Just like it is for the men, the situation for the women’s 4×400 meters (m) relay squad seem to be a borderline scenario going into the deadline of qualification for the Olympic Games.
Running together for the first time as a quartet, the team of Doneisha Anderson, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Megan Moss and Anthonique Strachan, in that order, clocked 3:29.40 at the Blue Marlin Last Chance Meet at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium on Monday, to easily defeat the other team in the race – a makeshift squad from the United States. However, at the moment, it’s uncertain if that will be good enough to get them into the Olympics.
The top eight teams in the men’s and women’s 4×100m, 4x400m and mixed relays from the 2019 World Athletics (WA) World Championships in Doha, Qatar, automatically qualified for this summer’s OIympics. The same is the case for the 2019 world relays, but some teams qualified twice, meaning there were still spots available in each relay.
In the women’s 4x400m relay, there are four spots available, and it appears that the final cutoff time might be around 3:28.77 ran by Switzerland in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, about a week ago.
Anderson led off for The Bahamas’ team and said it was an honor to run with the other talented ladies on the squad.
“These girls are awesome – I feel good about the race,” she said. “We executed and I feel like we did enough to qualify.”
Olympic Champion in the women’s 400m Miller-Uibo said it was a good feeling.
“We came out here and did our best to try and qualify for the Olympics. It was a blessing. We’ve been waiting all year to get together and qualify a relay team. We all ran hard and hopefully it’s good enough to qualify,” she said.
Moss, who ran third, said she gave maximum effort on her leg and is hopeful that they will make it into the Olympics.
“I just wanted to keep the rhythm that the girls set for me and keep the momentum going. I feel good about our chances. It was a joy to run with these girls and hopefully we pull through,” she said.
Strachan brought the ladies home in the fastest time for a Bahamian squad since the team of Lanece Clarke, Strachan, Carmiesha Cox and Christine Amertil, ran a national record of 3:26.36 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
“It was okay – probably one of my best 4×4 legs,” said Strachan. “I love this team. If we got in, that would be a good thing. Basically, I’m the substitute for this team because I don’t have one of the four fastest flat 400 times for the season. To know that I stepped in and was able to contribute is a good feeling. I really hope that we get in so these ladies could shine and show the world what we’re made of. Once we get in, we’ll have a shot to make the final or win a medal. That would be a great feat for The Bahamas.”
In the mixed 4x400m relay for The Bahamas, the team of Wendell Miller,
Brianne Bethel, Anderson and Alonzo Russell, ran 3:14.51, just off the 3:14.42 national record setting time the team of Steven Gardiner, Miller-Uibo, Strachan and Michael Mathieu ran at the World Athletics World Relays in Nassau, The Bahamas, in 2017.
Trinidad & Tobago was second in that mixed 4x400m relay yesterday evening, running 3:15.09. The final cutoff time for the Olympics appears to be 3:14.09, ran by Nigeria at the Yabatech Sport Complex, in Lagos, Nigeria, this past weekend.
The Bahamas’ men’s 4x400m relay team has a weekend’s best of 3:02.87, ran at the BAAA Junior and Senior National Championships at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium on Sunday, which appears to be just outside of the final qualifying time for the Olympics. The Czech Republic appears to have the final qualifying time – 3:02.42.
The Bahamas’ men and women’s 4×100 relay teams also ran on Monday, taking advantage of the final opportunity to qualify for the Olympics at the Blue Marlin Meet.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of Camille Rutherford, Brianne Bethel, Pedrya Seymour and Tynia Gaither, in that order, clocked 43.77 seconds to win that relay. The Bahamas’ ‘B’ team of Denisha Cartwright, Tamara Myers, Tayla Carter and Sasha Wells, in that order, finished second in 45.09 seconds. Trinidad & Tobago did not finish the race and The Bahamas’ ‘C’ team was disqualified. The final cutoff time for the Olympics appear to be 43.04 seconds, ran by Brazil.
The Bahamas’ men’s 4x100m relay team of Samson Colebrooke, Ian Kerr, Teray Smith and Terrence Jones, in that order, ran 39.51 seconds to win that relay at the Blue Marlin Last Chance Meet yesterday. Trinidad & Tobago was second in 39.63 seconds, and Antigua & Barbuda finished third in 39.99 seconds. The final cutoff time for the Olympics appear to be 38.47 seconds, ran by Turkey at the world relays in Yokohama, Japan, in 2019.
The remaining slots will be determined by world rankings as of June 29.
Team Bahamas is trying to avoid not having a relay team at the Olympics for the first time since the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The rapidly approaching Olympics is set for July 23 to August 8, in Tokyo, Japan.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/relay-teams-on-the-bubble/
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