From left: Machel Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago, Javon Francis of Jamaica, and Stephen Newbold of The BAhamas come to the finish line at the same time during the final of the men's 400m at the 2013 CARIFTA Games at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium here in The Bahamas. Newbold is working with coach Shaun Miller and Bahamas Speed Dynamics to try build on a rejuvenated 2016 season.
Stephen "Dirty" Newbold was once touted as the next great thing in Bahamian men's sprinting -- the heir apparent to athletes such as Derrick Atkins, Chris Brown and Avard Moncur. The 200/400 meters (m) specialist was tabbed to carry on the mantle left behind by those great sprinters -- in the case of Brown, continue it as Brown is still running today.
However, Newbold experienced a couple of down years and struggled to get back to the form that he experienced as a junior. This past year, he experienced a return to prominence. Newbold ran a new personal best time in the men's 400m at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations' (BAAA) National Open Championships, made the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team, and helped the men's 4x400m team to a bronze medal at those Olympics.
Going into last season, he had personal best times of 20.76 seconds in the 200m, and 45.94 seconds in the 400m. Both were ran in 2013, and both were junior national records until Abaconian Steven Gardiner sped to a 20.66 time in the 200m two years ago. As for Newbold's 400m mark, it remains the junior national record to this day.
This past season, he ran the 200m sparingly with no jaw-breaking results, but really turned heads with a 45.80 run in the quarter at nationals. It was the 22-year-old's fastest time ever in the event, and the clear statement to his rivals and the Bahamian public at large, was that, "he was back". Newbold progressed tremendously in his first year with Coach Shaun Miller and Bahamas Speed Dynamics, and the once junior phenom is looking to build on that for the 2017 season.
He started his training for the new season yesterday.
"I'm pretty confident in my ability. Last year was kind of a wake-up call for me and I feel as if this season is going to be a big year for me," he said. "I know the potential that I have, so it was just up to me to get serious. Going into this season, I'm very confident. Coach Miller has a lot of good things in store for me this year in terms of where he wants me to be at and my development. I feel as if it's all going to come together."
Newbold finished fourth at the nationals with that personal best run, trailing two-time reigning national champion Gardiner, Alonzo Russell and former national record holder Chris "The Fireman" Brown to the tape. Demetrius Pinder was fifth and Michael Mathieu faded to sixth. Still, Newbold was left out of the line-up for the men's 4x400m final at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He ran the anchor leg in the heats, qualifying The Bahamas for the final with the sixth fastest time. Newbold wasn't chosen to run in the final in which The Bahamas won the bronze, but said that just being at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and getting an opportunity to run was a major thrill.
"That was a great experience for me. When I crossed the finish line at nationals and realized that I was in the top four and made the Olympic team, oh man, that was a great feeling," he said. "Just being there in Rio was a great experience -- just to be around the pros and to be apart of them. I'm still young so to be there will only do wonders for my career. I feel confident in my ability to get back to that level.
"This season, I feel ready. Coming fourth at nationals was great, but that's just a stepping stone to where I want to get to. With hard work, the sky is the limit for me. I know that once I get my body back into top caliber shape, the times are going to come. Whatever the Father blesses me with, I'll be happy with. Once the work is put in, I feel confident that I will prosper."
After switching to Bahamas Speed Dynamics last year, Miller said that he instantly felt that he was in the right place. He quickly developed a relationship with Coach Miller, and returned to prominence in 400m running. This year, he's expecting even bigger things, particularly since he's coming into the season healthy and ready to run.
"Coach Miller is like a second father to me. I can't make mistakes around him because he will put me in my place quickly, but that is what you need as a young man trying to make it somewhere," said Newbold. "As an athlete, it's so important that you establish a personal relationship with your coach, and that is where I am at with Coach Miller. It's almost as if I'm his own son.
When you look at the young guys coming up like myself, there is no pressure on us. If anyone is feeling the pressure, it's the older crew because us young guys are coming. In the case of Steven Gardiner (just 21), he is already there. We're coming to lay it down. Chris has been great, but he is moving off the scene now, and it is up to us young guys to carry the baton forward. We're very confident in our ability. This young group is filled with stallions. Once everyone remains healthy and stays in shape, we should be able to put on a show."
Coach Miller said that Newbold has progressed on and off the track in just one short year.
"He's becoming a real role model and someone who everyone could be proud of," said Miller. "With the potential that he has, and his determination, great things are in store for him. He has good leg speed and is very determined. He's hungry because he knows how far he fell and he's determined to get back to that elite level.
"He's really excited to get on the developmental subvention program from the government. That will go a long way with his training. This year, you could expect him to run a lot of 200s and 400s. We're looking for 44s in the 400 and low 20s in the 200. We feel that he is indeed capable of doing that."
Newbold himself said that he won't put any limits on himself as far as time is concerned, but he feels that this will be his best year on the track. He is a former CARIFTA Champion, a former World Youth Champion over 200m, and now has a bronze medal from the Olympic Games. Also this past year, he took part in the 400m and the 4x400m relay at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-23 Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was fifth in the 400m, and anchored a team home to a bronze in the latter.
"I could never give up on the 200," said Newbold. "Coach Miller's plan this past year was to get my endurance up. I had lost a bit of my endurance and we got it back. Going into next year, we're really focussing on speed. The 200 is certainly an option for me."
Newbold was a key participant in one of the more memorable races in CARIFTA history. He, Javon Francis of Jamaica, and Machel Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago, came to the line at the same time in the under-20 boys 400m at the 2013 CARIFTA Games. Cedenio edged them out for gold, and Francis out-leaned Newbold for the silver.
Since then, both Cedenio and Francis have gone on to represent their countries in the men's 400m at both the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships and the Olympics. They are the fastest runners for their respective countries -- Cedenio, who is the youngest of the trio, in national record time. Francis has a personal best time of 44.50 seconds, and Cedenio has a national record time of 44.01 seconds that was done to finish fourth at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
"When I see them excelling, that motivates me a lot. To see them out there running 44-lows, it lets me know that I could be right there or even better because all of us were at the same level," said Newbold. "Machel, Javon and myself, we are good friends. We stay in communication. There is nothing that they could do that I can't. My goal going forward is to get to the level where they are at and beyond."
After running primarily a lot of 400s last season, Newbold comes into this season focussed on doing more speed work and getting faster. He and Coach Miller said that Bahamians could definitely expect to see him running a lot of both events, the 200 and 400m, this season.
Sheldon Longley, Guardian Sports Editor
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