The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BEIJING, China — When she’s not operating the Business Centre at Atlantis, Shonel Ferguson is pursuing her political dreams of being the next representative for the Fox Hill constituency.

In her spare time, Ferguson is now a volunteer for the International Amateur Athletic Federation as a broadcaster, a role she took up two years ago when the first World Relays came to the Bahamas. She was back for the second edition this year and was invited to continue here at the Bird’s Nest.

“I’m here working with the IAAF, doing interviews with the athletes in radio that go to places where persons may not have access to the television to watch the championships,” said Ferguson during a break in Sunday’s session.

So far, so good for Ferguson, who brings her wealth of experience as a former athlete to her role on the other side of the field - journalism. “It’s been fabulous,” she said. “I get to meet and interview the athletes after they compete when it’s fresh to hear about their successes and their failures when it’s all over.

“For instance, American Bershawn ‘Batman’ Johnson was a sure bet to win a medal, but he had a disappointing performance in the first round. So it was good to hear what went wrong with him.”

As a student of the sport, Ferguson said she doesn’t have any particular favourite athlete that she would like to interview or have interviewed. She is just glad to experience from a different point of view what the athletes go through to get to this level.

Ferguson, 57, is a three-time Olympian who won a bronze medal in the boycotted games in 1980 in Philadelphia. She has held the Bahamas national record for about 21 years and the Commonwealth Games for 28, the latter mark she set in 1982 in Brisbane, Australia.

Although she now has a passion for the political arena, having ran as a candidate for the Free National Movement in Fox Hill during the last general election, she is delighted to still be able to make her contribution to the sport she so dearly loves and devoted a lot of her earlier life to as a competitor.

“I was really impressed with the men’s 400 metres because so rarely do you get to see those types of times that they ran in the first round that they did today,” she said. “Of course, I would like to interview the men’s 100 metres because somebody has to win it and it will be interesting to hear how whoever loses feels.”

Ferguson also got to interview the Bahamian competitors and she is looking forward to having some fun with Bianca ‘BB’ Stuart, who eventually broke her national record in the long jump.

“I think it will also be interesting to interview the Bahamian athletes. I did two of the men’s 400m runners and I intend to interview as much as I can, including Bianca. I believe we have some very talented athletes and they should do very well.”

Of course as an athlete who competed up to the 1990s, Ferguson said she doesn’t miss a beat in the sport because she feels she was one of the pioneers for the Bahamas during her heyday. Just look at how long her records stood and you would understand why.

“Something has to start somewhere and outside of Tommy Robinson, there were people like me and Bradley Cooper and Steve Hanna,” she said. “So when you look at it, the performances that we did lasted for an incredibly long time.”

Looking at the Bird’s Nest, Ferguson said the facility has a lot to offer for the size of the population of the people. Compared to the Thomas A Robinson Stadium, she said it fits the dynamics of what is needed in the Bahamas.

And when she returns home, Ferguson said it will be business as usual, but she intends to share the memories that she experienced here just as she did her long and illustrious career on the field in the long jump pit.