TT women in 4x100m relay final

NARISSA FRASER

IT is now left up to Keshorn Walcott and the men’s 4x400-metres and women’s 4x100m relay teams to earn silverware for TT at the 2019 IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

The women’s team qualified for today’s final after placing second in their qualifying heat yesterday afternoon. Semoy Hackett started off the race in lane four, handing over to Kelly-Ann Baptiste. The third leg was run by Reyare Thomas, who had an impressive run, and passed to anchor Kamaria Durant, who then battled for second place against Switzerland’s Salome Kora. The TT team clocked a season’s best of 42.75 seconds and the US won in 42.46 seconds.

TT copped bronze in the event at the 2015 World Champs in Beijing, China, setting the current national record of 42.03 seconds.

TT sprinter Michelle Lee Ahye congratulated the team on Instagram. She was part of the bronze team at the 2015 staging but missed out this year after being provisionally suspended by the IAAF for “Whereabouts Failures.”

The men’s 400m final ended in disappointment for Machel Cedenio who placed seventh. He ran in lane six and clocked a time of 45.30 seconds – a gap from his time in the semis which was 44.41 seconds. After a strong start, the quarter-miler’s pace began to decline in the final 100 metres, at which he was nearing third place as he edged Grenada’s Kirani James. Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas won with a time of 43.48 seconds, setting a national record.

No TT athlete has won this event at the World Championships. Renny Quow copped bronze at the 2009 Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Cedenio may be part of the men’s 4x400m relay team who will compete in their qualifying heat this afternoon. The team will be chosen from Cedenio, Jereem Richards, Kyle Greaux, Asa Guevara, Darren Alfred, Deon Lendore and Onal Mitchell.

TT has the second-fastest season’s best (three minutes, 0.81 seconds) of all 16 teams in the two heats. The US team leads with a time of two minutes, 59.05 seconds.

TT won gold earlier this year at the IAAF World Relays in Yokohama, Japan in May. They also won gold at the 2017 Championships with the combined efforts of Richards, Cedenio, Lalonde Gordon and Jarrin Solomon.

Olympic medallist Keshorn Walcott will also compete today in the men’s javelin throw qualifiers in Group B. He holds a season’s best throw of 86.09m and a personal best of 90.16m. In 2012, he became the second TT athlete to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games staging after winning the men’s javelin throw event at the Olympic Games in London. The first was won by Hasely Crawford for the men’s 100m final at the 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada. The javelin throw qualifiers begin at 11 am, the men’s 4x400m relay heats are at 1.37 pm and the women’s 4x100m relay is at 3.05 pm.