The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

While he congratulated Steven Gardiner for breaking his seven-year-old 400 metres record at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Open Track and Field Championships over the weekend, Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown is now waiting on tomorrow’s final decision on the Bahamas team going to the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, in August.

Gardiner, the 19-year-old freshman on the international scene, clocked an astonishing 44.27 seconds to become the third fastest athlete in the world so far this year to win the national title, shattering Brown’s previous record of 44.40 he set in Oslo, Bislett on June 6, 2008 as the curtain came down on the two-day meet at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Saturday.

In the process, three other Bahamians trailed Gibson as they all went under the qualifying standard of 45.50 with Michael Mathieu taking second in 45.00, LaToy Williams did 45.30 for third and Ramon Miller ran 45.36 for fourth. However, only three athletes from each event per country is allowed to compete, unless there is an exception for a world champion from the previous championship.

“I want to congratulate Steven. He ran well and he got the national record,” said Brown, who opted not to compete in the signature event. “I believe every elevation should be better than the one before. He went out there, he executed and he ran a perfect race to get the record. Kudos and congratulations to him.”

Also congratulating Gardiner was his original coach, Rev Anthony Williams from Moore’s Island.

“I think his coach George Cleare is doing an excellent job with him,” Williams said. “He is grooming him for the future for the Bahamas.”

On the record feat, Williams said: “I really didn’t expect for him to go for it. I have a theory that you don’t have to run faster than necessary, but I guess he felt his youth and he went for the record, which is good. He’s out of my hands. He’s being guided by George Cleare, but I’m happy to see the progress that he’s making.”

Prior to breaking the record, Gardiner saw his times drop significantly from the 46-range as he switched over from the 200m by first going under the Worlds qualifying time of 45.40 by running 45.24 in April and has steadily improved to 44.98 on June 6 to 44.64 in June 11.

So far, only two other competitors have ran faster than Gardiner this year. They are world and Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada, who has done 43.95 on May 30 in Eugene, Oregon and Wayne Van Niekerk of the Republic of South Africa, who did 44.26 on June 13 in New York. Brown is sitting in the 10th spot.

Brown, who had submitted a request to the BAAA to skip the 400m over the weekend to concentrate on the 200m, placed second in the half-lap race in 20.58 behind Shavez Hart’s winning time of 20.45. The race was held just before the marquee race concluded the meet, which served as the final trials for various meets this year, including the World Championships.

There was a lot of debate on exactly how things would have turned out had Brown been in the race. Brown offered his own observation.

“My season’s best was 44.51 and that was a nice fast time, so going into the nationals and having also broken the national 300m record this year, I was very confident because knowing the type of shape that I’m in right now, I know for sure that I would have been ready to put down something much faster,” Brown said.

“So if he can put together his race to run 44.27, I’m sure that it would have been spectacular for both of us. But I wasn’t in the race, so there’s nothing much I can say about what could and would have happened. I just have to focus on my training and the rest of my season ahead of me.”

BAAA president Mike Sands said although the team was ratified on Sunday night, they have opted not to name the team to the World Championships and NACAC until Wednesday when they will join the Bahamas Olympic Committee, who has the jurisdiction for the Pan Am Games and will be making the announcement for the team going to Toronto, Canada, in July.

“We ratified the team last night, but we want to do it all together with the BOA,” said Sands about the big joint press conference that is scheduled for the BOC office on Wednesday. “We are having a challenge with the Pan American quote and the National Olympic Committee is trying to clean it up.

“There will be a joint press conference with us (BAAA) and the BOA when we will announce the teams. We have some ramifications with the Pan Am team that we are trying to work out and, at the same time, the situation involving Chris Brown.”

Brown, 33, put in a plug for his own selection, noting that taking in consideration his performances this year, there should be no debate on whether or not he should be allowed to compete in the 400m in Beijing.

“I’ve been training all year towards getting ready for the World Championships and it’s still the same now,” he said. “The way I look at it, I didn’t run at the Nationals last year because of a conflict of the scheduling when I had to leave on the same day when they had the 200m, which was an event I wanted to run last year.

“Despite not running in the nationals last year, I was still selected to go to the Commonwealth Games based on the times I already posted and I ran both the 400m and on the 4 x 400m relay. So I’m trying to find out now, if I post three of the four fastest times by a Bahamian this year, how am I going to be able to just compete on the 4 x 400 relay team, but not in the 400m.”

If he didn’t run in the open 400m, Brown said he should not be considered for the relay pool and take a spot away from either Alonzo Russell or Andretti Bain, who got fifth (45.71) and sixth (46.57). He feels if he’s not selected for the open 400m, then he should not be included in the relay.

“For me, I hit the standard three times and I don’t know what I have to do to prove myself,” he said. “I don’t know if there is a personal issue, but if I have ran all three of my times, which are faster than all of the other runners, why should I not be allowed to compete in the 400m.

“Personally, I’ve shown over and over that I am capable of going out there and getting the job done and also help the team win a relay medal. If you select the team based on who ran in the event, it is what it is. But I don’t see how you can select me for the relay pool and not the open 400m, if I didn’t run the event.”

While he awaits the final team selection by the BAAA, Brown said he will continue his focus on preparing for the rest of the season. He is scheduled to run his next meet in July.