The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the global governing body for athletics, has never awarded the first three versions of any major event to a single nation. The creation of the world relays and direct influence of a Bahamian on the body's executive board changed that in a heartbeat. Pauline Davis-Thompson, the Bahamian sitting on the IAAF Council, was not just instrumental in bringing the biggest sporting event ever to these shores, but she has accomplished what was previously unheard of, given the IAAF's stance on universality and spreading the wealth around when it comes to the hosting of major events.
Having the first three IAAF World Relay Championships here in The Bahamas is unprecedented, but it is a reality, and Davis-Thompson is one of the main reasons why. She lobbied on behalf of her home nation among 26 other council members, and when the final numbers were in, The Bahamas stood tall as it has done so many times on the track itself. It is also a testament of the "Bahamazing" experience that was had by visitors at the inaugural world relays last year.
"From as young as I could remember, I always loved relays, and being on the IAAF Council put me in a position to be able to bring these fantastic relay championships to The Bahamas," said Davis-Thompson. "Some research was done some time ago about a possible relay championships but it was put on the shelf. I simply brought the idea back up again. I just thought that it was a great idea, and we need to do whatever we can to make it a reality, and that my country would be the first to host it," she added haphazardly, albeit very seriously.
"My fellow council members kind of raised their eyes at me, but I just said that in The Bahamas we love track and field and what we have a passion for more than anything is relays. I just told them that we would be the perfect host. Of course, there were other countries that wanted to host the relays but I'm a fighter, and to have this magnificent stadium come on-stream at the right time made everything just right."
The 15,000-seat Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium was completed in July of 2011 and officially opened in February of 2012. Its readiness served as an ideal selling point to the IAAF Council, for the stadium becoming the host venue of the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2014. Now, IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2015 is upon us, and organizers are expecting another "Bahamazing" experience - the term first coined by a European journalist describing the inaugural event.
The IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2015 is set for May 2-3 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, starting at 7 p.m. each evening.
"When IAAF President (Lamine) Diack came to these shores for the first time (for the CARIFTA Games) in 2003, he absolutely loved it, and I think he wanted to reward us with this event. I think that because of the way Bahamians made him feel in 2003. We have great relay runners in this region, so we always knew that the world relays would be ideal for this region," said Davis-Thompson.
"I was at the forefront, but a lot of people came together and made this thing happen. Teddy McCook from Jamaica played a pivotal role as well. I told him that I needed his support on this, and he said no problem. It soon became a reality, and I was so proud of it. It was certainly my pleasure to be in a place where I could do something to help bring something so special to The Bahamas."
The late Neville "Teddy" McCook was a former president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) and also president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC). He served as an IAAF Council Member from 1999 up until the time of his death in 2013. He was instrumental in helping Davis-Thompson secure the votes necessary to bring the world relays to The Bahamas. Davis-Thompson got the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the government of The Bahamas on-board, and it became all semantics after that.
"The minister of the time (the late Charles Maynard) was real excited about it when I brought him the concept. He was on-board right away, and of course the next thing was to convince the PM (Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham) at the time. He jumped in right away because he bought into the vision and saw that it was something that was viable to The Bahamas," said Davis-Thompson. "The bid was put together, and we have to thank Tyrone Sawyer who was at the Ministry of Tourism at the time. He was instrumental in us putting the bid together. That was like virgin waters for us because The Bahamas had never bid for anything like that before, but we got a lot of support.
"The other thing was dealing with some of the other countries which wanted to host it, but I just spoke to my council members and told them that we were interested in this thing first and we really wanted to do it. I sold the point that athletics was a global sport, and the IAAF wanted it to go around the world. For a small country like The Bahamas, which has a relay history, this would be ideal for us, because we won't be able to host an Olympic Games because we are too small to do so. I'm just grateful that they were able to trust me on this and that I was convincing enough to bring it home."
The inaugural world relays last year is still being talked about today in some circles. It was simply fantastic, from the welcome and treatment of the athletes, coaches and team officials, to the complete organization of the event, the Junkanoo in the stands and, of course, the action on the track. It served as a qualifying event for the Beijing World Championships, as the first eight spots in the men and women's 4x100 and 4x400 meters (m) events automatically qualified. This year's world relays will serve as a qualifier for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the first eight spots in those same relay events being up for grabs.
"We're looking to create another 'Bahamazing' experience," said Davis-Thompson. "When I got back to my fellow council members, they were hugging and kissing me on behalf of The Bahamas because of the job that we did with the first one. I was so very proud. I was even more proud of the Bahamian people because they didn't let me down. I brag so much about The Bahamas, and they proved me right. I can't even begin to explain how I felt. This is something that I will always be proud of.
The world couldn't believe what we did. I think that when we bid for anything going forward, the world is going to get nervous. They saw the indomitable spirit of the Bahamian people and our passion. We're simply the best when it comes to the atmosphere that we provide for athletics. The world had a 'Bahamazing' time - they loved everything about The Bahamas. When we come together as a people, we could do 'Bahamazing' things," she exclaimed.
The IAAF World Relay Championships is now a World Athletic Series event, and will be held on a biennial basis after this year. The offer of the 2017 event to The Bahamas was made during the 2014 World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo, Monaco, by IAAF President Diack. It is something that is unprecedented in global athletics - for the first three editions of any major championships to be held in any one place.
"They call me 'The Mafia' - my colleagues are still asking how I was able to secure three world relays for The Bahamas," said Davis-Thompson. "I was persistent in pushing this event to them, and of course President Diack loves The Bahamas. The Bahamas' government now wants our country to be the home of the world relays.
"The IAAF has never granted any event to any single nation, so I don't know how that will work, but we feel blessed to have it three times in a row. That in itself is a blessing. The Chinese have asked when is the bid process open for 2019, and you have other huge countries like Brazil and Qatar which want to host the world relays as well, so the bid process might be crowded going forward."
The 50th IAAF Congress will be held at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing this year, three days before the start of the Beijing World Championships. Davis-Thompson said that it is incumbent that she offers herself for re-election to the IAAF Council, to continue to beckon on behalf of The Bahamas as a viable destination for major global meets, and also to continue to promote athletics in this region.
According to reports, The Bahamas has its sights on meets such as the world junior and world youth championships in the future.
"I have to run again. My country has big plans, and with big plans, someone has to be in place to agitate on our behalf," she said. "I know that one day we would like to host the world juniors or world youth, or maybe even a Continental Cup one day. I think that I have already done half the battle. A large part of it has to do with your performance while you are on the council, and I think that I have done a superb job when it comes to carrying out the duties that were given to me.
"Also, I realize that it is not all about me - I need to make sure that the door stays open for any other Bahamian who wants to come behind me and run for a spot on the IAAF Council. I'm very cognizant of that, so I have been working very hard and very diligently to make sure that I have an opportunity to serve a third term."
No Bahamian has ever served more than one term on the IAAF Council, and Davis-Thompson is optimistic of being elected for a third term. Also, she sits on the executive board of the Local Organizing Committee for the world relays (LOC), and is a consultant in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, so she adds a governmental perspective as well. She wears many hats, therefore representing a major presence on the LOC.
"It's a lot of work for us on the LOC. We have to remember that this is an IAAF event and not a Bahamas government event. We are just the host of it," said Davis-Thompson. "The IAAF is all about professionalism. We have to follow strict protocol and guidelines. At the end of the day, everything must be done to a certain standard. We're looking forward to it, though. I just want to encourage Bahamians to go out there and get their tickets early, and to come out and support Team Bahamas again. This is going to be another 'Bahamazing' event."
The start time of the world relays has been pushed back this year, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each evening, thereby limiting the heated conditions that were experienced by those on the Eastern Grandstand last year. As far as the credit for this fantastic event coming to The Bahamas not once, not twice but three times however, one needs to look no further than Pauline Davis-Thompson.
The Bahamas' "Golden Girl" did this country proud as an athlete in her heyday, becoming the country's first Olympic individual gold medalist on the track, and now she continues to put The Bahamas in the forefront as a major destination for hosting athletic events. She is as patriotic as they come, and will always be well loved and appreciated by Bahamians.
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