The Athletics Association of Barbados (AAB) has done the right thing to include a cadre of runners who can form a relay squad for the senior Central America and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Mexico this weekend.
The quintet of Ramon Gittens, Andrew Hinds, Levi Cadogan, Burkheart Ellis and Nicholas Deshong should give a good account of themselves if we take up the relay option.
I see the decision as very positive as it could be a reflection of the growing depth among the sprinters.
Gittens has a personal best of 10.02 seconds; Hinds 10.03 and the promising Cadogan 10.28 in the 100 metres.
Admittedly, both Ellis and Deshong may be better noted for their performances at 200 metres but they are more than capable of enhancing a 4×100 metres relay unit.
And let’s not forget precocious schoolboy Mario Burke who will be at the World Youth Championships.
So even if we are not expecting immediate success in the 400 metres relay we can look to build a strong unit for the future.
I duly expect that we will be competitive in Mexico and should the performance be good enough, it would be left to the discretion of the AAB to enter a team at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
There is also the World Relay Championships being hosted by the Bahamas next year so any opportunity to gauge our hopes in this event should be taken.
Individually, Gittens should do well in Mexico not only because many of the top nations will hardly send their “big guns” but he has continued to work hard and looks to have the race form needed to make a big impression on the world stage.
Actually, I think it is only a matter of time before he becomes the second Bajan after Obadele Thompson to do a sub-10 in the 100 metres.
Some will argue that the Jamaica-based Hinds should be a lot more advanced so his best chance of gaining a medal at an international meet could be in a team event such as the 400 metres relay.
I am very happy that Jade Bailey seems to have regained her focus and appetite for competition. I thought she was distracted in the past couple seasons by the fact that she wasn’t getting sufficient funding for training and competition.
That may have drained her mentally and taken away from what she is truly capable of achieving particularly in the 200 which I think is her best event. Lest we forget, this naturally gifted athlete also showed early promise in the javelin.
She is getting older but I believe there is still something special left in the tank.
When we talk about depth among the sprinters, such an assessment doesn’t stop with the men. It applies to the women too.
Tristan Evelyn looks to be on the right track once she stays fit and the recently-crowned 200 metres national champion Ariel “Action” Jackson is an extremely good prospect.
I think she is the most improved local athlete in the past two years, having gained the confidence to compete with all-comers. I believe that is the main attribute that was lacking even in her formative years at Graydon Sealy. Eric Berry and Michael “Abu” Worrell deserve credit for bringing her to this point.
In fact, her triumph at Nationals could only serve as a watershed because it wasn’t going to be easy to beat the in-form Bailey who, admittedly, may have eased off the gas once she had shaken off the challenge of Shakera Reece. Still, you could live to pay the price if you overlook Jackson’s trademark strong finish in the 200 and 400 metres.
Unfortunately, Reece has missed out on the trip to Mexico as she is clearly not carrying the same race from last year’s corresponding period.
I think she is gradually rebuilding her mental game after her controversial non-selection for the London Olympics last year.
The capability is still there and I hope she continues to train hard and regain the desire to be the island’s No. 1 sprinter again.
Sade Sealy is a raw talent who didn’t always achieve the results we expected because she appeared to be a bit laid back in her approach or maybe we were misguided by her relaxed, nonchalant style of running.
However, she seemed to be a lot more urgent at Nationals and also gave the impression that she is now better able to plot and execute the 400 metres in a manner that can make her very competitive among international runners in another year or so.
She has a personal best of 52.01 seconds in this event notwithstanding that some of the world’s best like Botswana’s Amantle Montsho and America’s Sanya Richards Ross are in the 49-point range. I believe Sealy has the ability to get there too.
My other significant observation from the Nationals is that I feel the 2009 world champion in the men’s 110 metres hurdles, Ryan Brathwaite, has a grand chance of being on the podium again in Moscow once he remains focused and fit.
There are others who can have the same experience once they continue to work hard and receive adequate support.
• Andi Thornhill is an experienced award-winning freelance sports journalist.