Trinidad and Tobago begin Olympic quest at World Athletics Relays on Friday

Trinidad and Tobago’s three relay teams begin their Paris 2024 Olympics qualification quest at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, on Friday.

The nation’s women’s 4x100m relay team hit the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium track in their opening heat from 7.50pm (TT time).

The five-member squad is led by multiple and reigning TT women’s 100m champion Michelle-Lee Ahye, a World Championships bronze medallist.

Joining her are another World Champs bronze medallist Reyare Thomas, alongside fellow talented sprinters Leah Bertrand, Reese Webster and Taejah Badal.

The men’s 4x100m relay team begin their opening heat at 8.25pm. That squad comprises Kion Benjamin, Jerod Elcock, Timothy Frederick, Eric Harrison and Omari Lewis.

At 9.49pm, the men’s 4x400m relay team, led by speedster Jereem Richards, begin their first round race. The other five team members are Asa Guevara, Shakeem McKay, Joshua St Clair, Che Lara and Frederick.

The top 14 teams in each event at the World Athletics Relays automatically qualify for this year’s Olympic Games.

Dexter Voisin is team manager, alongside TT Olympic gold medallist Keston Bledman, Ian Carter and Charles Joseph as assistant coaches.

Additionally, 12 of the country’s top junior athletes will also compete for the pre-show event which takes place just before the major competitions on each day.

The pre-show features the top three teams from the boys’ U20, girls’ U20 and mixed U20 4X100m events at the recent Carifta Games competing against teams drawn from the wider North American, Central American and Caribbean area, including the US.

TT’s boys’ U20 team includes Dylan Woodruffe, Mikhail Byer, Che Wickham Cameron Powell and Kadeem and Hakeem Chinapoo.

The girls’ U20s feature Janae De Cannes, Alexxe Henry, Sierra Joseph, Symphony Patrick, Keziah Peters and Khadija Pickering. The junior teams will be joined by coaches Kelvin Nancoo and Donelle Stafford.