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Relay: Losing Golden Opportunity!
From my comments in the thread below, my friends here most likely realize that I was not happy with the 42.06 seconds ran by the Jamaica women’s sprint relay team on Saturday.
Of course, the argument advanced by Islandman and others about the state of the ladies’ minds amidst the chaos and the importance of safe baton passing to ensure the gold medal are most certainly very logical and certainly relevant arguments. Also, as Hortical very correctly stated, “A win is a win.” That too I cannot argue against. I respect those points!
We are, however, running out of time to stamp our authority on an event that we should have firmly owned (in terms of record) by now! But let me stop and let a seasoned, world class athlete, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, put another angle to the issue (her perspective is that we should have used our best team). The following interview was published in today’s Daily Gleaner
Source of Interview story: The Jamaica Gleaner
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...s/sports2.html
Jamaica women could have had a world record
Published: Monday | August 24, 2009
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie
Berlin, Germany:
Veteran Bahamian sprinter Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie who led her country to a silver medal in the women's sprint relay on Saturday evening in Berlin said Jamaica's decision not to run their best team in the final of the event on Saturday was 'mind-boggling'.
According to Ferguson, Jamaica's best team had a chance of breaking the world record.
Take advantage
"It does not happen too often that you have a team to break the world record so when you have it have it you take advantage of it," Ferguson-McKenzie told journalists in the mixed zone.
".. And that's what I thought was - very mind-boggling. Why aren't they putting it together. Take the world record it does not come around too often. But I can't judge them they know what they are doing and obviously they still went out there and they won," said the 33-year-old sprinter. Ferguson-McKenzie ran on the Bahamas 'golden girls' team which took the 1999 World title and the 2000 Olympic crown.
Jamaica ran the sprint relay without Veronica Campbell-Brown who withdrew from the team shortly before the race was run.
Campbell-Brown later slammed the team management here for what she termed their "unprofessional" conduct.
The women's 4x100m world record is 41.37 seconds held since 1985 by the then East Germany. The members of that team were Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald and Marlies Gohr. A Jamaican team with Shelly-Ann Fraser, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Aleen Bailey and Kerron Stewart was expected to get near to or go under the world record. Fraser is the national record holder with 10.73, Stewart has a personal best 10.75, a time she equalled in the 100m final here while Campbell Brown has a season best 10.95 and Bailey, 11.07.
Jamaica won the sprint relay on Saturday in 42.06 seconds with Bahamas second in a season best 42.29. - E.T.
Of course, the argument advanced by Islandman and others about the state of the ladies’ minds amidst the chaos and the importance of safe baton passing to ensure the gold medal are most certainly very logical and certainly relevant arguments. Also, as Hortical very correctly stated, “A win is a win.” That too I cannot argue against. I respect those points!
We are, however, running out of time to stamp our authority on an event that we should have firmly owned (in terms of record) by now! But let me stop and let a seasoned, world class athlete, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, put another angle to the issue (her perspective is that we should have used our best team). The following interview was published in today’s Daily Gleaner
Source of Interview story: The Jamaica Gleaner
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...s/sports2.html
Jamaica women could have had a world record
Published: Monday | August 24, 2009
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie
Berlin, Germany:
Veteran Bahamian sprinter Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie who led her country to a silver medal in the women's sprint relay on Saturday evening in Berlin said Jamaica's decision not to run their best team in the final of the event on Saturday was 'mind-boggling'.
According to Ferguson, Jamaica's best team had a chance of breaking the world record.
Take advantage
"It does not happen too often that you have a team to break the world record so when you have it have it you take advantage of it," Ferguson-McKenzie told journalists in the mixed zone.
".. And that's what I thought was - very mind-boggling. Why aren't they putting it together. Take the world record it does not come around too often. But I can't judge them they know what they are doing and obviously they still went out there and they won," said the 33-year-old sprinter. Ferguson-McKenzie ran on the Bahamas 'golden girls' team which took the 1999 World title and the 2000 Olympic crown.
Jamaica ran the sprint relay without Veronica Campbell-Brown who withdrew from the team shortly before the race was run.
Campbell-Brown later slammed the team management here for what she termed their "unprofessional" conduct.
The women's 4x100m world record is 41.37 seconds held since 1985 by the then East Germany. The members of that team were Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger, Ingrid Auerswald and Marlies Gohr. A Jamaican team with Shelly-Ann Fraser, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Aleen Bailey and Kerron Stewart was expected to get near to or go under the world record. Fraser is the national record holder with 10.73, Stewart has a personal best 10.75, a time she equalled in the 100m final here while Campbell Brown has a season best 10.95 and Bailey, 11.07.
Jamaica won the sprint relay on Saturday in 42.06 seconds with Bahamas second in a season best 42.29. - E.T.
Yuh seit!
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