|
|
|
|
Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
|
At the Beijing Olympic Games, The Bahamas’ 4x400m relay team finished with the Silver medal in a time of 2:58.03. Members of the team included Andretti Bain, Michael Mathieu, Andre Williams, and Chris Brown.
The best time done by a Bahamian team was 2:57.32 in winning the Silver medal at the Helsinki World Championships in 2005.
That time places The Bahamas in fifteenth place in the All Time performances, and in fourth place behind The United States, Great Britain, and Jamaica. The USA holds the World record at 2:54.29 done on the 22nd of August, 1993 on the day of 2011 Austin Sealy Award winner Anthonique Strachan’s birth. That was at the Stuttgart World Championships. Great Britain clocked 2:56.60 to win the Silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and Jamaica ran 2:56.75 for Silver at the Athens World Championships in 1997.
We thought we would provide a history of the event for track and Field fans to see just how far we have come.
Some fifty years ago the Pioneers Sporting Club ran 3:30.0 to win the Empire Day meet, May 24th, 1961. This was some thirty three seconds less than the present record. Even our women’s record is faster than 3:30.0.
On that Pioneer team fifty years ago were Winston “Gus” Cooper, Hugh Bullard, Kirk Knowles, and Julian Brown. Both Bullard and Brown had attended the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, while they were students of St. John’s College. Bullard ran the 400m in 51.8sec and Brown was unable to participate since he fell ill. That March Bullard, the speedster, and Brown, the eight hundred meter star ran the fastest 400m race ever witnessed in The Bahamas. At St. Augustine’s College track Brown clocked 49.9sec, the first time that a sub fifty second race had ever been done in The Bahamas. Bullard crawled over the line to finish the race.
Fast forward seventeen years to Medellin, Colombia at the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. A team of Rudy Levarity, Steve Hanna, Rickey Moxey, and Andre Newbold clocked 3:10.52 for a new Bahamian National record.
At the Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships in Havana in 1983 a team of Allan Ingraham, Joey Wells, Greg Rolle, and David Charlton clocked 3:07.06 to win the Silver medal.
I took another ten years for another breakthrough in this event. Sidney Cartwright, head of the Bahamas Tigers concentrated on this event.
In 1995 at the IAAF World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, Troy McIntosh (46.1sec), Dennis Darling (45.6sec), Tim Munnings (46.51sec) and, Carl Oliver (45.65sec) ran 3:02.85 to place sixth in the semi-final.
This time was improved to 3:02.17 in the Atlanta semi-final with Carl Oliver running 47.28sec, Troy McIntosh 44.90sec, Dennis Darling 45.28sec, and Tim Munnings 45.25sec.
Due to Nigeria being disqualified in the semi, The Bahamas advanced to the final where they ran 3:02.71 for seventh.
At the Sydney Olympic Games the team of Avard Moncur , Troy McIntosh, Carl Oliver, and Chris Brown ran 2:59.23 for fourth, behind The USA, Jamaica, and Nigeria. Due to doping infractions by the USA the Bahamas moved up to the Bronze medal. They had run 2:59.02 in the semi-final.
The next year in Edmonton, Canada, The Bahamas finished second with a 2:58.19 clocking. The splits were Moncur-45.1sec, Brown-44.6sec, McIntosh-44.42sec, and Munnings-44.13sec.
Based upon more doping infractions by the USA, The Bahamas was given the Gold medal.
At the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, the team of Nathaniel McKinney, Avard Moncur, Andre Williams, and Chris Brown finished in second place with a new Bahamian National record of 2:57.32.
As you can see, we have definitely come a long way!
It is our belief that we can go much further.
At the recent Carifta Games the Bahamas team of Andre Wells and Chavez Hart of Grand Bahama, and Stephen Newbold and O’Jay Ferguson of New Providence set a new Carifta Games record at 3:07.14.
On Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu, Andre Williams, and Chris Brown placed second to the USA in the USA vs The World with a 3:02.79 clocking.
The team did not include Demetrius Pinder from Texas A & M, the NCAA Indoor Champion, who anchored his school to victory in the College race.
Competition will be very intense in this June’s National Open Championships to make this Augusts’ World Championships team. Make sure you do not miss it.
© Copyright 2011 by thebahamasweekly.com
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
