By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The ‘Golden Girls’ were introduced to the fans during the start of the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2015. At the end of the two-day event, they were present to greet some of the new competitors who are expected to carry on their legacy for the Bahamas in the female sprints.

One of these competitors was as an age old teammate Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie who, at age 39, continues to make her presence felt, anchoring the 4 x 100 metre team in a photo finish as she got caught at the tape by Angela Tenorio as Ecuador went on to win the B final in 44.14, the same time as the Bahamas.

Despite their loss, Golden Girls Sevatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Eldece Clarke and Pauline Davis-Thompson, who had teamed up with Ferguson-McKenzie to win the silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Seville, Spain in 1999 and the gold at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, congratulated the team of V’Alonée Robinson, Tayla Carter and Brianne Bethel, who ran with Ferguson-McKenzie.

The ‘Golden Girls’ stayed around for the grand finale when they met Ramon Miller at his starting block as he led the men’s 4 x 400 team of Michael Mathieu, rookie Steven Gardiner and veteran Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown to the silver medal behind the United States’ gold medal run with veteran Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt on the third and anchor legs respectively.

For Ferguson-Mckenzie, who turned back the hands of time, she was not only excited to be running with the new breed of sprinters, but also to be reunited with her old teammates.

“You have the future and you also have the past,” she said. “So we’re trying to teach the younger competitors that they have to carry on the baton and know that they can do it bigger and better than us. It’s been amazing, it’s encouraging and I know that they are really excited.

“I know for Brianne, yesterday when it didn’t really work out (with her and Anthonique Strachan when they ran out of the exchange zone and the Bahamas was eliminated from the women’s 4 x 200m) we, the Golden Girls, were talking to her and letting her know that she won’t be the first and she won’t be the last. So stay positive, keep working hard and do what you love.”

Robinson, the older member of the new threesome, said while she’s thankful to God that they were able to compete, she was even more excited to see the ‘Golden Girls.’

“It feels like the era is finally over and they are just here to pass on the baton,” she said. “It was also good to have their support and for us to know that they are behind us 100 per cent and it’s also good to have a ‘Golden Girl’ on the team. It can only boost our moral for the future.”

Carter, the 21-year-old who hopes to be around for a long time, called it a moment in time.

“That’s the foundation right there and we’re a part of the future, so hopefully we can go back in history and do some of the things that they did and even more,” she stated.

And as the newest kid on the block at just 16 years of age, Bethel said she was just elated to have had the opportunity to compete. But she will definitely cherish the experience she encountered and the words of encouragement from those who “been there and done it.”

“It was an honour to meet the ‘Golden Girls’ because I want to be called a ‘Golden Girl’ some day,” said the 11th grader at Sunland Baptist Academy in Grand Bahama. “Meeting the other athletes who did it before makes me believe that I can do it too.”

Also present was another ‘Golden Girl’, Tonique Williams-Darling, the winner of the 2002 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. She worked tirelessly as the head of the media delegation for the local organising committee.

Together, the Bahamas had a rich legacy on display over the two days. All members of the ‘Golden Girls’ also won individual medals from the CARIFTA Games to the Olympic Games to go along with their collective success as a relay team.

Unfortunately, their accomplishments didn’t account to any gold medal performance on the track for Team Bahamas this weekend. But the fans in attendance were quite appreciative of the team’s effort nonetheless. It only bodes well for the future when the IAAF brings the World Relays back for the third edition in 2017.