By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

Less than 24 hours after the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) ratified a 20-member contingent set to represent the nation at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, social media became flooded with outrage as quarter-miler Lacarthea Cooper was snubbed from the team despite finishing in the top three of the 400m event at the BAAA Junior and Senior Nationals.

The highly-anticipated announcement by the BOC garnered mixed reactions in the court of public opinion as many were pleased to see 16-year-old Shania Adderley make the Olympic cut as the youngest Bahamian Olympian in history while others were disappointed to see a qualified athlete left off the list.

Cooper, along with her mother and scores of other Bahamians, expressed their displeasure in BOC’s decision on Tuesday night but since then Tribune Sports understands that the 20-year-old will be allowed to travel with the team to Paris, France. 

However, it remains unclear if she will compete in the mixed 4x400m event.

She confirmed that officials of the BOC reached out to her yesterday evening and offered to take her with the team.

“They offered to carry me with the team. I will be with the other athletes and I guess that is the solution. I took it on because I still want to support Team Bahamas because I am not that type of person to say I do not want to be there or anything like that. I am sad that I cannot compete with them. I would have loved to but it is their decision. Obviously, I would want to compete but I cannot and that is what they said,” Cooper said.

Adderley displayed a great show of resilience at the 2024 World Athletics Relays while competing with Olympians Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner and Alonzo Russell at home in a bid to help the country qualify for the mixed 4x400m event back in May. 

In her debut on the global scene, the teen received the baton in first place while running the anchor leg for The Bahamas but was passed by her competitors leading to a fourth-place finish in 3:14.86 for 12th overall. 

The Grand Bahamian along with team officials were heavily criticised on social media after this event. 

The teen bounced back the following day, running a brilliant second leg after receiving the baton from Gardiner. 

Team Bahamas got the victory in front of the home crowd with a new national record of 3:12.81 and the narrative surrounding Adderley turned into a positive one.

Meanwhile, for Cooper, she was unable to compete at the World Relays due to her collegiate commitments but expected to make the mixed relay pool based on her performance at the BAAA Jr and Sr Nationals in June. 

The student of New Mexico State University placed third in the 400m finals with a time of 53.38 seconds while Adderley would finish fifth in 54.50 seconds.

The BAAA recommended the list of athletes qualified to represent the country at the Olympic Games and did not include Adderley, according to BAAA president Drumeco Archer last week. 

Despite this, the BOC opted to go in a different direction. 

Cooper was looking forward to this Olympic Games in particular after she missed the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan due to COVID-19. She is disappointed in the situation but was grateful to those that rallied in support of her.

“I appreciate every last one of them who had something to say and supported me. I know it will start something again when I go to Paris and they probably do not see me running but I am thankful for them sticking up for me because I did not expect this,” she said. 

She expressed that BOC president Romell ‘Fish’ Knowles has since reached out to apologise for the entire debacle. 

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) Mario Bowleg weighed in on this controversial matter yesterday.

“I was told that the BAAAs made a recommendation which started the uproar a few weeks ago and did not include her. At the end of the day, the final list that was ratified by the BOC did include her, so as the Minister we have to support whatever the final decision made by these federations,” he said.

The Minister maintained that the government has no jurisdiction over this matter but would never like to see any Bahamian athlete disenfranchised.

“I would never want to see any Bahamian athlete disenfranchised at any point for any reason or the other but at the end of the day the Ministry cannot dictate or interfere with the BAAAs, BOC or any national federation as it relates to their final selection of their teams that will represent the country. We are just here to support them financially and morally and whichever team they select we will support,” he said.

The BOC president confirmed that Cooper will be a part of the team commuting to Paris, France but declined to provide any further comment on whether she will compete or not.

BAAAs president Archer opted not to make any comment on the situation when contacted yesterday.

The Olympics Games are scheduled to begin Friday, July 26 and wrap up August 11.