The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SOUTH Eleuthera — ‘Golden Knight’ Chris “Fireman” Brown couldn’t ask for a better reception as he returned home draped with his silver medal from the men’s 400 metres at the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland.

The most decorated Bahamian male track and field athlete got the “red carpet” treatment as he disembarked the Bahamasair flight shortly before 5pm at the Rock Sound International Airport with his wife, Faith, and two daughters.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson and Calvin Balfour, permanent secretary, who accompanied the IAAF delegation that was led by deputy director of communications, Anna Legnani, on the flight, joined a number of local dignitaries as they welcomed Brown home.

Among the dignitaries on hand were former Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Oswald Ingraham and Brown’s proud parents Nola and Harcourt Brown.

The group of nine international journalists from around the world, to cover the IAAF’s ‘A Day in the Life of an Athlete” programme organised by Legnani, were entertained by local residents with the rhythmic sound of junkanoo before Brown was hoisted on the back of a truck and taken through the streets of South Eleuthera in a motorcade that lasted for almost two hours.

The motorcade traversed through the newly named Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown Boulevard where the journalists got a glimpse of the home of Brown’s parents where he grew up and it ended at the Wemyss Bight Park where he got a chance to further mingle with the local community.

The first night of the three-day trip concluded at the Four Points Marina in Rock Sound where a private cocktail reception was held for Brown and the journalists.

It was during that time that Johnson dubbed Brown the “greatest 400 metre runner in the world” and after he congratulated his parents and wife for the tremendous support they have given him, he indicated that the Bahamas Government will be producing a paper that will allow medallists from the World Indoor Championships to be rewarded financially just as they do for the World Outdoor Championships and Olympic Games.

It’s a pity that it’s just happening now after Brown, at the age of 35, produced his fifth indoor medal with a personal best time in Sopot, adding to the gold and three bronze he previously claimed.

It was a nostalgic night for Brown as some of the people, who were around from his humble beginnings during his tenure at Preston Albury High before he packed his bags and headed to RM Bailey back in the 1990s, got a chance to reflect on their experiences.

For his first coach, Michael Coakley, who started the journey from day one, said he was delighted to be back on the island with Brown for the first time in 18 years.

“We had a whole lot of memories and a whole lot of things happened in between when we left here, a lot of world championships, a lot of Olympic medals, a lot of records,” Coakley said.

“But one of the things I remember was I personally used to use the track at Preston Albury and I got attached to the children, but I didn’t understand the children the way that I was supposed to understand them until one day I was watching a basketball game and the kids were running and jumping and shooting and there wasn’t any basketball. It was only their imagination.”

Coakley said he realised that they had all of the skills embedded in them and they preserved and they demonstrated their “God-given” skills that no coach could teach them.

When he approached Brown, Coakley said it wasn’t about coaching, but rather what he possessed mentally prior to him taking him on as an athlete to begin his career as a middle distance runner.

As a gesture for his appreciation of Brown’s accomplishments over the years, Coakley announced that he will be donating a couple acres of property across from the Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown Boulevard for a dream that Brown has to develop an indoor track and field facility.

“Hopefully, you will not only see one Chris Brown, but many Chris Browns. You will see many other athletes in other disciplines like baseball,” Coakley said. “But I think we have come to that point in our lives where we can’t deny a child the dream of becoming a world-class athlete.”

Accepting the gift, Brown said one of his goals and dreams is to be able to give back to the community and, with the help of Johnson, they will make sure that they have a world-class track and field facility to produce more athletes from Eleuthera to represent the Bahamas as he has done.

In response, Johnson gave it the official name: “The Chris Brown Sports Academy of South Eleuthera” and he vowed that now that they have gotten “the land, the man and the right time,” he will go to the House of Assembly and “argue for some money.”

Among the other persons who spoke during the reception were Brown’s parents, including Nola, who serenaded the audience with a song, and his wife, Faith, who claimed that she is blessed to share her husband, who has so much love and appreciation for representing the Bahamas on the international scene.

Others who spoke were Robert Deal, Brown’s principal at the time, Kirkwood Cleare, Ingraham and Commissioner Charles King, the senior administrator for Central Eleuthera.

Legnani thanked the people for providing the opportunity for the IAAF to bring the ‘Day in the Life of an Athlete’ to the Bahamas and more specifically Eleuthera, as they bring Brown back to celebrate with his people, “who he loves very dearly.”

“We are very honoured to share this moment with Chris, with his family, with all of you. Chris is not just an exceptional athlete, but a wonderful person off the track as well. Everything that he has accomplished off the track and everything that he has done on the track, it’s to give something back to the people of the Bahamas.”

The trip for the IAAF began with a light workout session at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Tuesday. It continued on Wednesday with Brown visiting both his alma mater at RM Bailey and CV Bethel where his former coach in Nassau, Rupert Gardiner, coaches.

Following the visits, it was off to Eleuthera where the journey will continue until Friday as the group of journalists travel throughout the island, making stops at the various high schools.

Prior to leaving Nassau, the group also did some interviews with World and Olympic champion Tonique Williams, ‘Golden Girl’ Eldece Clarke and organisers of the IAAF World Relays scheduled for May 24-25 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

From Eleuthera, the group will be heading to Puerto Rico for the third leg of their tour in the Caribbean region. It began two weeks ago in Jamaica and will end in the next two weeks in Trinidad & Tobago.