Relay Team Pursues Improved Qualifying Time

The country’s 4×1 relay team will seek to meet the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Champions when they compete at the Trinidad & Tobago National Championships this weekend.
The five-member team of Daniel “Bakka” Bailey, Cejhae Greene, Chevaughn Walsh, Jared Jarvis and Tahir Walsh left for Trinidad on Thursday accompanied by coach Carl Casey.
President of the Antigua & Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA), Everton “Mano” Cornelius said the aim is to have the team better their last time and secure a spot on the second list of eight teams that will compete at the World Championships.
“We didn’t make the mark in the first two and in the third we did a time of 40 seconds flat. We know that is not good enough to qualify in the second eight because the first eight are the automatic qualifiers for the World Championships, so we are looking at trying again at the Trinidad national championships. We got an invitation to send our relay team to take part and we are taking the opportunity,” he said.
The top eight teams coming out of last year’s World Championships were automatic qualifiers for this year’s event, while a second list of eight must qualify via times to be eligible to compete.
Asked if athletes will be given an opportunity to meet the qualifying standards for other events leading into the World Championships, Cornelius said that once given the permission by the meet organisers, the athletes will be allowed to partake.
“It’s not a surety that we will be given a chance to take part in the individual events but we are guaranteed the relay. Once we are given the opportunity to take part in the individual events, the athletes will choose what event they would like to take part in but our concentration is basically on the relay team at this point,” he said.
Also, a total of six athletes will represent Antigua & Barbuda at the Junior Commonwealth Games slated for July in the Bahamas.