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.
Seville sizzles with personal best 19.96s-clocking at Atlanta City Games
With the Olympic Games now approximately 11 weeks away, Jamaica's Oblique Seville indicated his readiness for the global multi-sport showpiece, as he clocked an impressive personal best 19.96 seconds to win the men’s 200m at the Adidas Atlanta City Games at Piedmont Park, on Saturday.
Seville, running from lane four, in the four-athlete field, blew away the competition to win in a negative 1.1 metres per second wind reading, and took apart his previous best of 20.17s.
Such a performance from Seville certainly laid down a marker for what is to come at the Racers Grand Prix and National Trials in the coming months, as he targets a medal or two at this summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old won ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards, who clocked a season’s best 20.04s, while American Elija Goodwin (20.47s) and Jamaica’s 400m World champion Antonio Watson (20.99s), completed the field.
There were no such fortunes for the Caribbean ladies in the women’s 200m, as Junelle Bromfield (23.44s) of Jamaica, and Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams (23.47s) were fourth and fifth respectively. The event was swept by Americans Lynna Irby-Jackson (22.67s), Kennedy Blackmon (22.96s) and Lauren Williams-Jones (23.18s).
The same was true for Jamaica’s Demisha Roswell (12.98s) and Yanique Thompson (13.13s), who placed fourth and fifth respectively in the women’s 100m hurdles. American Kendra Harrison (12.67s) finished tops ahead of Nigeria’s World record holder Tobi Amusan (12.73s) and Great Britain’s Cindy Sember (12.86s).
Carey McLeod placed third in the men's long jump.
America’s World 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway topped the event in a World leading 13.07s, running in a slight headwind. Robert Dunning (13.40s) and Michael Dickson (13.50s) were second and third, also with season’s best marks.
The much-anticipated men’s 150m was expectedly won by American World sprint double champion Noah Lyles, who stopped the clock in 14.41s. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (14.66s) and Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando (14.86s) were second and third, while Jamaican Tyquendo Tracey (15.90s) was fifth.
In the men’s long jump, Jamaica’s Carey McLeod continued his good early season form with a third-place finish, after a best leap of 7.92m. The event was won by Italy’s Mattia Furlani, who cut the sand at 8.06m, while American Damarcus Simpson was second with a season’s best leap of 7.94m. Bahamian Laquan Nairn (7.70m) was fifth.
Jamaica’s Chanice Porter, with a season’s best 6.58m, and Tissanna Hickling (6.50m), were fifth and sixth in the women’s long jump, won by American Tara Davis-Woodhall, who cut the sand at 7.17m. Another American Quanesha Burks (6.89m) and Nigeria’s Ese Brume (6.87m) were second and third respectively.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Akani Simbine indicated that he was still a part of the conversation for in the men’s sprints, as he topped the 100m with a World Leading 9.90s in a slight 0.4 metres per second headwind. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (10.00s) and American Kendal Williams (10.05s) were the runners-up.
American Aleia Hobbs won the women’s 100m in a season’s best 10.88s in a slight tailwind of 0.5 m/s. Her compatriots Tamar Clark (10.98s) and Mikiah Brisco (11.00s), also clocked season’s best for second and third.
Grenadian Olympians Kirani James, Lindon Victor set to compete on different continents this weekend
As they continue sharpen their skills ahead this summer’s Olympics Games in Paris, France, Grenadian Olympians Kirani James and Lindon Victor are set to compete at separate meets on different continents this weekend.
James, the 2012 Olympic champion and three-time medalist, has been confirmed for the LA Grand Prix on Saturday, May 18, at the Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, California. This will be his second race of the season having opened at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on April 28.
Meanwhile, Victor, a decathlete, will take part in the Hypo Meeting at the Mosle Stadium in Gotzis, Austria, from Saturday, May 18 to Sunday, May 19.
The Hypo Meeting is a World-Athletics organized combined events gold level meet that features the world’s top heptathletes and decathletes in two days of grueling competition.
Victor, a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and the holder of several national records for Grenada has his sights set on the 2024 Paris Olympics where he will make his third Olympic appearance for the Spice Island.
Following competition in Austria, Victor will fly home to Grenada where he will contest the long jump and the 100m at the Grenada Invitational on June 6.
Olympic hopeful Tamarri Lindo faces deportation to Jamaica amidst Olympic dreams
Tamarri Lindo, a standout track athlete from York University in Canada, finds himself grappling with the looming threat of deportation just as his Olympic aspirations reach a critical juncture. Despite his impressive athletic achievements, including a recent bronze medal in the 60-metre hurdles for York University at the national collegiate championships, Lindo's dreams of representing Canada at the upcoming Olympics are in peril.
Tamarri's journey to Canada began in 2019 when he and his family fled Jamaica due to alleged threats and violence linked to his father George Lindo's political activism against gang influence in support of the opposition party. Tamarri, who has excelled both academically and athletically, earned a Ca.$2,500 scholarship after catching the eye of scouts while in high school.
"My goal was to make the 2024 Paris Olympics. But now, it feels like everything is being taken away," Lindo lamented in an emotional interview with CTV National News. "I feel like I could have a mental health breakdown. My heart is sinking."
Despite providing evidence of threats and violence faced in Jamaica, the Lindo family's asylum claims have been denied multiple times by Canadian immigration officials. The most recent pre-removal risk assessment, conducted in March 2023, upheld previous decisions, prompting the Canada Border Services Agency to issue a deportation order scheduled for next week.
Immigration lawyer Aidan Simardone, advocating for the Lindo family, has filed for a judicial review as their final recourse to remain in Canada. He condemned the decision, highlighting the potential danger awaiting the Lindos if forced to return to Jamaica.
"The fact that they are doing this is unconscionable," Simardone asserted. "It goes against our Canadian values of providing people their fair opportunities and protection to those in danger in other countries."
For Tamarri, who hoped his athletic achievements would bolster his family's case for residency, the uncertainty looms heavily. As he faces the imminent threat of deportation, he remains hopeful for a successful appeal while continuing to train and pursue his athletic goals amidst the uncertainty that surrounds his family's future in Canada.
As the legal battle unfolds, supporters have rallied behind the Lindo family, advocating for a reconsideration of their case and hoping for a resolution that allows them to remain in Canada and for Tamarri to pursue his Olympic dreams.
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