TODAY, TEAM BARBADOS will face a tougher assignment when they run out of lane two in the second heat of the 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Relay Championships at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in The Bahamas.
Barbados have a personal best 38.94 seconds in the one-lap event which was done last year at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. All four of those runners – Andrew Hinds, Levi Cadogan, Shane Brathwaite and Ramon Gittens are in Nassau, but they have not run as a unit for the year.
Cadogan is based in Barbados, Hinds in Jamaica, and Brathwaite and Gittens in the United States.
Also in heat two are world champions and record holders Jamaica, as well as France and Poland, who have all historically gone faster than Barbados, Jamaica by a full two seconds. Only the top two from each are guaranteed a spot in the final.
The heats will run off from 5:40 p.m.
Yesterday, Barbados placed a very commendable fourth in the 4×200 metres relay in the very first edition of the championships.
Gittens, Hinds, Cadogan and Fallon Forde equalled the national record of 1 minute 21.88 seconds done in the preliminaries when Brathwaite ran the third leg.
Jamaica won in a world record 1:18.63 seconds, for which they earned a US$50 000 bonus. St Kitts and Nevis surprised everyone from lane eight, taking silver in a national record 1:20.51 and France were third in an area record 1:20.66.
The other world record was set by Kenya in the women’s 4×1 500 metres, also earning $50 000 in prize money. They did 16 minutes 33.58 seconds to replace the old record of 17:05.72.
The United States and Australia were second and third respectively, both with new area records. The United States clocked 16:55.33 to set a new record for the North America, Central American and Caribbean region, while Australia did 17:08.65, a new Oceania mark.
The Kenyan men won gold in the 4x800m in a meet record 7:08.40. Poland were second in 7:08.69 and United States third in 7:09.06.
On the third baton exchange, The United States were able to pull away from Jamaica and win the women’s 4×100 metres in a meet record 41.88 seconds. Both United States and Jamaica had clocked 42.29 in the semis, but Jamaica were without Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and had to settle for second in 42.28.
Trinidad and Tobago were third in 42.66.
Canada, with Crystal Emmanuel on third leg, held off The Bahamas (43.46) to win the “B” final in 43.33. Switzerland were third in 43.55.
Meanwhile, hometown favourites, The Bahamian 4x400m Olympic gold medal quartet or The Golden Knights they are known, set a new championship record in the heats with a time of 3:00.30.
Today’s Events
3:30-4:30 p.m. Bahamas Junior Programme
5:30 p.m. 4 x 200m Women’s Round 1
5:40 p.m. 4 x 100m Men’s Round 1
6:10 p.m. 4 x 400m Women’s “B” Final
6:25 p.m. 4 x 400m Women’s Final
6:47 p.m. 4 x 1,500m Men’s Final
7:19 p.m. 4 x 800m Women’s Final
7:41 p.m. 4 x 400m Men’s “B” Final
7:52 p.m. 4 x 400m Men’s Final
8:11 p.m. 4 x 200m Women’s Final
8:28 p.m. 4 x 100m Men’s “B” Final
8:37 p.m. 4 x 100m Men’s Final
