Spikes30 Apr 2015


4 X Fantastic

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Bahamas Relay

As the anticipation for this weekend's IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas continues to build, we've dug out some of our favourite relay performances by Caribbean teams from the recent history of track and field.

1. Women's 4x100m, Sydney 2000

The Bahamas' Golden Girls – AKA Pauline Davis-Thompson, Savatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup and Debbie Ferguson – blitzed to gold in a superfast 41.95 ahead of Jamaica in second place and the USA in third in the 4x100m at the Sydney Olympics.

Two day's earlier, Davis-Thompson had clinched silver in the 200m, later upgraded to gold after the disqualification of Marion Jones. It meant the Bahamas won two golds at an Olympics for the first time in history – a feat they haven't repeated since. 

 
Golden Girls Sydney 2000

Sydney's Golden Girls

2. Men's 4x100m, London 2012

The very best athletes turn on the class when the world is watching, and that's exactly what Usain Bolt, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Yohan Blake did in the 4x100m final at the 2012 Olympics.

Bolt had already claimed his first two golds of the London Games by retaining his 100m and 200m Olympics titles. Unlike four years earlier in Beijing, however, those golds were not won with world record times. In the relay he made sure he set that straight. Bolt clocked an incredible split of 8.80secs to stop the clock at 36.84, ensuring the Jamaican's retained their Olympic relay title and won a shiny new world record too.

 
Bolt Relay

"Make that six Olympic golds"

3. Men's 4x400m, London 2012

Going in to London 2012, Chris Brown, the elder statesman of the Bahamas' relay team, had won 4x400m bronze and silver medals at the previous two Olympics without ever tasting gold. All that changed when Brown went out first for his team which included Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller.

In a thrilling race, Miller out-ran American Angelo Taylor on the final straight to win the Bahamas' first ever men's Olympic relay gold. Trinidad and Tobago finished in third to claim their second relay medal of the Games, and to ensure there were two Caribbean representatives on the podium. 

 
Bahamas Relay

A simply stunning finish that gave the Bahamas their first gold of the Games

4. Women's 4x400m, Edmonton 2001

When you consider the depth of Jamaican sprint talent that exists today, it's hard to believe that going in to the 2001 World Championships, the nation had never won a world or Olympic relay gold medal. The women's team consisting of Sandie Richards, Catherine Scott-Pomales, Debbie-Ann Parris and Lorraine Fenton changed all that.

They stormed to a historic win ahead of the German and Russian teams, who had been the more familiar winners of relay events in world champs and Olympic games prior. It was a defining moment, and one that set the tone for pretty much every major championship relay to have taken place since.

It's worth noting that the men's 4x400m race at the 2001 world champs was won by a Bahamas team that included a young Chris Brown. 14 years have passed and the evergreen one-lapper is still running. Look out for him in Nassau this weekend.