Bahamian Jeffery Gibson is rounding into form at exactly the right time, and Bianca Stuart is maintaining her consistency as the season progresses. They both picked up wins over the weekend, Gibson at the 33rd Meeting Madrid 2015 in Spain, and Stuart at the Flanders Cup Meeting Guldensporen 2015, in Kortrijk, Belgium. Gibson won his specialty, the men's 400 meters (m) hurdles, in a season's best time of 48.89 seconds, just about a tenth of a second off his national record time.
American Jeshua Anderson finished second in 49.14 seconds, and Miles Ukaoma, of Nigeria, was third, in 49.29 seconds. Commonwealth Games Champion Cornel Fredericks, of South Africa, finished fourth, in 49.50 seconds, and World Champion Jehue Gordon, of Trinidad & Tobago, rounded out the top five, in 49.53 seconds.
Gibson is the only Bahamian to ever run under 49 seconds in the event.
Stuart was once again in the 6.70m (21' 11-3/4") range, as she leapt that exact distance to win the women's long jump in Belgium, on Saturday. She was the only Bahamian competing in the meet, and won quite convincingly over the other competitors. In fact, Stuart's worst jump of the competition would have still been good enough to win her the gold medal. She jumped 6.27m (20' 7") on her first attempt, 6.47m (21' 2-3/4") on her second attempt, and finished off with a 6.70m jump on her third attempt. All three jumps were wind-aided, and Stuart passed on her final three attempts.
Munich Tovar, of Venezuela, was second with a best leap of 6.17m (20' 3"), and Malin Marmbrandt, of Sweden, finished third with a best jump of 6.04m (19' 10").
Back at the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) World Challenge Meet in Madrid, Michael Mathieu took part in the men's 400m. Mathieu finished fifth in the second race, and was fifth overall, in 45.18 seconds. Abdelalelah Haroun, of Qatar, won in 44.63 seconds, American National Champion David Verburg was second in 44.72 seconds, and Yousef Ahmed Masrahi, of Saudi Arabia, finished third, in 44.79 seconds. Jamaican Rusheen McDonald held off Mathieu for fourth, finishing in 45.04 seconds.
A trio of Bahamians took part in the fifth leg of the National Track League (NTL) Series in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, o er the weekend. The meet, known as the TrackTown Classic, was held over two days at Foote Field, in Edmonton. "Superman" Leevan Sands soared 16.68m (54' 8-3/4") in the men's triple jump to snag victory in that event, but it still wasn't enough to qualify for the Beijing World Championships.
The qualifying mark for Beijing is 16.90m (55' 5-1/2"), and Sands has up until August 10 to qualify. Sands has a season's best leap of 16.80m (55' 1-1/2"). American Chris Carter was second in that triple jump competition with a best leap of 16.55m (54' 3-3/4"), and his countryman Josh Honeycutt was third, with a best leap of 16.18m (53' 1").
In the men's high jump, Trevor Barry finished third with a best height of 2.25m (7' 4-1/2"). Canadians Derek Drouin and Mike Mason broke the meet record, both clearing 2.33m (7' 7-3/4"). Drouin won the competition based on number of knockdowns, and Mason settled for second. Barry was third.
In the men's 100m, Shavez Hart settled for fifth, in 10.20 seconds. Jamaican Nesta Carter won in 10.08 seconds, American Beejay Lee was second in 10.14 seconds, Canadian Justyn Warner was third in 10.17 seconds, and American Charles Silmon held off Hart for fourth, finishing in 10.19 seconds.
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