Home|Sports|Strachan qualifies for first global finalSports
Sheldon LongleySend an emailAugust 25, 2023 30 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Anthonique Strachan had to recover from a shaky start to get into the final of the women’s 200 meters (m) at the 19th World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, and she proved that she was up to the task.
The Bahamian veteran sprinter, now 30, had to pass two athletes on the home stretch just to get into qualifying position. She ended up third in her semifinal heat in 22.30 seconds and qualified for today’s final on time.
Just the top two athletes in each semifinal heat, and the next two fastest times, qualified for the final. Going into the final semifinal heat, Strachan was in a precarious position, needing the fourth place finisher in what was a stacked field to run slower than 22.30 seconds. She got her wish as the first three were under 22.30, but the fourth ran 22.45 seconds.
In essence, she is in the women’s 200m final, qualifying for her first global final in her 11th year as a senior athlete. She was 10th overall in the women’s 100m at the Eugene World Championships a year ago in 10.98 seconds, missing the final by two one hundredths of a second.
Now, Strachan is finally in a global final. She said it was a long time coming and she’s looking forward to running in the final today.
“This feels awesome. I’ve been waiting for this since 2012. With all the injuries, and all the mental setbacks I’ve had, it took a lot out of me. It’s finally coming around. I sacrificed a lot more for myself this year to see if it would help me make a final and it surely did,” she said.
Strachan is ecstatic, but she knows that if she wants to shock the world today, she has to get out to a much better start.
“The race was okay, I didn’t run the curve like how I was supposed to, like how I was instructed, but I feel like I recovered and made up some ground. I made it into the final,” she said. “It’s my first world final and I’m very excited with it. Hopefully, I go out there, produce what I’ve been doing in training, and have the race of my life.
“Running from behind isn’t a problem for me. It’s something that I’ve done may times before. I’m trying to cut that out because it’s a lot of work in my old age. I’m just trying to improve my start and be more consistent with it. Sometimes I have a good start and other times, it’s atrocious. It’s a learning curve and hopefully I perfect that part of my race and it just comes together for me.”
Despite having the slowest qualifying time, Strachan received a good lane draw for the final. She will run out of lane three in the final that is set for 9:40 p.m. this evening in Budapest, 3:40 p.m. in The Bahamas. It will be the final event of these world championships with a Bahamian athlete competing, and Strachan is hoping for a strong finish for herself and for the country.
“I’m hoping that I could sneak someone in the final and get a medal. I just have to listen to my coach and do what I was told,” she said. “21s are going to get run tomorrow so I have to come and run my (tail) off. There’s always a good field in the 200m, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you did before. What matters is what you did right there and then and I’m ready to go.”
It is a stacked final indeed, as it features four athletes who have run under 22 seconds this season – World 100m Champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabrielle Thomas of the United States, defending champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I double sprint champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia.
Also in the field are Marie-Josée Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, and Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita of Great Britain. All of the women in the field, including Strachan, have run under 22.30 seconds this year.
Thomas is the fastest qualifier for the final, running 21.97 seconds, and she was followed by Jackson in 22 seconds flat.
“It’s going to take a massive effort, but I can’t worry about anyone else. I just have to come out here and run,” said Strachan. “I have to run like I’m capable of running and, hopefully, I get to sneak someone and get on the medal stand.”
Strachan pulled out of the 100m at these world championships to focus on the 200m, which is her stronger event, and now it’s paying off. She will run in her first global final today, and being in lane three, she will have almost the entire field in front of her. Now, all she has to do is go and chase them.
She has always been confident in her ability, and now is the time to put her training and hard work this year into action. Like Strachan said, she will have to run the race of life.
It goes down today at 9:40 p.m. this evening in Budapest, 3:40 p.m. in The Bahamas.