BEIJING, China – With a number of pre-race favorites missing from today’s final of the men’s 400 meters (m) hurdles, the door is wide open for medals, and the most prolific long hurdler in Bahamian history is poised to grab one of them.

Jeffery Gibson, who lowered his national record once again, in the semis, will run out of lane seven in the event’s final today. The race, the first final involving a Bahamian at these 15th International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) World Championships here in Beijing, China, is set for an 8:25 p.m. start, 8:25 a.m. in The Bahamas.

Gibson, the Pan Am Games Champion from this year, and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist from last year, said prior to coming to the world championships, that he wanted to set a new personal best in the semis, and lower that time even further in the final. Well, he finds himself halfway to that goal going into the final today.

“I just feel this is my time, and I’m ready,” said Gibson. “I anticipated making the final, so now I just have to go out there and produce. You have to bring your ‘A’ game to get on the medal podium, and I intend to do that.”

Americans Bershawn “Batman” Jackson and Johnny Dutch, the number one and two long hurdlers in the world based on time, will both miss out on the event’s final today. Also missing is defending champion Jehue Gordon from Trinidad and Tobago, Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world championships silver medalist Javier Culson of Puerto Rico and two-time Olympic Champion Félix Sánchez of the Dominican Republic. Gibson said that the door appears to be wide open, but he’s not taking any chances in the final.

The towering 6-foot-4 25-year-old long hurdler from Freeport, Grand Bahama now holds the 12 fastest times by a Bahamian in the event. He is more than a second faster than any other Bahamian in the history of the men’s 400m hurdlers.

Despite the absence of some of the top notch long hurdlers in the world, training partners Jackson and Dutch, and Culson just to name a few, Gibson knows that he still has his work cut out for him. He qualified for the final with the third-fastest time, a national record time of 48.37 seconds.

He’ll certainly have to look out for the top qualifier, Denis Kudryavtsev, from Russia (48.23); the second-fastest qualifier Boniface Mucheru Tumuti, from Kenya (48.29); fellow Kenyan Nicholas Bett (48.54); Patryk Dobek, from Poland (48.40); and the two Americans, Michael Tinsley and Kerron Clement, both former World and Olympic medalists. Clement, in particular, is a two-time world champion.

“I’m not focused on anyone. I just have to go out there and do what I’m supposed to do. I feel that once I run the race that I’m capable of running, I will be fine,” said Gibson.

Gibson comes into the final today as the seventh-fastest long hurdler in the world, and the fifth-fastest in the field, based on times this year. However, he knows how to respond to pressure and always seems to have his best performances when it matters most.

He’s looking forward to bringing home The Bahamas’ first medal of these 15th IAAF World Championships, and with the way he’s been running this year, it could very well be the gold.