By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations President Drumeco Archer said that he’s happy that World Athletics has given three spots out of the quota to deserving Bahamian athletes for the World Athletics Championships.

While the BAAA released the names of 12 athletes who were named to the team last year, at the close of World Athletics qualification process over the weekend, javelin thrower Keyshawn Strachan, decathlete Kendrick Thompson and sprinter Ian Kerr were added to The Bahamas’ list, bringing the total to 15. 

With this being the largest number of individual athletes selected to compete at the World Championships in individual events in quite some time, Archer said he’s expecting that Team Bahamas will hold its own at the championships in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13-21. “I think it’s a team that is now coming into its own,” Archer said. “I would say we now have a fresh team. We’re going to be missing our town giants, Stevie Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo.

“But what you will find is a lot of new athletes coming up and they are not taking control of the banner and what you will find is that while they are not at the top of their class year, this will be the beginning of a new era for us in track and field,” explained Archer.

Last week, the BAAA released the names of the following athletes to the team that will be managed by May Miller with Sharon Gardiner as her assistant and safeguarding officer.

On the women’s side, it’s quarter-milers Javonya Valcourt and Printassia Johnson, sprinters Camille Rutherford, Anthaya Charlton (who will double up in the long jump) and veteran Anthonique Strachan, 100m hurdlers Devynne Charlton, Charisma Taylor and Denisha Cartwright and Olympic javelin thrower Rhema Otabor

On the men’s side are sprinter Terrence Jones Jr, veteran high jumper Donald Thomas and triple jumper Kaiwan Culmer.

Tito Moss will serve as the head coach with Daron Lightbourne and Corrington Maycock as assistant coaches. 

Sandeep Goud will be the team’s doctor and Karen Wert will be the therapist/masseuse.

Archer, who will attend the World Athletics Congress as well with delegates John Ingraham and Laura Pratt-Charlton, said there are a number of competitors who will be making their World Championship debuts, but he anticipates that they will do very well.

“Charisma is contesting the hurdles. She is new. Denisha Cartwright will also be contesting the hurdles and she is new to the scene,” said Archer of both competitors, who along with Devynne Charlton competed in the Olympics last year in Paris, France.

“This will be Keyshawn’s first World Championships and Kendrick Thompson’s first World Championships, so I’m very excited for him. In fact, we thought we lost him after he had one incident at NACAC where he didn’t win and it took a toll on his ranking. but we’re happy that he got in because of his ranking.”

What Archer said he likes about the make up of this team is that there are some new sprinters emerging for the Bahamas.

“Anthaya Charlton, having one of the best times in the world this year coupled by the performance of Camille Rutherford, who has also ran sub-11 seconds,” he said.

“Then on the mle side, Ian Kerr continues to rally back,=. Wayna McCoy is out, but Terrence Jones is in, so I think the opportunity is real for the Bahamas to continue to grow and do well.”

Archer calls this a “well balanced team” but he doesn’t expect “golden standards” just yet, but it’s the start of something great in track and field.”

He noted that they are also delighted to have perennial competitors like Devynne Charlton, Donal,d Thomas and Anthonique Strachn, who continue to perform at a very high level.

Unfortunately, the Bahamas didn’t have any relay teams qualified or invited by World Athletics. He noted that they were not able to field the quality teams because they didn’t have the top athletes available to compete at the World Relays in a bid to qualify.

At the NACAC Championships in Grand Bahama earlier this month, he said they made an attempt to put a couple of teams together, but they didn’t win and were not considered bybWorld Athletics.

However, at the World Relays next year in Botswana, the goal is for the BAAA to assemble teams to compete in the men and women 4 x 100m relay teams as well as the men’s 4 x 400m and the mixed 4 x 400m.

But he said that it will only depend on who will be available to compete.

In a bid to get this team to the World Championships in Tokyo, Archer said it will cost the BAAA in excess of $100,090 and they are still appealing to the general public to assist them in achieving that goal.

Archer said it;s unfortunate that while Stevie Gardiner was progressing very well, he got the news of his father’s passing and that changed his perspective on the championships. His father, Steven Gardiner Sr, is expected to be laid to rest on Saturday.

“I was really looking forward to seeing what he would look like at the ending part of the season,” Archer said. “Unfortunately, tragedy struck and his father died in a car crash two weeks ago in Abaco and that just derailed him.”

As for Miller-Uibo, whom he called Archer said she will be the story to read about next going into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I truly believe she is the goat and I expect for her to have the greatest comeback in track and field history by global per portions,” he said. “So I’m really looking forward to it.

“I know that she’s had some disappointments on her return. But this is the hazard of the trade. So patience, focus and the commitment to getting to where she once was is quite achievable. The cast hasn’t changed. The same players are still running and she has always been a more superior runner than all of them, so I’m looking forward to her return to the highest level.”