By KELSIE JOHNSON, NG Sports Reporter, kelsie@nasguard.com

The competition on the international scene is heating up, as Bahamian athletes continue down the path in search of obtaining the qualifying marks for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

This past weekend, several Bahamians were hoping to surpass the marks so they to could compete at the highest level of competition. At the Georgia Invitational held at the Specs Town track in Athens, Georgia, co-national record holder in the 400 meters (m), Avard Moncur, along with Dominic Demeritte and Osbourne Moxey took to the track.

In the 400m, Moncur clocked 47.17 seconds for the win over Marquis Andrews and Dedrick Evans, who finished in times of 48.08 seconds and 48.23 seconds respectively. Demeritte was clocked at 10.56 seconds in the 100m. He finished sixth while Jamial Rolle was fifth in 10.49 seconds. Timicka Clarke was sixth in the women's 100m in 11.62 seconds.

Rolle also got the better of Demeritte in the 200m, crossing the line in 20.96 seconds for third and Demeritte, 21.07 seconds for fifth place. Also in the event was Aaron Cleare, who clocked 21.21 seconds for seventh overall. Over in the long jump, Moxey secured a win with a leap of 7.91m (25' 11"). He opened the competition with 7.88m, leading all jumps. He then followed up with leaps of 7.86m and 7.91m. Moxey opted not to complete the remaining two jumps.

At the Osaka Grand Prix, national record holder in the 100m, Chandra Sturrup, finished second in a time of 11.53 seconds. The meet served as Sturrup's first individual race on the season. The winning time in the event was posted by Carmelita Jeter of the United States in 11.30 seconds.

At the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, held on Friday, 'Superman' Leevan Sands soared to 16.88m for second behind Randy Lewis of Grenada, who won with a best leap of 17.44 seconds. The third best jump was performed by Aarik Wilson of the United States, 16.88m. Sands second place finish gave him 16 points on the World Athletics Tour.

Testing her speed at the same meet was Christine Amertil, who competed in the 100m and the 400m events. In the 100m dash, Amertil recorded 11.61 seconds for seventh and 51.86 seconds for sixth in the 400m. She earned a combined 14 points from both events. On the Tour, Sturrup is fifth overall in the 100m with 12 points and Amertil 15th with six points. Amertil is in fifth place in the 400m with 12 points and Sands second in the triple jump with 16 points.