Bahamians might have been a bit nervous with the substitution of "Golden Knight" Demetrius Pinder for 19-year-old Steven Gardiner last night, but after a blazing third leg, there were few doubting the talent, speed, tenacity and grit of the youngster, as the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2015 came to an exciting conclusion at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium last night.
Quite frankly, the only thing young Gardiner might have done wrong on his third leg was breeze past Jeremy Wariner, of the United States, too quickly. Someone should have told him that former two-time World Champion and former Olympic Champion Wariner is one of the best quarter-milers in history, the third fastest 400m runner of all-time to be exact.
On his third leg, a spirited Gardiner closed a 10-meter gap on Wariner, shot past him on the back stretch, but Wariner fired back on the home stretch. Wariner reclaimed the lead for the U.S. on the home stretch giving LaShawn Merritt a cushion on his anchor leg. Even then, The Bahamas' best quarter-miler over the years, Chris "The Fireman" Brown, gave the jam packed Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium a treat, significantly closing the gap on Merritt before coming up short at the end.
The American team of David Verburg, Tony Quay, Wariner and Merritt, in that order, won in a world-leading time of 2:58.43. The Bahamas' squad of Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu, Gardiner and Brown, in that order, was second in a season's best time of 2:58.91, and Belgium, consisting of three Borlee brothers, was third, in a national record time of 2:59.33.
Everyone was talking about the heart of Team Bahamas afterwards though. "The Fireman" brought it again, like he always does, but barely came up short.
"I do it all through the grace of God. He has been blessing me throughout my career from day one. I owe it all to him," said Brown. "We really wanted to go out there and win. When you run against a team like the United States and is five to 10 meters behind, you just have to go out there and just try to gradually close the gap. Being on the anchor leg against one of America's best is always challenging.
"I did my best, and I'm thankful that my teammates went out there and did their best as well, and also that we came out without any injuries. I felt the energy of the crowd. I wasn't in striking distance like I wanted to be, but I really believe that if we had gotten the baton at the same time, it would be us who would be out there on the track celebrating right now. That's how it goes sometimes, but we're satisfied with the silver."
Miller seemed to struggle a bit on his opening leg as The Bahamas handed off about five to 10 meters behind Verburg of the United States. Miller said that he gave it his all, and is satisfied with the effort.
"I gave it my all, and passed it off to Mike. I just want to thank the home crowd for being there for us. They really helped," said Miller. "I went out there and executed to the best of my ability. Our goal is always to win, and despite that not happening, we thank God for allowing us to run well and actually break three minutes."
Mathieu closed the gap significantly on his second leg, keeping The Bahamas firmly in second, Gardiner might have gone after Wariner too quickly, and a steady run from Brown maintained The Bahamas's second position. The sub 2:59 race is the fifth fastest in Bahamian history in the event.
"I think that I ran a decent leg. I'm not a junior anymore, so I felt that I had to get out there," said Gardiner. "I did my best, and I'm happy with the result. I'm still young, and I have many years to come. It was a real pleasure to run with these guys. They gave me a chance to shine and I appreciate that. This is an amazing grouf of guys. I'm just happy to get the opportunity."
The spirited men's 4x400m final provided just a semblance of the fireworks on the final night of completion of the second International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Relays last night. The night also saw another world record, once again by the Americans.
After setting a new world mark in the women's medley relay the night before, the American men came back and did the same in the men's distance medley. The team of Kyle Merber, (1,200m) Brycen Spratling (400m), Brandon Johnson (800m) and Ben Blankenship (1,600m), in that order, ran 9:15.50 for the new world mark. The old record of 9:15.56 was set by Kenya in 2006. Kenya was second in that race in 9:17.20, and Australia finished third, in 9:21.62.
The men's 4x200m team of Deneko Brown, Andretti Bain, Alfred Higgs and Blake Bartlett, in that order, was a pleasant surprise as they qualified for the final, winning their heat in 1:22.86. The stunning time was less than a second off the national record, which was run at the world relays last year. In the final, that same team ran 1:22.91 for fifth.
In the heats of the event, The Bahamas actually crossed the finish line in second place, but Kenya was disqualified for an exchange out of the allowable zone.
A Jamaican team, without Usain Bolt, went on to win the gold medal in the final, in 1:20.97, France was second, in 1:21.49, and Germany finished third, in 1:22.65.
As the meet winded down last night, anticipation grew for the final event of the world relays, the men's 4x400m relay. Hopes were high for Bahamians as this was considered one of the country's best chances to upset the Americans in the event. However, it was not to be. Collectively, it was a great run by Miller, Mathieu, Gardiner and Brown, but they would have to settle for the silver once again behind the powerful Americans.
Before The Bahamas upset the U.S. in the event at the 2012 London Olympics, it had been 60 years since the Americans had lost the men's 4x400m relay on the track at the Olympics. Now, since 2012, The Bahamas has fallen to the U.S, three times in the event -- once at the inaugural world relays last year, again at the Penn Relays this year, and now at the second running of the world relays last night.
The two rivals could very well meet in the world championships final in Beijing, China, in less than four months time.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
