By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
A change in the schedule prevented quarter-miler Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown from competing in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations National Open Track and Field Championships at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium over the weekend.
Now as he prepares to head to Europe to compete in a few meets, Brown is hoping that his absence will not prevent him from making his fourth appearance on the national team that is expected to represent the Bahamas at the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 23 to August 3.
“I already had my itinerary for Europe and when they pushed the national championships to Sunday, I couldn’t change my plans,” Brown said. “I told the BAAA a while back that I was coming home to concentrate on the 200m, but when I came home and I saw that they had changed the schedule and moved the 200m to Sunday and I was leaving on Sunday, that prohibited me from competing in the national championships.”
Having left on Sunday, Brown missed the 200m that had both the preliminaries and the final that day. Texas A&M junior Shavez Hart pulled off the victory in 20.57 seconds over a strong field of young sprinters that included Teray Smith, second in 20.82, Trevorvano Mackey, third in 20.83, Stephen ‘Dirty’ Newbold, fourth in 20.94 and Blake Bartlett, fifth in 21.19.
“It was a disappointing feeling for me because if the only time I come home to compete, it’s in the nationals,” Brown said. “I was looking forward to performing at home, especially in the 200m against the younger guys and talking trash in the process. I just wanted to come home and give a good showing.
“So it was a total disappointment for me because I didn’t get the opportunity to perform in the 200m, which was what I had requested long before I came home.”
Hart, by the way, was a double champion, taking the 100m in the fastest century race held in the Bahamas in 10.11 with Warren Fraser taking second in 10.14 and Adrian Griffith third in 10.18.
The day before on Saturday, Brown didn’t line-up for the 400m final that was won by LaToy Williams in 44.97 over Michael Mathieu, who did 45.53. Also missing out of the final was Demetrius Pinder, who turned in the fastest qualifying time of 45.64 ahead of Williams’ 45.82 on Friday. Pinder opted out of the final because he felt a slight twitch in his hamstring.
Also missing in action was Ramon Miller, who was wearing a boot on his left foot from an injury he sustained at the IAAF inaugural World Relay.
But in their absence, Brown heralded the performance of Williams as he made his comeback to national prominence.
“Yet, it’s always good, it’s always a blessing to see the guys step up and be able to go that fast, knowing that the top three or four guys who are always there performing wasn’t there,” Brown said. “So it was great because it just showed that when we are not there, having retired or moved off the scene, these guys will be able to carry their weight.
“Being able to step up at home only means now that it’s just a stepping stone and a confident booster for LaToy. I think that’s the fastest time that he has ran in a while and so it was a good performance for him.”
Brown, the 35-year-old IAAF World Indoor silver medallist, opted not to contest the 400m at the nationals as he is scheduled to go to Switzerland where he will compete in the one-lap race at the Athletissima in Lausanne on Thursday against a quality field that includes world champions LaShawn Merritt from the United States and Kirani James from Grenada.
Also expected to line-up are Kevin Borlee from Belgium, Gordon Lalonde from Trinidad & Tobago, Youssef Ahmed Masrahi from South Africa and Americans Tony McQuay and David Verburg.
At present, Brown is tied for fourth place with Verburg and Pavel Maslak from the Czech Republic with one point in the IAAF Diamond League standings. The list is headed by Merritt with 12 points, followed by Masrahi with four and Wayne Van Niekerk, also from the Republic of South Africa, with two points.
“They’ve been training and resting up getting their bodies ready,” Brown said of his rivals he will face overseas. “I just have to get my mind right and focus on what I have to do to execute my race and pray for the best. I’m in shape and ready to run fast. So I look forward to a healthy season and to continue to represent the Bahamas.”
From Switzerland, Brown will then head to Budapest, Hungary, on July 8 and in Glasgow at the Sainsbury’s Glasgow Grand Prix on July 12. But he knows that a return trip to Scotland for the Commonwealth Games rests squarely in the hands of the BAAA, who first have to recommend him to the team that will then be ratified by the Bahamas Olympic Committee.
“The Commonwealth Games is definitely still in the cards for me. This is not a major year, but the way these guys are performing, they are performing like it’s a championship year, so I have to take it like a championship year and get my body tuned and ready to compete,” he said.
“The good thing is I would not have ran as many races this year as I would if it was a major championship year, so I’m definitely looking forward to representing the Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games. The question is whether it will be in the 400m or the 4 x 400m. We will see after they select the team and the entries are put in because I didn’t run at the national championship.”
As he has done every year through the tenure of his long and illustrious career, Brown will be prepared to contest both the 400m and the 4 x 400m relay, but he knows that the decision is not his to decide, so he will be willing to represent the Bahamas in whatever capacity he is called upon to do.
“I would just love to run the 4 x 4, but I know I will be missing something if I don’t run the 400m,” he said. “I don’t think I will be around for another Commonwealth Games, so I don’t mind trying my hands at both of them. But it’s up to the powers that be and if they decide on just letting me run the relays, I could live with that.”
The national record holder and international journeyman has never won an individual medal at the Commonwealth Games or the Olympic Games, the two biggest events held every four years. But at the 17th Commonwealth Games in 2002 in Manchester, England, he teamed up with retirees Troy McIntosh, Dominic Demeritte and Tim Munnings to win a bronze in the 4 x 400m relay.
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