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Athletics in the Bahamas

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This article is about the Athletics in the Bahamas from the early 20th century to onward

In 70 years, The Bahamas has won 14 Olympic medals at the Olympics,[1] 25 medals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics,[2] and numerous medals at the Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games. Bahamas has a population of 393,450 people, making it the 170th most populous country in the world.

1950s

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See also: Athletics at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada[3]

Irrington Isaacs came 7th in his heat in the 100-yard dash in a time of 10.7. He did not advance to the semifinals

Leonard Dames Ran 10.3 for 6th place in his heat, which meant he did not qualify for the semifinals. Dames would later run 23.9 in the 220-yard dash for 5th in his heat.

Cyril Johnson came 4th in his heat of the 440-yard dash with a time of 51.8. He did not progress to the semifinals. Johnson would later go on to place 8th in the 880-yard dash with a time of 2:10.2. He did not advance to the semifinals.

Irrington Isaacs placed 5th in his heat of the 440-yard dash with a time of 54.3. Issacs would not move on to the semifinals.[4]

Melbourne 1956 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1956 Summer Olympics

Tom Robinson was the first athlete to compete in Track and Field at a Summer Olympics for the Bahamas. Robinson ran the 100m and 200m dash running times of 11.06 and 21.76 for a 4th place finish in both events. He did not advance to the next rounds

1960s

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Tokyo 1964 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1964 Summer Olympics
See also: Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics

Thomas A Robinson made the 100m final and placed 8th with a time of 10.5 [5]

1970s

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Munich 1972 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1972 Summer Olympics
See also: Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Claudette Powell placed 7th in her 100m heat in a time of 12.01. This would be the first woman to compete in the Olympic Games for the country.[6]

1980s

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Los Angeles 1984 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1984 Summer Olympics

The first women's 4 x 100 metres Relay team was fielded for the Bahamas. It consisted of Eldece Clarke-Lewis Pauline Davis-Thompson Debbie Greene and Oralee Fowler. They ran a time of 44.15 in their heat to qualify for the finals. They then placed 6th in the final with a time of 44.18.[7]

Seoul 1988 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Norbert Elliott was the sole athlete for the nation to make an Olympic final that year. He placed 10th with a jump of 16.19.[8] Elliott is now Track & Field/Cross Country Head Coach at Purdue University.[9]

1990s

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Barcelona 1992 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1992 Summer Olympics

Frank Rutherford won the country's first ever medal in Track and Field placing third in the men's Triple Jump. He had a jump of 17.36.[10]

Atlanta 1996 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 1996 Summer Olympics

The Bahamas won a silver medal in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay. The team consisted Eldece Clark-Lewis, Chandra Sturrup, Sevatheda Fynes, Pauline Davis-Thompson and Debbie Ferguson. They ran a time of 42.14.[11]

2000s

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Sydney 2000 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Pauline Davis initially won a silver medal behind Marion Jones in the women's 200m. 10 years later she was upgraded to Gold when Marion Jones was stripped of the medal due to using performance-enhancing drugs. Davis ran a time of 22.27[12]

Davis would later team up with Savatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Eldece Clarke-Lewis to win the women's 4 x 100 Relay Gold in a time of 41.95. This was also the countries first Olympic gold medal in track and field.[13]

The men's 4 x 400 m Relay were upgraded to the bronze medal after initially placing 4th. The United States was stripped of the gold medal after a doping offense. The team consisted of Avard Moncur, Troy McIntosh, Carl Oliver, Chris Brown, and Tim Munnings. They ran a time of 2:59:23.[14]

Athens 2004 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Tonique Williams-Darling won the women's 400m dash in a time of 49.42. This marks the first time in history the nation won an individual gold medal at the Olympics.[15]

Debbie Ferguson won a bronze medal in the women's 200m dash. She ran a time of 22.30.[16]

Beijing 2008 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Leevan Sands picked up a bronze medal in the men's triple jump with a new national record jump of 17.59.[17]

The Men's 4 × 400 metres relay team won a silver medal with a time of 2:58.03 behind the United States. The team consisted of Andretti Bain, Michael Mathieu, Andrae Williams, Chris Brown

2010s

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London 2012 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2012 Summer Olympics

The Men's 4 × 400 metres relay won a gold medal beating the heavy pre-race favorites of the United States. This was only the 7th time in history since 1912 that the United States lost the event. The Bahamas also became the third-fastest nation in the event with a time of 2:56.72. The team consisted of Chris Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, and Ramon Miller.[18]

Rio 2016 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Shaunae Miller won the women's 400m Dash with a personal Best of 49.44.[19]

The Men's 4 × 400 metres relay team won a bronze medal with a time of 2:58.49 behind the United States and Jamaica. The team consisted of Alonzo Russell, Michael Mathieu, Steven Gardiner, Chris Brown and Stephen Newbold.[20]

2020s

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Tokyo 2020 Olympics

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See also: Bahamas at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Steven Gardiner won the men's 400m dash at the 2020 edition of the games. He ran his second-fastest time of his career with a time of 43.85.[21]

Shaunae Miller won the women's 400m dash a day later, successfully defending her title from 2016. She ran a national record time of 48.36.[22]

2021

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In January 2022 Steven Gardiner ran the fastest indoor 300m of all time with a time of 31.56.[23]

Youth athletic development in Bahamas

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Most Bahamian schools have an athletics program in the curriculum, so Bahamian children are into athletics at a young age. On New Providence High schools compete separately in two Divisions Inter-school wise. Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools "BAISS" [24] and Government Secondary Schools Sports Association "GSSSA".[25] Once these champions of those two divisions have concluded, they compete on a National level joining the other high schools from the different islands in the Bahamas at the "Bahamas National High School Track and Field Championships".

Grand Bahama Island is governed by the Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association (GBSSSA).[26] Like their Nassau counterparts they stage their own track and field championships between the schools on that island before competing on the national level.

In addition to the inter-school track meets, there are numerous Club and Open meets hosted throughout the year on numerous islands. These youth and junior athletes are usually trying to qualify for the first big regional track and field championships the Carifta Games.[27] Carifta is usually hosted on Easter weekends and has produced many world-class athletes over the years. Athletes are also selected to run at World Athletics U20 Championships,[28] IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics,[29] Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics,[30] Pan American U20 Athletics Championships, Youth Olympic Games[31] and the Commonwealth Youth Games.[32]

The Primary school level in Nassau would be Nassau Primary "NPPASSA"[33] Championships and 'GBPSSA" Primary Schools Grand Bahama.

Top 5 Bahamian 100 m athletes — women

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Updated 29 January 2022

Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Location
1. 10.85 Chandra Sturrup  Bahamas 5 July 2005 Lausanne, Switzerland
2. 10.91 Savatheda Fynes  Bahamas 2 July 1999 Lausanne, Switzerland
3. 10.91 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie  Bahamas 27 July 2002 Manchester, England
4. 10.96 Eldece Clarke-Lewis  Bahamas 29 April 2000 Fort-de-France, Martinique
5. 10.97 Pauline Davis-Thompson  Bahamas 21 July 2000 Nassau, The Bahamas

Top 5 Bahamian 100 m athletes — men

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See also: 10-second barrier

Updated 29 January 2022

Rank Time Athlete Nation Date Location
1 9.91 Derrick Atkins  Bahamas 26 August 2007 Osaka, Japan
2 10.01 Samson Colebrooke  Bahamas 5 July 2019 Queretaro, Mexico
3 10.10 Shavez Hart  Bahamas 18 April 2015 Waco, Texas
4 10.11 Adrian Griffith  Bahamas 11 June 2016 Montverde, Florida
5 10.14 Warren Fraser  Bahamas 27 June 2014 Nassau, The Bahamas

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.olympiandatabase.com/index.php?id=28188&L=1 Olympian Data Base. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  2. ^ https://www.worldathletics.org/Competitions/world-athletics-championships/8th-iaaf-world-championships-6947294/medaltable World Athletics 6 February 2022.
  3. ^ https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/fifty-years-of-success-with-the-bahamas-assoc World Athletics. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  4. ^ "The Bahamas going strong for six decades". Bahamas Local. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  5. ^ http://michiganintheworld.history.lsa.umich.edu/michiganathletics/exhibits/show/sport-and-social-change/international-student-athletes Michigan In The World. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  6. ^ https://www.olympedia.org/lists/99/manual Olympedia. Retrieved 6th February 2022.
  7. ^ "The Bahamas Athletics Tradition: Small Country, Great Athletes". Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ^ "BAHAMIANS IN THE DIASPORA: NORBERT ELLIOTT". bahamasembdc.org. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. ^ "NORBERT ELLIOTT". Purduesports. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Rutherford Gets Congressional Recognition". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Davis says, who won her two gold medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000— and a silver medal in Atlanta in 1996". Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Davis-Thompson receives Olympic gold". ESPN. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. ^ "'Golden Girls' Celebrate 20 Years". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Bahamas Finally Gets Bronze From Sydney Olympics". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Olympic champion Tonique Williams-Darling looks forward to World Athletics Final". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ^ ""golden girl", Debbie Ferguson". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Olympic Bronze Medal for Bahamian Leevan Sands in Triple Jump". Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  18. ^ "'Golden Knights' Honoured". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Rio Olympics: Shaunae Miller's 'Dive' That Denied Allyson Felix Gold Divides Twitter". NBC News. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Olympic Games: Bronze For Bahamas". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas wins the 400 meters". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Miller-Uibo Repeats As Olympic 400m Champion". georgiadogs.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Gardiner breaks world indoor 300m best in Columbia". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  24. ^ http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/mar/09/sac-regain-baiss-track-and-field-championship-titl/Tribune 242. Retrieved 30 January 2022
  25. ^ http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/feb/25/gsssa-track-and-field-meet-set/ Tribune 242. Retrieved 30 January 2022
  26. ^ https://www.tourismtoday.com/news/hundreds-junior-athletes-participate-sports-festivals-grand-bahama-isandTourism Today. Retrieved 30 January 2022
  27. ^ https://worldathletics.org/news/report/local-star-miller-makes-her-mark-on-the-carif World Athletics. Retrieved 6 February 2022
  28. ^ http://www.tribune242.com/news/2012/jul/13/antonique-strachan-wins-sprint-double/ Tribune 242. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  29. ^ https://worldathletics.org/news/report/boys-200m-final-newbold-continues-bahamian World Athletics. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  30. ^ http://www.tribune242.com/news/2012/jun/11/athletes-qualify-for-cac-iaaf-world-jrs/ Tribune 242.. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  31. ^ http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/sports/Tynia_Gaither_Wins_Silver_in_Singapore_printer.shtml The Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  32. ^ http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/jul/24/mixed-relay-gold-bahamas-victorious-4x200m/ Tribune 242. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  33. ^ http://sportsinthebahamas.com/nppassa-primary-school-in-nassau/ Sportinthebahamas.com Retrieved 6 February 2022
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