As a teenager, Anthonique Strachan showed the tremendous potential of becoming one of the world’s brightest stars in track and field.
A five-time Carifta gold medalist, 2011 Pan Am Junior 100m champion and World U20 100 and 200m champion in 2012, things were looking up for the young Bahamian.
However, the intervening years have not been as kind. Injuries and a subsequent loss of confidence derailed the promising start to Strachan’s career and raised doubts about whether she would ever fulfil her promise.
“It’s actually very tough because you start to ridicule and judge yourself and then you go on social media and you see people judging you,” said Strachan, who is now 28 and having her best season in a decade.
“I haven’t PB’ed in 10 years so I see people telling me that I need to hang it up, get a 9-5, all sorts of stuff but nobody knows what happens when the lights are off so I try not to take it to heart but it’s sort of difficult to judge yourself and also have people out there judging you.”
So far, 2022 has been good to her. She opened up with a personal best of 10.99 in the 100m at the John Wolmer Speed Fest on March 26 at the National Stadium in Kingston, where she trains with the MVP Track Club and then on Saturday, April 23, she ran 22.55 to win the 200m against a field that included multiple Olympic and World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Yes, the Pocket Rocket did slow noticeably over the last 50m but when you take into consideration the fact that Strachan ran a spectacular 23.24 into a -5.00 m/s wind at the Bermuda Games on April 9, you understand that the time she ran on Saturday night was no fluke.
So what exactly has brought about this pleasantly surprising return to form for the talented Bahamian sprinter?
She reveals that she accepted help and stopped putting pressure on herself to succeed.
“Because I had so many injuries it was difficult for me to trust coaching and other people or even trust myself and my coach told me to let somebody in to actually help me to help myself and that is what I have been trying to do this season,” she confessed.
“I stopped judging myself so hard and stopped piling on so many things and taking it one stride at a time.”
Strachan began to show a return to form in 2021 when she ran the 100m in 11.30, her best time since 2012 and 22.56 over 200m, her best time since 2014. She also made it to the semi-finals of the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, she had no idea that 2022 would have begun on a positive note.
“I bragged and boasted about opening up with a 10, but that was BS so now that it has actually happened I have sort of put it out there in the atmosphere and it sort of came through,” she said admitting that she is now a lot more confident than she has been during the past decade.
“It gives me plenty of confidence. I am trying to run all the times I can run right now to put myself in a better standpoint before the big girls come out to play.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
USA dominates sprint relay finals as World Relays concludes in the Bahamas
USA broke their own 10-year-old championship record to dominate the women’s 4x100m at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, before their teammates threatened the men’s 4x100m mark to clinch another win in Nassau on Sunday (5).
After helping her nation to a heat win and Olympic qualification on Saturday, Gabby Thomas vowed they could go even quicker in the final. She wasn’t wrong.
The women’s 4x100m championship record of 41.88 had been set at the inaugural World Athletics Relays in Nassau in 2014. A decade on, another US quartet made history in the Bahamian capital, as Tamari Davis, Thomas, Celera Barnes and Melissa Jefferson combined to clock 41.85 and cap a successful campaign.
They won by almost a second, while France proved they will be a force at their home Olympics later this year by securing the runner-up spot in 42.75. Third place was claimed by Great Britain & NI in 42.80.
As she had done in the previous day’s heats, Davis got the race started for USA, running a strong first leg to put her nation ahead. Olympic and world 200m medallist Thomas, who joined Davis on USA’s world title-winning team in Budapest last year, was ready to take over and she maintained the advantage before handing the baton to Barnes.
They had put Jefferson in a great position and the win never looked in doubt, as the two-time world relay gold medallist surged down the home straight. The fight for second place was won by France, as Mallory Leconte – racing in lane one – held off Great Britain’s Aleeya Sibbons. Germany finished fourth and Australia fifth.
While her teammates posed for photos, Thomas left the track to prepare for the 4x400m final less than 20 minutes later, which USA also won.
The men’s 4x100m championship record of 37.38 was also set by USA in Nassau but in 2015, during the second edition of the event. It still stands, but only just, as Courtney Lindsey, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King and Noah Lyles teamed up to run a world-leading 37.40.
That same US quartet had run 37.49 to win the heats and they were similarly dominant in the final, winning by almost half a second ahead of 2022 world champions Canada.
Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse anchored Canada to second place in 37.89. Olympic champions Italy crossed the line next, but the team was later disqualified for a changeover occurring outside the zone. As a result, France secured third place in 38.44, just 0.01 ahead of Japan and Great Britain who both clocked 38.45 and were separated by only one thousandth of a second.
“We were talking after the race about what else we can do,” said Lyles, who ran the anchor leg during USA’s world title win in Budapest after his individual 100m and 200m victories. “Me and Kyree can get more out of that exchange zone and Kenny and Kyree can do the same. We were faster today, but still, it is all about the zone.”
The team certainly looked in the zone. Lindsey ran the first leg, going up against Canada’s Aaron Brown. Bednarek then took over from Lindsey and ran the second leg against athletes including Italy’s Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs.
Bednarek handed the baton to King and then Lyles powered home to secure the win, chased by De Grasse, France’s Aymeric Priam and Sota Miwa of Japan.
Teams that missed out on Paris places on day one had another chance to book their spots for the Olympics in a second round of races ahead of the finals on Sunday. Competition was fierce, with the top two in each of the three heats securing automatic qualification for the Olympics.
The 2021 World Relays winners Italy cruised to the first 4x100m Paris place of the evening, winning the first women’s heat in 42.60. It shows they mean business as despite not making it through to defend their title in Nassau, they went more than a second faster than their winning time from three years ago. Cote d’Ivoire missed out on an automatic qualifying place by just three thousands of a second on day one but multiple global medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith was determined that her team would not be denied again. She received the baton behind Italy and Spain but stormed past Maria Isabel Perez, and almost caught Arianna De Masi, to secure the second spot in 42.63.
Jamaica will defend their Olympic title after they secured their Paris place on the second attempt. After finishing fifth in their race in the first round, they were dominant winners on day two, with world U20 200m bronze medallist Alana Reid crossing the finish line in 42.74. More than half a second back, Trinidad and Tobago’s Leah Bertrand gave chase to finish second in 43.54.
Nigeria and Switzerland were well away in the third and final heat and while Nigeria clinched victory in a close finish – 42.71 to 42.75 – they were both rewarded with Paris places.
The first of the evening’s men’s 4x100m races saw Germany triumph, as Yannick Wolf held on for the win in 38.57. But the real drama was happening behind him. Liberia were in fourth place at the final changeover but Joseph Fahnbulleh blazed the anchor leg, overtaking Brazil and then Switzerland to clinch an Olympic spot by five thousandths of a second. Liberia and Switzerland both clocked 38.65 – a national record for the former – while Brazil followed in fourth.
Ghana and Nigeria ran away with the second heat and their places for the Olympics never seemed in doubt as they clocked 38.29 and 38.57, respectively. There was more success for Africa in the third and final heat as Akani Simbine ran a storming anchor for South Africa. After that final leg timed at 8.92, he crossed the finish line with 38.08 on the clock to ensure his team will be in Paris.
They’ll be joined by Australia, who were pipped for second place by just four thousandths of a second in the first round, as the quartet went 0.04 quicker than on day one to finish runner-up in 38.46.
Jamaica's 4x400m women, T&T's men book tickets to Paris
Jamaica’s 4x400m women have also booked their place at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer by winning the second round heat at the World Relays in the Bahamas on Sunday. The same four women lined up for the heat with the difference being that Roneisha McGregor running the lead off leg, Charokee Young on the second leg, Ashley Williams on the third leg and Junelle Bromfield on anchor.
The changes proved effective as the Jamaicans ran away with the heat winning impressively in 3:38.54.
India is also on their way to Paris after they finished in second place in a time of 3:29.35.
The Netherlands (3:27.45) and Switzerland (3:28.30) are also through along with Belgium (3:26.79) and Spain (3:27.30), a national record.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men will have to find another route to Paris after finished fifth in their heat and failed to qualify.
Trinidad and Tobago, though, produced a brave performance to secure a place in Paris. The quartet of Asa Guevara, Jereem Richards, Che Lara and Shakeem McKay battled hard to hold off France and seal the the final qualifying spot. Brazil won the heat in 3:01.86 with the brave Trinidadians finishing in 3:02.39.
Jamaica and Trinidad women shine to book 4x100m relay spots in Paris
Jamaica continued their resurgence from a disappointing first day at the World Relays in the Bahamas when they won their heat in round two of the 4x100m relays to advance to book their tickets to Paris this summer.
Using the same foursome – Jodean Smith, Tia Clayton, Alana Reid and Remona Burchell - that ran on Saturday, changed their running order with Burchell and Reid – switching positions on the third and fourth legs.
The change worked like a charm as they sped to victory in 42.74 seconds to advance to the final and onto Paris.
Jamaica’s Caribbean neighbours, Trinidad and Tobago will also be in Paris this summer. The quartet of Taejha Badal, Reese Webster, Reyare Thomas and Leah Bertrand finished second in 43.54 to advance as automatic qualifiers to the Olympic Games.
Italy, who won the first heat in 42.60 and second-place finishers Côte d'Ivoire (42.63) as well as Nigeria (42.71), winners of heat three and Switzerland (42.75) are also off to the Olympic Games.
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