BEIJING, China - Let the celebrations begin! The Bahamas has finally won a medal in the hurdles at a senior global meet. Jeffery Gibson, the 25-year-old gentle giant, ran another national record in the men's 400 meters (m) hurdles on Tuesday, to finish third in the event at the Beijing World Championships. Gibson was timed in a remarkable 48.17 seconds, and he needed every bit of that to hold off former two-time world champion Kerron Clement, of the United States, by the slimmest of margins for the bronze. Kenyan Nicholas Bett shocked the world, winning in a world-leading time of 47.79 seconds, Russian Denis Kudryavtsev was second in a national record time of 48.05 seconds, and Gibson held off Clement for the bronze, 48.17 to 48.18.
The 48.18 was a season's best for Clement. Yes, the Americans were shut out in an event that they have historically dominated. When the top two hurdlers in the world coming into the championships, based on time, failed to make it through the rounds, one had the feeling that the door was wide open as it relates to the medal contenders. Former world No. 2, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) top performance list, Johnny Dutch bowed out in the semis, and former world No. 1 Bershawn "Batman" Jackson didn't even make it out of the first round. The Kenyan came out of nowhere to win the gold, the Russian was expected to be formidable and he was, and the Bahamian knew that he had a chance from the break. Gibson's bronze was the first medal for The Bahamas at these world championships, the first ever global medal for him, and the first medal of any color in any hurdles event for The Bahamas on the world stage. His bronze was the highlight of the evening for The Bahamas at these 15th International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) World Championships in the "Bird's Nest" Stadium here in Beijing, China.
Still basking in the moment, Gibson said that he would have to be told just how significant this achievement really is. "Someone will have to break it down for me and tell how great of a feat this was," he said. "This was just another big meet for me, and I thank God for allowing me to get through it. I'm still growing and learning how to run the event, so I just have to keep going and keep the momentum going." Gibson has really blossomed in an event that Bahamians traditionally haven't experienced much success in. For the second time in these world championships, and the fourth time this year, he lowered his own national record.
Gibson now owns the 13 fastest times by a Bahamian in the event, and has run more than a second faster than any other Bahamian ever. At the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada in July, he won gold in a national record at that time, 48.51 seconds. Gibson lowered the national mark to 48.37 seconds in the semi-finals of the event here in Beijing, and has now taken two more tenths of a second off the national mark, with his 47.17 clocking in the final on Tuesday. As for the race itself, Gibson actually stumbled over the third hurdle before regrouping and executing for the remainder of the final.
He said that he knew he had to pick it up when the Russian athlete pulled alongside him with about 150 meters to go. "I knew Denis (Kudryavtsev) was going to be strong. Sometimes he breaks down and when he pulled up next to me, I still thought that I would have been able to get him. The Kenyan, I hardly race against him, so I didn't know what to expect from him," said Gibson. "I know that I need to get much better with my training, my diet and taking care of myself. "The first two hurdles for me were good. I dragged my leg on the third one, and that caused me to go over the fourth one with my left leg.
That was something different for me, but I knew that wasn't something that could spoil the race. Getting to the 200 mark is where you really see what you need to do. With the people I saw in my peripheral, they were still within striking distance, so I just picked it up."
Gibson said that running out of lane seven wasn't a problem for him at all. "I've gotten used to running from the outside lanes so I was okay with it," he said. "A lane is a still a lane, and 10 hurdles are still 10 hurdles. "Right now, I'm just going to take it one race at a time, continue to get better, and have some fun while doing it. I'm just going to keep trying to run as fast as I can - just put my name out there and try to make myself a legend." Gibson said that he is grateful to a lot of people for their support.
"My parents said they were really proud of me, so I wanted to go out there and do it for them. I also wanted to do it for my grandparents and all of my relatives. A lot of people were supporting me, and that really felt good," he said. Gibson said that he is still looking to enter "Club 47" (running the event under 48 seconds) in the not too distant future. After his fantastic run on Tuesday, who could ever doubt him. Coming into these world championships Gibson said that he wanted to lower the national record in the semi-finals and go even faster in the final, and he did just that.
His bronze puts The Bahamas back in the top three at the world championships in a singular event after the country failed to get a medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia. Prior to that, The Bahamas had won at least one medal at nine straight world championships, dating all the way back to 1995 when Troy Kemp soared for the gold medal in the men's high jump, and Pauline Davis circled the track for the silver medal in the women's 400m. Gibson is now among the top three long hurdlers in the world. The sky is the limit for the 25-year-old Grand Bahamian.
It will be interesting to see what he does for an encore.
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