SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2019
Team Bahamas off to IAAF World Relays By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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eam Bahamas is off to the fourth IAAF World Relays as it takes up its new residence in Yokohama, Japan. And while only two teams will be carrying the Bahamian flag, head coach Rupert Gardiner said they will be very competitive. Due to the unavailability of some of the female athletes, the Bahamas will not defend its title won at the last World Relays held at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in the newly implemented mixed gender 4 x 400 metre relay. Instead, the Bahamas will be featured in the men’s 4 x 400m relay with the combination of Steven Gardiner, Alonzo Russell, Ojay Ferguson, Andre Colebrook, Teray Smith and Stephen ‘Dirty’ Newbold this weekend. Additionally, the Bahamas will compete in the men’s 4 x 200m with the squad comprising of Shavez Hart, Anthony Adderley, Cliff Resias, Rico Moultrie, Newbold and Smith. “The team is still a very good one, although we don’t have our college athletes to compete in more events,” Gardiner said en route to Japan. “We will have a very good showing because the athletes going are very experienced. “We expect for Stevie (Gardiner) and Alonzo (Russell) to carry the weight of the team in the 4 x 400m. So I think our team will do well. We also have the men’s 4 x 200m and we have some pretty good competitors there too.” The heats of the men’s 4 x 400m relay will be held on day one on Saturday with the final on Sunday, while the men’s 4 x 200m will be staged on Sunday with both the heats and final. However, only the men’s 4 x 400m will be on the calendar of events for the 17th IAAF World Championships that will be held in Doha, Qatar, September 27 to October 6.
FAST TRACK: At this year’s World Relays, Team Bahamas will be featured in the men’s 4 x 400m relay with the combination of Steven Gardiner (above), Alonzo Russell, Ojay Ferguson, Andre Colebrook, Teray Smith and Stephen ‘Dirty’ Newbold. Gardiner, who will be accompanied by team manager Dawn Johnson, said the goal is for the Bahamas to make the 1,600m relay final and automatically qualify for the World Championships. “We want to make the final, qualify for the World Championships and to win a medal, which we are capable of doing with the team that we have assembled,” Gardiner said. Also making up the Bahamian delegation at the World Relays are
Ravanno Ferguson, the first vice president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, Michael Armbrister is the team doctor and Dr Ken Bazard is the team’s physiotherapist. The Bahamas gave birth to the World Relays, having staged the first three editions at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in 2014, 2015 and 2017. The Bahamas had also won the bid to host the World Relays in 2021. But last year, the Bahamas
Government pulled the plug on this year’s World Relays, indicating that it was not financially feasible to the millions of dollars estimated to stage the event this year. More than 700 athletes from over 40 countries are making the trek to Japan with 21 countries confirmed to participate in the mixed gender 4 x 400m relay that will crown a new champion in the absence of Team Bahamas. In 2017, the quartet of Steven Gardiner, Shaunae
Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan and Michael Mathieu won the introduction of the mixed gender relay in the final event on the final night of competition. It was also the first and only final event that the Bahamas won in the first three years of the World Relays being staged in the Bahamas. The United States of America dominated by winning the Golden Baton as the most outstanding team each year.
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CHANGE IN ROUTE FOR UNCLE LOU 10K RUN, 5K WALK By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net A CHANGE in the route will highlight the 12th anniversary of the Uncle Lou 10-kilometre run and 5k walk race on Saturday morning. Held in memory of the late sporting icon Leviticus ‘Uncle Lou’ Adderley, the first Bahamian principal of St Augustine’s College, the alumni association of SAC decided to change the route. Starting at 6am, competitors in the 10K will traverse from St Augustine’s College, west on Bernard Road to Village Road, north on Village Road to Shirley Street, west on Shirley Street to Church Street, north on Church Street to Bay Street, east on Bay Street to Village Road, south on Village Road to Bernard Road and east on Bernard Road back to SAC and finish line in front of the administration building. The walkers will participate in a 5K race that will leave from SAC and head west on Bernard Road to Village Road, north on Village Road to Shirley Street, back south on Village Road to Bernard Road, east on Bernard Road and back to SAC and the finish line in front of the administration building. Race coordinator Benson Russell said the new route was designed to give more prominence to St Augustine’s College in paying tribute to the legendary Adderley, who helped to shape the Big Red Machine into a household name. “We wanted to make it easier for the participants to be able to park right at the start and finish line,” said Russell of the route that previously started in Rawson Square and ended at SAC. “We had a lot of people who wanted us to start and end at SAC, so we decided to just extend the route. This is going to be a trial run for us, but we feel this will make a big difference in the event.” Russell, a graduate of the Class of 1984 when Adderley was still serving as principal, said they are
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HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER NATIONALS ALL SET JYLES ETIENNE WINS HIGH JUMP TITLE THE Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s National High School Soccer Championships is all set for the Roscow AL Davies Soccer Complex. The games pit the best of the BAISS, GSSSA and GBSSAA schools in three days of competition. The teams participating in the girls’ division are St Andrews, Lyford Cay, Anatol Rodgers, CR Walker, Sunland Baptist, and Tabernacle Baptist Academy. The boys’ teams entered are Lyford
Cay, Aquinas College, CR Walker, Government High School, Tabernacle Baptist Academy and Lucayan International School. Schedule is as follows: Today 4:30pm - Anatol Rodgers vs St Andrew’s (Girls) 5:40pm - GHS vs Aquinas College (Boys) 6:20pm - Opening ceremony 6:30pm - CR Walker vs Sunland Baptist (Girls) 7:45pm - Lucayan Inter national vs CR Walker (Boys)
Thursday 4:30pm - Winner M1 vs Lyford Cay (Girls) 5:40pm - Lyford Cay vs Winner M1 (Boys) 6:30pm - Winner M2 vs Tabernacle Baptist (Girls) 7:45pm - Tabernacle Baptist vs Winner M2 (Boys) Saturday 3pm - 3rd place match (Girls) 4:45pm - 3rd place match (Boys) 6:15pm - Girls’ final 7:45pm - Boys’ final
YESTERDAY, fresh off his victory at last weekend’s Penn Relays, Jyles Etienne soared to a season best height of 7-feet, 0 1/4inch to win the high jump title at the Billy Hayes Invitational, hosted by Indiana University. Etienne was dominant in his final regular season meet of the season. By the time he attempted his first jump of the afternoon he was the only competitor left in the field after passing at the first three heights
JYLES ETIENNE
of 6-3 1/4, 6-5, and 6-7. He cleared 6-9 on his first jump of the day to win the title, passed at 6-10 3/4, then cleared 7-0 1/4 on his first attempt before bowing out after three attempts at 7-1 3/4. Etienne and the Hoosiers are back in action next weekend at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The former Bear is currently ranked 4th in the conference standings, currently led by Nebraska’s Mayson Conner (7-2 1/4).