The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedi.net

RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown likes Team Bahamas’ chances of repeating as champions of the men’s 4x400 metre relay. The elderstatesman feels they have assembled a quality group of quarter-milers to go out and get the job done.

Four years ago in London, England, the team of Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller clinched the gold over the United States in a stunning anchor leg by Miller.

Unfortunately, Miller is not here but national record holder Steven Gardiner, Alonzo Russell and Stephen Newbold are added to the threesome returning.

“We expect everyone to come out and run their best,” said Brown on the eve of the start of the preliminary rounds of the relays tonight at the Olympic Stadium. “We’re just looking forward to going out there and representing the Bahamas as we try to get back into the final to defend our title.”

The United States has since gone on to beat the Bahamas, last year at the IAAF World Relays in Nassau and again at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China to set the stage for what has always been the highlight of the showdown between the two neighbouring nations.

“We haven’t really stepped onto the track and we haven’t really ran yet, so we’re just looking forward to the heats (today) and hopefully once we get into the finals, we will worry about the match-up then,” Brown said.

The Bahamas has been stacked in the last of the two heats in lane six against Great Britain in one, India in two, Belgium in three, Brazil in four, the Dominican Republic in five, Cuba in seven and Venezuela in eight. The Bahamas comes in with the slowest season’s best of three minutes and 4.74 seconds. But if there’s any consolation, the national record of 2:56.72 is only slower than that of 2:56.60 by Great Britain.

The USA is in the middle of the pack in the first heat in line five with their season’s best of 3:00.89, the national and world record of 2:54.29 and the Olympic record of 2:55.39. Also included in their heat are Colombia in one, Botswana in two, Japan in three, Jamaica in four, Poland in six, Trinidad & Tobago in seven and France in eight.

All that aside, the teams have to go out there and perform and Brown said they’re not concerned about the times, but rather the combination that the coaching staff will put together. A final decision is not expected until about one hour before the start of the race.

In the meantime, Mathieu, who didn’t compete in an individual event here, said he’s well rested and looking forward to making his contribution.

“You can expect some really fast times this year,” he said. “We are just trying to defend our title and win a medal again. Everyone look pretty good. It’s just a matter of us getting out there and getting ready to perform. I think we’re all ready to go.”

After getting disqualified in the preliminaries of the 200m, Pinder said he’s managed to regroup and is just as focused as his team-mates on going after the ultimate goal - defending their title.

“We have a bigger picture to deal with,” said Pinder, who admitted that he’s shaken of the disappointment in the half lap race. “On paper, we’re about even, but we’re a little stronger. But when it comes to the relays, there is a different mind set when guys have a stick in their hand. So we’re looking forward to competing.”

He maybe the rookie at the Olympics and one of the youngest member of the team, but Newbold will quickly point out there he’s been there and done it before with most of the guys in the relay pool, so he’s eager to get the job done again where it counts the most at the Olympics.

“I think I can handle it. I’ve been in game for quote some time and so I know what to expect from me and they know what I am capable of doing,” he stressed.

In making his debut, Newbold said it’s been all that he expected and more, mixing and mingling with the superstars from all around the world. But he said he’s here to help the Bahamas achieve one goal and that is to win the gold medal in the men’s 4 x 400m relay again.

Brown, the 37-year-old wrapping up his fifth and final Olympic experience, ask that the Bahamian public continue to offer their prayers for their success. He and his team-mates say they will need it to get back to the top of the podium.