By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

TEAM Bahamas gave it all they had in the men’s 4x400 metres qualifying round last night at the 2024 BTC World Athletics Relays hosted at the newly revamped Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, but ultimately they fell short of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The relay team of Alonzo Russell, Wendell Miller, Zion Shepherd and Shakeem Hall-Smith capped off their second chance at qualifying in fth position of heat one and 24th overall on the final day of the global event.

The quartet ended their 2024 World Relays experience with a time of 3:08.29.

Veteran quarter miler Russell, who also set a national record earlier in the afternoon session with the mixed 4x400m relay team, expressed that fatigue played a role in his performance despite his love for the event.

“I love the 4x400m. I just wanted to come out here and try to give my team the best shot we can but we fell short. I guess my body had enough, it showed. I am just happy we all came out healthy. It is not over yet. We will get it,” Russell said.

The Olympic bronze medallist was a part of the relay team with athletes who were all younger than him but he commended their performances and is hoping to build on this moment. “The young guys are coming around. Wendell just ran a 45.60 the other day. I am just hoping that everyone else feeds on the energy and we just keep it coming. We are known for the 4x400m so I am just trying to build it back again,” he stated.

Miller had not competed at home in two years but was happy to be back to represent the country.

“It was a great feeling to represent my country. I tried to listen to my coach’s instructions that he gave me. I think I executed what he told me to do. I am proud to be amongst these young men and Alonzo. It is just a good experience being back home. I haven’t competed here in two years so it is good to be back home in front of a home crowd and have my family watching me compete,” Miller said.

Hurdler Hall-Smith, who ran the anchor leg, had a split time of 47.95 seconds and described the experience as a great one.

“I can definitely say it is a great experience competing in front of the home crowd. This is my first ever World Relays Championships, especially in The Bahamas, so I’m definitely gonna take this experience...This will be the first but it won’t be the last. We are gonna keep fixing all those technical things.

“Alonzo came into the race with dead legs so we couldn’t really expect much out of him. He did his best

and that is all that matters. We will continue on from there,” Hall-Smith said.

Shepherd, who is the youngest member of the team at 16-years-old, ran a split time of 47.78 seconds on the third leg of the relay event. Although the event did not end with the outcome he expected, the

Grand Bahama native was grateful for the learning experience. “First and foremost, I would like to thank

God for allowing me to make it here. This is a good experience for me because I am a junior athlete and I can learn a lot from these professionals. I just gotta take it in and learn from what I fumbled on,” he said.

The USA’s team of Jacory Patterson, Champion Allison, Christopher Bailey and Bryce Deadmon not only advanced from “Paradise to Paris” but also finished the heat in first with a time of 2:59.95 which was a season’s best.

India’s team of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, Arokia Rajiv and Amoj Jacob placed second in Olympic qualifying fashion. They ran a season’s best time of 3:03.23 to make it out of the qualifying round.

Finally, the 14 countries to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games in the men’s 4x400m event are as follows:

USA, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Poland, India, Botswana, South Africa, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Italy, Nigeria and Great Britain.