Three-time All-American Doneisha Anderson will run the first leg of the 4x400 relay team for the Bahamas.
Gators In Olympic Games: Doneisha Anderson
Monday, July 19, 2021 | General, Track and Field, Chris Harry, Olympics
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Bahamian women's 4x400 relay team won't go to Tokyo as one of the favorites to win the event, but count on their story being told in the context of what happened in international sprinting two decades ago in their home country.
They were known simply as "The Golden Girls."
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Savatheda Fynes-Coke, both just out of high school, teamed with a pair of collegians in Chandra Sturrup and Pauline Davis-Thompson to win gold medals in both the 1999 World Championships and the 2000 Summer Olympics Games at Sydney. Had the 2020 Games not been whacked by COVID-19, the 20-year anniversary stories of the celebrated sprinters would have been aplenty.
And probably still will be one year later.
Doneisha Anderson, a third-year junior at Florida, along with Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Georgia), Megan Moss (Kentucky) and Anthonique Strachan (St. Augustine's College, an island high school), figure to be asked questions about what if any recollection — Answer: None — they have the iconic "Golden Girls," but they'll know their predecessors' famous story and go to Japan dreaming of repeating it.
The Bahamian 4x400 relay team for the 2021 Olympics (from left): Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Anthonique Strachan, Doneisha Anderson and Megan Moss (Kentucky).
HOW SHE QUALIFIED: The Bahamian relay 4x400 relay team clocked a time of 3:29.40 at the Blue Marlin Last Chance Meet in Nassau earlier this month. The time held up as the fourth-fastest among the non-automatic qualifiers in the event.
TOKYO SCHEDULE: Aug. 5 — 4x400 heats. Aug. 67— 4x400 final.
UF CAREER: Three-time indoor All American and member of 2021 4x400 relay team that placed second in the SEC and fourth at the NCAA during outdoor competition.
NEED TO KNOW: Anderson was named 2014 Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations Female Youth Athlete of the Year.
QUOTE OF NOTE: ""The issue in my field is that most are not dedicated on seeing others be successful, but I'm an individual that loves what I do and I want others to be successful with the same tools and resources I was given as an athlete." — Anderson, on her Linkedin Page.
