By BRENT STUBBS

Senor Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH this being another banner year both locally and internationally for Bahamian track and field athletes, sprinter Anthonique Strachan said she will take it all in stride.

Strachan, who currently trains out of Jamaica and the MVP Track Club, has opened her season with a world-leading winning time of 7.21 seconds in the women’s 60 metres at the Track & Field Complex in Qazaqstan, Astana, Kazakhstan.

The time was off her personal best of 7.13 she ran twice in 2022, but Strachan admitted that it was just another day in the office.

“I had no expectations, so I was just content with what I did,” Strachan said.

Strachan, 30, will be back in action this weekend when she competes at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas and just like last month, she’s striving towards her trek to the World Indoor Championships next month.

“I’m just competing and going ahead to learn what I need to work on,” Strachan reflected.

Still working on her first senior global medal since she left her mark behind as the double gold medallist in the women’s 100 and 200m at the World Under-20 Championships in Barcelona, Spain in her breakout year in 2012, Strachan pointed out that it would be good to get her first one at the World Indoors in Glasgow, Scotland, March 1-3.

But after coming so close with her sixth place finish in the World Outdoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary last year, Strachan is not putting any added pressure on herself.

“I have no expectations of the future,” she said. “I’m just living in the moment so I can enjoy my life and my training while I can.”

The reigning Bahamas double sprint champion has made her commitment to compete in at least one significant meet with the return of the World Relays to the refurbished Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium May 4-5.

There’s the expectation that Strachan will team up with Olympic champions Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, along with Alonzo Russell, or whoever is selected, to compete in the mixed 4 x 400m relay.

The last time the World Relays was staged in the Bahamas in 2017, Strachan, Gardiner, Miller-Uibo and Michael Mathieu captured the hearts of the cheering Bahamian crowd with their exhilarating victory in the mixed relay, held in the World Relays for the first time. The two editions in 2014 and 2015 didn’t include the event.

Mathieu has since retired and while Strachan and Miller-Uibo, despite coming off the birth of her daughter last year, are still the top two spots for the women and Gardiner and Russell have been pegged as the top two males.

The make-up of the team will be determined by the coaching staff assembled by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations.

But, as they wait for the announcement, Strachan said she was just delighted that the World Relays is back home after heading to Yokohama, Japan, in 2019 and Chorzow, Poland, last year.

If there’s any consolation for the athletes and teams coming here to compete, World Athletics’ president Lord Sebastian Coe has announced that the event will serve as a key qualifier for the Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11.

Strachan, who will be aiming to help the Bahamas qualify for the Olympics in both the mixed relay and the women’s 4 x 100m relay, said she’s excited about what is expected to take place here.

“I’m happy for other athletes to see the beauty of The Bahamas culture-wise and for the citizens (of The Bahamas) to get to see world-class (competition) right at home,” she stated.

As for her individual achievements, Strachan came off one of her best seasons last year when she dropped her lifetime best in both the 100 and 200m to 10.92 and 22.15 respectively.

Now the only thing left for her to do is to ascend the podium for an individual medal or at least a final spot at either the World Indoors or the Olympic Games as she fast tracks her performance this year.