Friday, March 29, 2024

Barbados record

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MOSCOW – Barbados set a new national record in the men’s 4×100 metres relay yesterday even as neighbours Jamaica closed the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships in fine style, winning the final two events.
Joined this time by 100 metres semi-finalist Ramon Gittens on anchor, the team of Andrew Hinds, Levi Cadogan and Shane Brathwaite crossed the finish in 38.94 seconds, to finish fourth in their heat, missing out on a place in the final.
It replaced the mark of 39.18 seconds set last month at the Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships in Mexico which had Nicholas Deshong leading off and Hinds anchoring.
The Bahamas also set a new national record of 38.70 seconds and St Kitts did 38.58, also missing out on the final.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who anchored the women’s 4x100m relay team in a championship and national record 41.29 seconds, will return home with three gold medals, a first for a Caribbean woman. She had earlier won the 100m in 10.71 and 200m in 22.17.
However, Usain Bolt, track and field’s biggest star, brought things to a fitting end by anchoring Jamaica to a 37.36 second-clocking in the men’s 4x100m.
Jamaica, without Michael Fraser and Yohan Blake – members of last year’s world record-breaking team (36.84) – were expected to face stiff competition from the United States, but Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade, the replacements, handled themselves very well.
Nesta Carter gave Jamaica the expected start before Bailey-Cole took care of Mike Rodgers on the backstretch. Ashmeade held things together on the curve, and even though the United States fumbled with Rakieem Salaam and Justin Gatlin on the final exchange, no one could have stopped Bolt, the king of sprinting. Gatlin tried, but only to ensure Americans stayed within the medals – silver in 37.66.
Canada took the bronze with 37.92 after Britain were disqualified for a takeover outside the zone. Trinidad and Tobago were seventh in 38.57.
In the women’s 4x100m final, the Jamaican quartet, considered the weakest on paper in the last 10 years, delivered like no other teams before in the country’s track and field history.
Carrie Russell and Schillonie Calvert, who both got onto the team because of suspension to top sprinters Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sherone Simpson, were superb on the final day of the championships.
Russell was very quick out of the blocks and destroyed American Jeneba Tarmoh before leaving Kerron Stewart to take good care of Alexander Anderson of the US on the backstretch. Stewart’s lead forced Anderson and  Gardener of Britain to fumble the baton exchange, which allowed Calvert to open the gap.
By the time Fraser-Pryce collected the baton, she was basically alone. She took her team across the line some 14 metres ahead of nearest rivals France (42.73) who were later disqualified, and United States, anchored by Octavious Freeman (42.75). The United States were belatedly awarded silver and Britain got the bronze with 42.87.
Jamaica’s time is the second fastest on the world’s all-time list, only behind the 40.82, done by the US last year to win at the London Olympic Games.
Jamaica were the best placed Caribbean team with six gold, two silver and one bronze medal, for third in the overall standings behind Russia (7-4-6) and US (6-14-5).
Trinidad and Tobago were the only other English-speaking Caribbean team to win a medal, gold from Jehue Gordon in the men’s 400m hurdles. (CMC/SAT)

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