 in the last of the three heats which was won by England’s Matthew Hudson-Smith in 45.77. Russell’s performance placed him 10th overall, two spots shy of getting into Sunday’s final.

#“I still have to give God thanks for allowing me to recover from the flu and to bringing me to this point to run in the semi-finals,” he said, noting that he under the weather when he got here. “I give God thanks for being here.”

#The 30-year-old Russell qualified out of the heats on Wednesday with the 15th fastest time of 48.41. The Grand Bahama native, who has a season’s best of 45.65, which was just off his personal best of 45.25,

#Russell is coming off an appearance at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon two weeks ago when he ran with Doneisha Anderson, Megan and Bradley Dormeus for 15th place overall in the mixed 4 x 400m relay in a season’s best of 3:19.73.

#Prior to this year’s Commonwealth Games, Russell participated on two men’s 4 x 400m relay teams that won silver in the Gold Coast, Australia in 2018 and in Glasgow, Scotland in 2012. With no relay team here, Russell was hoping to at least get in the final in the individual 400m.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/aug/05/alonzo-russell-misses-out-final-place-finishes-fou/?news

As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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Kendrick Thompson

DECATHLETE Kendrick Thompson is interviewed by the media yesterday. He was in 7th place after day one of the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BIRMINGHAM, England — Although he’s currently in seventh place in the men’s decathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Kendrick Thompson said he still has the confidence that he can perform much better.

#In his debut at the global international level, Thompson mustered a total of 3,883 points from the first five events on day one of the men’s decathlon yesterday at the Alexander Stadium. Grenada’s Lindon Victor is out front with 4,327 points.

#“For my first major decathlon, I fell short in a couple of events, but I’m happy with the results. I’m really happy with myself,” Thompson said. “I know what I have to do tomorrow (today) to get back in the competition, so I just have to go out there and do it.”

#Thompson, making history as the first Bahamian to compete in the multiple events at the games, was even more ecstatic when he watched as LaQuan Nairn became the first Bahamian male jumper to win the Commonwealth title.

#“I was really proud of LaQuan. He inspired me to go out there and really do the 400m,” said Thompson, whose final event of the day came just as Nairn was taking his victory lap.

#“He told me to go out there and do my thing. When he won the gold, I was very proud of him. 242 to the world.”

#As he started off the two-day competition, Thompson shook off a false start as he had to settle for seventh in the second run of the 100 metres in 11.18 seconds for 821 points.

#He then got fourth in the long jump with a leap of 24-feet, 4 ½-inches or 7.43 metres for 918 points, seventh in the shot put with a heave of 38-2 (11.63m) for 584 points, sixth in the high jump with 6-4 ¼ (1.94m) for 749 points and was seventh in the 400m in 50.07 for 811 points.

#“The crowd was so supportive of all of us,” Thompson said. “I never heard so much people cheering for me in my life. That helped to encourage me to go out there and do it when I struggled in some of my events.”

#The 24-year-old Thompson, who attends the University of the Bahamas, will come back today to close out competition in the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and the 1,500m.

#Yesterday, Denisha Cartwright just missed out on a spot in the semi-final of the women’s 200 metres after she placed fifth in the fifth of seven heats in 24.49 for 25th overall. Abi Galpin of Guuernsey got third in the third heat in 24.47 for the 24th and final spot.

#The top qualifier was Favour Ofili of Nigeria in 22.71. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, coming off her gold medal in the 100m the night before, had the second fastest time of 22.80.

#Tynia Gaither, seventh in the 100m, was scheduled to compete in the half-lap race, but she left for Poland to compete in her next meet on the European circuit.

#Today, joining Thompson in competition will be Devynne Charlton and Alonzo Russell, while Kaiwan Culmer will have to wait until Sunday to get in his action.

#Charlton, the national record holder, will open her quest for her first Commonwealth Games medal to add to the World Indoor silver she got in March when she competes in the second of three heats in the 200m hurdles in lane five at 5:36am EST.

#Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who established a world record in the semi-finals before she won the gold medal in the final, is a part of the field that will also include Jamaica’s Megan Tapper, who will run in lane three in the same heat with Charlton. Amusan will be in heat three.

#The final is set for Sunday at 5:25 am EST.

#The 30-year-old Russell, who got third in his first round heat in 46.41 for 15th place overall, will run out of lane nine in the last of the three heats of the men’s 400m semi-finals.

#He will have to be one of the top finishers or wait for one of the two slowest times to advance to Sunday’s final at 5.45 am EST.

#Culmer’s triple jump has gone to a straight final on Sunday at 8:05 am EST. He will be the final competitor to compete for the Bahamas as there are no teams entered in the 4 x 400m relays for women and men to bring the curtain down on these exciting games.

#On Saturday, the wrestling competition will begin with two Bahamians participating at the Coventry Stadium.

#Thorn Demeritte will be up first when he takes on Charlie Bowling from England in the men’s freestyle 74 kilogram class, while Rashji Mackey will follow when he faces Tayab Raza of Pakistan in the men’s freestyle 87 Kg class.

.http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/aug/05/decathlete-ken-thompson-7th-after-day-1/?news

LORIN SAWYER, chef de mission Roy Colebrooke, Felix Neely and Kenton Roker are pictured above, left to right.

As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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BAHAMIAN cyclist Felix Neely is interviewed by the host broadcast team yesterday after competing in the time trials of the cycling competition at the Commonwealth Games.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BIRMINGHAM, England — Having gotten their feet wet in the time trials yesterday as the cycling competition got underway at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, both Lorin Sawyer and Felix Neely indicated that they will now be better prepared for Sunday’s gruelling road race.

#The duo, competing in their first global competition, had their share of difficulties on the course in West Park, but survived with a 44th place for Sawyer in one hour, two minutes and 19.72 seconds and 54th for Neely in 1:07.58.03 in the final spot.

Lorin Sawyer on his bike after his race.

#“It was a rough course. It’s a lot different from what we’re used to in the Bahamas,” said Sawyer, a businessman from Spanish Wells. “We’re used to having a flat course in the time trials, but there was a lot of turns and we really didn’t get a chance to test out the course.

#“We got here late and only had a chance to ride it in a car. So we were totally blinded going into the race. It’s totally different when you are actually out there riding the course. There were a lot of turns and you kind of slow down more than you think. So it was very technical and that was what killed me.”

#Sawyer, who was accompanied by his wife Dianne, said he anticipates a much better showing in the road race. “Being in the peloton makes it so much easier,” he pointed out. “I have a lot of confidence going into the race. It’s also good to have a teammate in the race. So I think we should be able to work well together.”

#For Neely, the youngest competitor in the field at age 19, it was an experience that he won’t soon forget.

#“I felt like I did the best I could in the time trials and that should get me ready for the road race,” Neely said. “I just want to say thank you to the Bahamas Cycling Federation for allowing me to make it here and also the people from Black Village, who really supported me.”

#At the start of the race, both Neely and Sawyer also slipped and fell on the first turn as they had to slow down and adjust their brakes to avoid colliding into the barriers along the course that separated the spectators.

#“That was a very sharp turn and I wasn’t expecting it. As I approached it, I said I was going too fast, so I had to slow down.

#“Then my brakes slipped, but I managed to hold it just before I hit the railing,” Neely said.

#“I was able to make up the time, but it was cold and windy. I wasn’t used to it. It was a very hard course. I’m happy that I finished, I was very proud when I passed the finish line.”

#As he prepares for the road race, the CR Walker Secondary High School graduate now employed at Cycles Unlimited as a mechanic, said he will use the next two days to do some hydration before he goes “full blast” on Sunday.

#Kenton Roker, who serves as the coach of the team, said he felt Neely and Sawyer did the best that they could.

#“Felix is the youngest competitor in cycling and he did extremely well for his age and his experience,” Roker said. “Lorin Sawyer also did extremely well, considering that we don’t have any hills to train on. But the spectators were spectacular. They really cheered them on.”

#Chef de mission Roy Colebrooke, who also serves as the president of the Bahamas Cycling Federation, said the appearances of the two cyclists comes on the heels of Jay Major and Anthony Colebrooke, who both represented the Bahamas at the games in the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018.

#At those games, Colebrooke got 52nd in the time trials and he and Major didn’t complete the road race. Colebrooke said Sawyer and Neely successfully completed one half of the competition here and they eagerly await to see what they will do in the second half on Sunday.

#“Felix was the youngest competitor in the field, competing against some top-notch competitors and Lorin’s time succeeded any time we would have done previously, so we’re looking forward to the road race on Sunday,” Colebrooke said.

#In preparation for the event, Colebrooke said they will ensure that both competitors get a dry run through the course because it’s so technical when they go out and compete. He said he expects both cyclists will be ready for the challenge ahead of them.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/aug/05/cyclists-get-gear-sundays-gruelling-road-race/?news

As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BIRMINGHAM, England — In looking at the performances of the nine swimmers as they left the Commonwealth Games and are now heading back home, coach Andy Loveitt said Team Bahamas had a successful showing.

“Training prior to competition went very well and at the team meeting prior to competition we set the goal of swimmers attempting to make the top 16 and hopefully a final,” said Loveitt who, along with Travano McPhee, coached the team.

“We achieved both and the swimmers can be extremely happy with their performances.”

Loveitt said if there’s one swimmer that should be singled out, it was Lamar Taylor, who made the final in the men’s 50 metre freestyle and finished 7th to go along with his other events, including 50m Fly 18th ( PB), 50m Back 20th, 100m Back 21st and 100m Free 23rd.

Two swimmers made semi-final appearances with Lilly Higgs in the 50m breaststroke for 15th place and the 100m breaststroke in 16th, while Davante Carey in the 50m backstroke came in 16th in a new Bahamas national record.

Carey also had strong swims in the 200m backstroke in 18th, 100m backstroke in 19th and the 100m butterfly in 25th place. “The 200m races went straight to final from heats and the Bahamas had two top 16 places achieved by Katelyn Cabral coming in 12th in the 200m backstroke and Zaylie Elizabeth-Thompson was 13th in the 200m breaststroke.

“Zaylie also had a 21st place finish in the 200m freestyle and a 34th place finish in the 100m free.

Katelyn had the following other results – 50m backstroke in 24th, 100m butterfly in 28th, 50m butterfly in 34th and 50m freestyle in 46th.”

The other three members of the team, according to Loveitt, all achieved a top 20 finish. Rhanishka Gibbs, the youngest member of the team at age 16, was 17th in the 50m breaststroke, Luke Thompson was 19th in the 400m freestyle in a personal best and Izaak Bastian got 20th in the 50m breaststroke.

Gibbs also had the following results in the 50m freestyle for 22nd in a personal best, 23rd in the 100m breaststroke and 43rd in the 100m freestyle, while Bastian also had a 23rd place in the 100m breaststroke, Luke-Kennedy Thompson was 24th in the 50m breaststroke and 26th with a personal best in the 200m freestyle.

“The team competed in two relays and they narrowly missed making the mixed 400m free relay final with a 9th place finish and they also placed 11th in the mixed 400m medley relay,” Loveitt said.

“I was extremely happy with the overall performance of the team and thank the swimmers for their efforts. I would like to see these results bettered at next year’s Pan American Games in Chile with all relay teams entered and a goal of progressing forward from the results achieved in the last games in Lima, Peru, in 2019.”

The team departed Birmingham yesterday, spending some time in London before they head home today.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/aug/05/swimmers-can-be-extremely-happy-their-performances/?news

Devynne Charlton in Birmingham.

As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BIRMINGHAM, England: World indoor silver medalist Devynne Charlton moved one step closer to adding a 2022 Commonwealth Games medal to her collection.

#The Bahamian national record holder chased Jamaican Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper through the finish line of the second of the three women’s heats of the 100 metres hurdles on Friday morning at the Alexander Stadium.

#Coming on the heels of LaQuan Nairn’s historic gold medal performance in the men’s long jump on Thursday night, Charlton clocked 12.70 seconds to trail Tapper, the winner of the heat in 12.68. While Tapper had the fourth best qualifying time, Charlton followed with the fifth.

#Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who shattered the world record in the semi-finals on her way to winning the gold at the World Championships two weeks ago in Eugene, Oregon, came into Birmingham on a high, posting the fastest qualifying time of 12.40.

#The final at 5:25 am EST on Sunday’s final day of competition at the games will have Charlton running out of lane in lane seven, sandwiched between Australia’s Michelle Jenneke in six and Jamaica’s World Championships silver medallist Danielle Williams in eight.

#Amusan will be in five with Tapper in four and World Championships’ eighth place finisher Cindy Sember of Great Britain will be in three. Canadian Michelle Harrison will occupy lane two and Australia’s Celeste Mucci will go in lane one.

#The 26-year-old Charlton, coming of her seventh place finish at the World Championships, is hoping for successful debut in her first Commonwealth Games experience.

#“It was a decent execution. My start wasn’t there like it usually is, so I have go back and see where I can make the improvement,” said Charlton, whose parents Laura and (sometimes coach) Dave Charlton are here to support her.

#On competing next to Tapper, who missed a spot in the final in Eugene with ninth place overall behind Charlton’s eighth and final qualifying spot in the semi-finals, she said she was able to feed off her opponent’s fast start as she maneuvered over the ten flights of hurdles to get back into the race.

#“It was good to have her beside me in the race,” Charlton stated.

#With the buzz still around Nairn’s gold medal performance, Charlton said she missed the excitement because she went to bed “super early”, but it was the first thing she heard about when she got up this morning to compete.

#“I’m just super proud of him,” she said. “This is his first year on the senior stage like this so to see his progression from junior athlete to now is very special.”

#Come Sunday, Charlton said she has one goal in mind and that is to get the podium with whatever colour she can negotiate.

#“I would like to win it all, but I have a couple things to work on before I get back out here,” she stated. “I know that it will be a better race.”

#And with another jam packed spectator stand for the morning session, Charlton said she’s even more inspired and motivated because she “felt the energy”.

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As of Friday, August 5, 2022

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Kendrick Thompson after his withdrawal from the event.

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BIRMINGHAM, England: An injury to his left ankle during the pole vault competition forced Kendrick Thompson to withdraw during the javelin throw from the men’s decathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Friday night.

#After he twisted his ankle on his second height in the pole vault at the end of the early morning session at the Alexander Stadium, Thompson got some treatment and was able to return to start the evening final session.

#Then 24-year-old Thompson took one throw in the javelin and left the competition. He was in too much pain to come back out to complete the gruelling two-day event in the 1,500 metres, which didn’t allow him to have any scores posted to his ledger at the end of the night.

#“After I cleared the first height at 4.20 metres, I tried to go for the second height at 4.30m when I landed awkwardly and twisted my ankle,” Thompson said. “I tried to go in the javelin, which was my best event, but I couldn’t do no more after the first throw.”

#Grenada’s Lindon Victor went on to secure the gold in the event with 8,233 points, while Australia got the silver and bronze from Daniel Golubovic and Cedric Dubler with 8,197 and 8,030 points respectively.

#Thompson, who made history as the first Bahamian to compete in the multi-event at these games, was sitting in seventh place at the end of the first day of competition with 3,883 points.

#Events contested on the first day were the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m. The final day’s events included the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m.

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 Home|Sports|Youth sailors head to Optimist European ChampionshipsSports

The Nassau GuardianSend an emailAugust 5, 2022 207 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas’ National Optimist Team is looking to make headlines again, as they compete in the Optimist European Championships at the Sønderborg Yacht Club in Sønderborg, Denmark.

Right on the heels of participation in the Optimist World Championships in Bodrum, Turkey, achieving great success, a quartet of young Bahamians head to Denmark to race in yet another world-class event. A total of five Bahamians competed in the Optimist World Championships in Turkey.

The team for the European Championships comprises of 12-year-old Mary Jac Nash, 14-year-old Eliza Denning and 12-year-old Sienna Jones, all of whom sail with Lyford Cay Sailing. Also, on the team is 13-year-old Jude McCarroll who sails with the Royal Nassau Sailing Club.

There are 257 sailors from 42 countries registered for the Optimist European Championships this year. The weather forecast looks favorable with comfortable wind speeds, possibly a little rain and temperatures 

somewhat lower than at home here in The Bahamas, around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Our team of four are excited to be given the opportunity to represent The Bahamas at this prestigious sailing championships,” the Bahamas National Sailing School stated in a press release. “For most of them, it’s their first-time visiting Europe and sailing internationally. They have been training hard all year in preparation and it will give them a huge amount of experience for the North American Championships (OPTINAMs) which will be hosted in New Providence, The Bahamas, this November.

The optimist sailboat is the world’s most popular youth-trainer boat, with literally hundreds of thousands of young sailors competing globally. It is a single-sailed one-person boat that teaches all the fundamentals of the sport, so that young sailors could learn the sport early and then progress into larger boats. The age limit is 15-years-old. ‘Optis’ are currently sailed by dozens of children at various locations on New Providence and on a number of Family Islands. 

https://thenassauguardian.com/youth-sailors-head-to-optimist-european-championships/

 Home|Sports|Strachan advances to javelin final; going after goldSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 5, 2022 256 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Today could be another golden day for The Bahamas in athletics as Keyshawn Strachan soared into the final of the men’s javelin at the World Athletics U20 (Under-20) Championships at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia.

Strachan had a massive throw of 76.87 meters (m) – 252’ 2” – in the qualifying rounds of the javelin yesterday – good enough for the farthest qualifying mark in the opening round. There was an automatic qualifying distance of 72.50m (237’ 10”) for the final, and Strachan sailed over that mark. Just three other athletes, including world leader Artur Felfner, of the Ukraine, matched or surpassed the automatic qualifying distance. Felfner had a qualifying distance of 75.77m (248’ 7”) yesterday, German Max Dehning had a qualifying distance of 73.10m (239’ 10”), and György Herczeg, of Hungary, was the only other athlete to attain the qualifying distance with a throw of 72.63m (238’ 3”).

The 12 bests throwers out of the qualifying round will compete in the final which is set for 6 p.m. this evening. Strachan will be the ninth thrower in the final – one spot ahead of world leader Felfner.

Felfner has an under-20 world-leading throw of 84.32m (276’ 7”). Strachan is right behind, in second on World Athletics Top Performance List for 2022, with a personal best national record throw of 79.89m (262’ 1”) which was done for the gold medal at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston, Jamaica, in April.

In the competition yesterday, Strachan didn’t get his automatic qualifying heave until his third attempt. He had throws of 65.96m (216’ 5”) and 71.42m (234’ 4”) on his first two attempts. His third attempt was more than four meters over the automatic qualifying distance.

Strachan is looking for a strong finish to the season, building on the gold and CARIFTA record at the CARIFTA Games and a gold medal winning throw in the High School Boys Division at the Penn Relays. He is the holder of The Bahamas’ junior and senior national record in the men’s javelin despite being just 18-years-old.

Meanwhile, the country is still buzzing from Antoine Andrews’ gold medal in the men’s 110m hurdles on Wednesday. Andrews tied the under-20 world-leading time of 13.23 seconds and also broke the junior national record of 13.36 seconds that he set in the heats.

“I’m overwhelmed … I feel pretty good,” said Andrews from Cali, Colombia. “In my opinion, this was the best executed race I ever had in the hurdles. I just had to go out there, stay focused and relaxed and leave it all out on the track. I just want to say thanks to God for through Him all things are possible. Also, thanks to my family and friends and all of my supporters back home.”

This is Andrews’ last year in the junior ranks and what a progression he made. Last year, he was 23rd overall at the World Junior Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in 14.08 seconds. This year, he has shaved nearly a full second off that time. Both Andrews and his St. John’s College classmate Strachan will compete as senior athletes next year.

Andrews said he is looking forward to the transition from the junior to the senior ranks and said he is confident he will be able to experience continued success despite taking on higher barriers. The height for the hurdles on the senior side is 1.067 meters compared to .99 of a meter on the junior side.

“I feel like it will be a slight adjustment for me,” said Andrews. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.” The Bahamian junior will have his first taste of senior competition at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) Track and Field Championships later this month in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

“He has showed tremendous progression,” said Andrews’ coach Daron Lightbourne yesterday. He has been coaching Andrews for the past two seasons. “I’m very happy with how he was able to execute out there. He experienced a lot of ups and downs, but he worked very hard this year to get to this point. He conquered every round as they came and was confident that he would go out there and perform in the final. After the semifinals, we felt that he just needed to make sure clear all of the hurdles and it would be smooth sailing for him. We’re very happy. It’s just about being more technical and sticking with this event. He wants to be in it for the long run and he wants to continue setting personal best and national record times.”

Andrews plans to go off to university in January and is looking to continue his success in the sprint hurdles. He said as long as he stays healthy, he has no doubt that he will be able to continue to progress in the hurdles and be among the top runners in that event in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) system.

Back to the competition yesterday, Paige Archer and Lacarthea Cooper were in action for The Bahamas in the women’s 200m heats. Archer was fourth in her opening round heat and finished 25th overall in a personal best run of 23.92 seconds. She just missed advancing to the semifinals by two one hundredths of a second. Cooper finished seventh in her heat and was 40th overall in 24.44 seconds.

 In the men’s 4x100m relay, The Bahamas’ team of Andrews, Wanya McCoy, Carlos Brown Jr. and Zachary Evans, in that order, ran 40.09 seconds in their semifinal heat. The Bahamas was third in that heat and finished 10th overall, missing the final by about two tenths of a second.

The Bahamas’ women’s 4x100m relay team of Shatalya Dorsett, Lacarthea Cooper, Paige Archer and Javonya Valcourt, in that order, was seventh in their heat and finished 15th overall in 46.51 seconds.

Apart from Strachan, competing today for The Bahamas will be the men’s 4x400m relay team. That team will step on the track at 12:15 p.m., running out of lane eight in the first of three semifinal heats. The top two teams in each semifinal heat and the next two fastest teams will advance to Saturday’s final.

The men’s 4x400m relay final will bring the curtain down on the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships on Saturday. That event will run at 6:43 p.m. on Saturday.

https://thenassauguardian.com/strachan-advances-to-javelin-final-going-after-gold/

https://thenassauguardian.com/strachan-advances-to-javelin-final-going-after-gold/

Sports

He becomes first Bahamian to win gold in the men’s long jump at the Commonwealth Games

Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 5, 2022 369 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The past two days has shown just how mighty The Bahamas is in athletics, and, by extension, sports!

Just a day after Antoine Andrews won gold for The Bahamas at the World Juniors, halfway across the world, LaQuan Nairn – another St. John’s College product – was golden at the 22nd Commonwealth Games.

Nairn popped a massive leap of 8.08 meters (m) – 26’ 6-1/4” – on his second attempt at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, on Thursday, to capture the gold. Sreeshankar Sreeshankar, of India, had an identical leap of 8.08m, but Nairn had the better second-best jump to give him the edge. Jovan Van Vuuren, of South Africa, had a best leap of 8.06m (26’ 5-1/2”) for the bronze.

Nairn, who has been around the eight-meter mark all season, had a fantastic series of jumps, leaping 7.94m (26’ 0-3/4”) in the first round, 8.08m in the second round, and fouled in the third and fourth rounds before closing out with jumps of 7.84m (25’ 8-3/4”) and 7.98m (26’ 2-1/4”). It was a wire-to-wire win for the Bahamian national record holder indoors.

His victory didn’t come as a major surprise as he went into the final with the second-best jump in qualifying, and is listed as number nine on World Athletics Top Performance List for 2022. Nairn has a season’s and personal best leap of 8.22m (26’ 11-3/4”), trailing just national record holder Craig Hepburn among Bahamians all-time in the men’s long jump.

Nairn’s glorious gold is the 38th medal in the history of the Commonwealth Games for The Bahamas – 11 gold, 15 silver and 12 bronze.

Nairn is coming off a performance at the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in which he failed to make the men’s long jump final, but bounced back in a big way in Birmingham. It’s his first gold medal at a major senior games, and also the first gold medal in the men’s long jump in the history of the Commonwealth Games for The Bahamas.

Also competing on Thursday for The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games were Kendrick Thompson in the men’s decathlon, Denisha Cartwright in the women’s 200m heats and Lorin Sawyer and Felix Neely in cycling.

Cartwright finished fifth in her first-round heat of the women’s 200m, and finished 25th overall, with a run of 24.49 seconds. She missed advancing to the semis by two one hundredths of a second. TyNia Gaither was scheduled to run in the heats of the women’s 200m as well, but was a no-show for the start of her race and listed as a DNS (did not start) on the official race sheet.

Thompson got his men’s decathlon competition underway, competing in the men’s 100m, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump and the 400m. His best placement in the five events was a fourth place finish in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.43m (24’ 4-1/2”).

Thompson ran a subpar 11.18 seconds in the men’s 100m, leapt 7.43m (24’ 4-1/2”) in the men’s long jump, had a throw of 11.63m (38’ 1-3/4”) in the men’s shot put, cleared 1.94m (6’ 4-1/4”) in the men’s high jump, and finished off the first day of competition with a run of 50.07 seconds in the men’s 400m.

Thompson is currently in seventh place in the competition, totaling 3,883 points. He is making history as the first Bahamian to compete in a multi events competition for The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games.

The Caribbean, specifically Grenada, is well-represented among the medal contenders as defending champion Lindon Victor leads the way with 4,327 points, and his countryman Kurt Felix is in the bronze medal position with 4,145 points. Cedric Dubler, of Australia, is sandwiched between the two Grenadians with 4,242 points.

The men’s decathlon competition wraps up today with the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m.

In the Men’s Individual Time Trial in cycling, Lorin Sawyer was 44th overall out of 54 competitors in 1:02:19.72, finishing about 16 minutes behind the winner. He had an average speed of 36.003 kilometers per hour for the 37.4-kilometer road course. Felix Neely finished 54th overall in 1:07:58.03, about 21 and a half minutes behind the winner. He had an average speed of 33.016 kilometers per hour.

Rohan Dennis, of Australia, won the gold medal in 46:21.24, Fred Wright, of England, claimed the silver medal with a ride of 46:47.52, and Geraint Thomas, of Wales, won the bronze medal with a ride of 46:49.73.

In addition to Thompson, Devynne Charlton will be in action in the semifinals of the women’s 100m hurdles today and Alonzo Russell will run in the semifinals of the men’s 400m.

Charlton will run out of lane five in the second of three semifinal heats of the women’s 100m hurdles at 5:36 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in The Bahamas. The top two in each semifinal heat and the next two fastest times will advance to Sunday’s final. In the men’s 400m semis, Russell will run out of lane nine in the third of three semifinal heats at 4:20 p.m. The final event of the men’s decathlon, the 1,500m run, will take place at 4:27 p.m. today.

Over the weekend, Rashji Mackey and Thorn Demeritte will compete in men’s freestyle wrestling for The Bahamas.