Saint Lucia’s track dreams at this year’s Commonwealth Games remain alive as the Men’s 4x100m Relay Team qualified on Saturday at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The quartet of Delan Edward, Lenyn Leonce, Michael Joseph and Stephan Charles ran a record-breaking 39.96s in the Men’s 4x100m Relay – Round 1 Heat 2, finishing fourth.
Nigeria took first place with 38.85s, with Kenya and The Gambia copping second and third places with 38.92s and 39.77s respectively.
Team Saint Lucia’s performance on Saturday smashed the previous National Record, which stood at 40.96s.
“Basically, we were well prepared for the 4x100m Relay,” said Henry Bailey, Athletics Team Coach, following the race. “I mean, the boys worked extremely hard, and, of course, one of our major objectives was achieved, in that we were able to set a new National Record.”
He added: “It’s our first Men’s 4x100m Relay Team at the Commonwealth Games. Previously, we had a 4x100m Relay Team at the Panam Games.”
Sunday’s Finals will feature Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia, Saint Lucia, England, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Singapore.
Bailey said the team is now focused on resetting its goals to see whether they can better both their time and place in the Men’s 4x100m Relay Finals on Sunday.
Team Captain, Lenyn Leonce, said the win was a relief for the team, having made a few errors in the race.
“We had a shaky performance at first. Our exchanges weren’t as good as they should have been. But it’s something that we’re working on and we’re just glad that we got the new National Record and we’re in the Finals,” Leonce explained.
As for expectations for Sunday’s Finals, he said: “Anything can happen in the Finals. We’re just going to go out there and do our best. Whatever the result is, we’ll be fine with it. Hopefully, we’ll get a new National Record again on the one we just established.