The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SOPOT, Poland: The Bahamas will be without a lane in the men's 4 x 400 metre final or a competitor in the men's high jump when the IAAF World Indoor Championships comes to a close on Sunday.

However, sprinter Sheniqua 'Q' Ferguson will have one last chance for the Bahamas to compete for another spot in the final if she can survive the eight cut for the women's 60 metres.

While the Bahamas suffered its share of disappointments in Saturday morning's qualifying round at the Ergo Arena in both the relay and the high jump, Ferguson came through in the sprints, joining Warren Fraser, who got to the men's semifinal that will be contested tonight.

Also tonight, the Bahamas will have a chance to compete for its first two medals as Shaunae Miller and Chris 'Fireman' Brown will run within a hour of each other in the women and men's 400m final.

No lane for the Bahamas in the 4x4 relay.

Not what was expected, not just from the team of Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu, Andretti Bain and Latoy Williams, but the officials waited until the first leg runners in the last of the two heats had almost completed the first of their two lap race before they stopped it.

Miller, the anchor man for the Bahamas' gold medal team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, was the victim on the first leg. By the time the race was re-run, it was totally different story, not just from the performances, but the outcome as well.

The heat turned out to be the slowest of the two with only the first two finishers getting into Sunday's final - Great Britain with their winning time of 3:06.09 for first place and Russia with a season's best of 3:06.63 for fifth.

The Bahamas ended up running 3.09.79 for fourth place and eighth overall - two spots shy of advancing to the final.

The other four qualifiers came from heat one, led by the winning team from the United States in 3:04.36 ahead of Jamaica's 3:06.12. Poland (3:06.50) and Ukraine (3:07.54) got the final two spots on faster losing times.

Miller felt he gave it his best after coming back for the second run after a short rest.

"I was ready to react, but I had to try and bring it back up again," said Miller, who was still panting when he came into the mixed zone where they are greeted by the media. "I couldn't get it back like I wanted to so the second time I reacted slower and I think that affected me in the first lap."

Mathieu got the baton in third place behind the Britons and the Russians, but he didn't catch anybody on the second leg. He declined to offer any comments when he came through the mixed zone.

As for Bain, who made his return to the international scene after a two-year hiatus, he stayed in third place after the first lap. But on the second lap, he was caught and passed by Nigeria going towards the final bend.

"I felt okay. At one point I felt I had a chance to make a move towards the British and the Russian guys, but I didn't," he insisted.

"I felt we had a good team effort out there. Ramon gave it all he had and it was our job to give it all we had. It was a team effort. That's why you have four legs.

"Some persons have to go out there and give it more than others and some persons just have to go out there and stick with what they have.

So we just had to work with what we got from each other and just hope it all work out."

Unfortunately down in the hole in fourth place, Williams wasn't enough to make up any ground. Instead, the field slowly pulled away from him as the Bahamas' bid for a lane in the final faded away.

"I gave it all I had, but I wasn't at 100 percent after I felt my (left) hamstring in practice yesterday (Friday)," he said. "We tried to work on it, but it wasn't at 100 percent today. That happens in track and field. One day you are up and the next day you could be down. I tried to give it my all."

Although they won't advance, Williams said they have to be blessed none of the team-mates sustained any serious injuries as they now prepare for the outdoor season.

No high jumpers in final

Donald Thomas never got in a height and Ryan Ingraham bowed out after

going for his third clearance.

Thomas, the 2007 world champion, struggled from the start of the competition as he failed to clear any of the opening height of 2.17 metres or 7-feet, one-inch.

"During the warm up, I twisted my (left) take off ankle and I wasn't able to jump," said Thomas. "It was rough, rough, rough."

As for Ingraham, the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championship bronze medalist, he got stuck at 2.21m (7-3) for 15th place. He cleared the opening height of 2.17m (7-1 1/2) on his first attempt and did 2.21m (7-3) on his third try. But he missed all three at 2.25m (7-4 1/2).

"I just made some mistakes, trying to focus on too many things," Ingraham said. "But overall, I felt I jumped pretty good. Things just didn't come together. I just have to prepare more earlier and go through my approach and run-up. I am okay I just have to get ready for outdoors now."

Ferguson into semifinal

Although it was back in 2008, Ferguson clearly remembered coming to Bydgoszcz, Poland to win the gold in the 200m and the bronze in the 100m at the IAAF World Junior Championship.

Now back as a professional athlete, she's hoping some more success as she gears up for the semifinal in her first elite world indoor appearance.

Her time of 7.31 seconds was good enough for fourth place in the first of six heats in the preliminary round.

"It was't what I wanted it to be. I wanted to get a better start so I can better execute my race," she said. "But 7.31 equaled my season's best so that's good. I just have to try and change some of the things I didn't do right today."

After missing out on one of the three automatic qualifying spots, Ferguson had to wait until the final classification where she secured the 28th spot to advance to the semifinal on Sunday at 9:15 am.

She will run out of lane one in the first of three heats that will feature top qualifier Murielle Ahoure from the Ivory Coast in lane three and American LaKeisha Lawson in lane six. Also in the mix are defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown from Jamaica and American Tianna Bartoletta in heat two and Trinidad & Tobago's Michelle-Lee Ahye and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in heat three.

"The competition is very stiff," Ferguson said "This is supposed to be an off year, but a lot of competitors have showed up here, so you really have to perform before you get to start running outdoors."

Ferguson, who has since competed at the World Championship twice and the Olympic Games since her last appearance in Poland, will have to either finish as one of the top two automatic qualifiers or produce one of the next two fastest times in order to get into the final at 12:05 pm.