The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo can now boast of being a world record holder, albeit in an abnormal 200 metre straight race that is rarely contested.

At the Adidas Boost Boston Games on an elevated straight track constructed between Boston Common and the Public Gardens, Miller-Uibo sped down Charles Street to ink her name as the first Bahamian female to hold a world record in an athletic event.

On the final day of the two-day competition, Miller-Uibo posted her winning time of 21.76 seconds to erase the previous straight world record held by her American archrival Allyson Felix of 22.55 that she established in Manchester, England, on May 15, 2010.

“I just thank God so much for the outcome of the race. It was my very first street race so it was very exciting,” Miller-Uibo said. “But the race overall felt very smooth and relaxed so I’m happy with where we are at.”

Running out of lane three in the limited field that was reduced to four after Bahamian Ty’Nia Gaither didn’t start, Miller-Uibo opened a gap on the remaining Americans to easily win the race on the streets of Boston.

Natasha Hastings was second in 22.50, followed by Kimberlyn Duncan in 22.81 and Phyllis Francis in 23.10.

“The atmosphere was amazing,” Miller added. “The crowd was really close to you on both ends. They were alive and cheering so that gave each athlete that extra boost.”

Miller-Uibo, 23, was coming off her second place finish in the epic 200m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon where she lowered her national record to 21.91 as she ended up behind her American training partner Tori Bowie, who posted the world’s leading time of 21.77.

Miller-Uibo, who is hoping to attempt the much anticipated 200/400m double at the IAAF World Championships in London, England in August, still holds the world’s best time of 49.77 that she ran in Shanghai, China on May 13.

“It means that I’m in great shape,” said Miller-Uibo as she looks ahead to the remainder of her season.

“My coach and I are on the right track and happy with that.

“The main focus is still the 400m and the more I improve in the 200m the better. So I’m happy and eager to see how low we can go this year.”

While she’s made history in the event, Miller-Uibo said she’s excited and thankful to God for the achievement, but she’s hoping more and more will come in the normal IAAF events as well.”

And even if it will be another 3-4 years before the event is contested again, she still have some more lofty world records to chase after, including the 200m (21.34 by American Florence Griffith-Joyner and 400m (47.60 by German Marita Koch).

“I would hope to someday grab both records before the end of my career, but for now it’s not something that my coach and I are looking at,” she quipped. “We’re taking everything one step at a time.”

Miller-Uibo’s manager Claude Bryan of On Track Management Inc., said he’s extremely “happy for Shaunae. It is a well-deserved reward for her commitment to success.”

Bryan, however, said they are waiting on a decision by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations on their request to go for the 200/400 double.

“To do both events at the trials over two days is a bit onerous but I am quite confident the BAAA will exercise prudence,” said Bryan, of the BAAA’s Nationals, scheduled for June23-24 in Grand Bahama.

Gardiner slipped to fifth

Also on Sunday, Steven Gardiner returned to competition in the 200m where he placed fifth in 31.28 after he slipped and fell in the straight away race but only suffered a few bruises.

“I took a bad step, but I’m fine. I just had a bad scrape on my knee, No injury or nothing,” Gardiner said. “There wasn’t any injury, just a scrape on my knee.”

But while he went down, Gardiner was one of the first to congratulate Miller-Uibo.

“It was just like practice. I’ve seen her done it before, so to come out here and set the 200m straight world record is just awesome. It was a fast time,” he said. “I’m very happy for her. I knew she was going to run fast.”

Had he not suffered the tumble, Gardiner said he felt he was going to be something special as well. But instead, he says he will move on to Stockholm to compete in his ScandinavianDiamond League meet on Sunday, June 18.

“Physically and mentally he is fine,” said Bryan of Gardiner, whom he also manages out of Florida.

Wayde Van Niekerk, who produced a world record in the men’s 400m at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil out of lane eight, won Sunday’s 200m race in 19.84.

However, Niekerk’s effort was of the world record of 19.41 posted by American Tyson Gay on May 16 in Manchester too.

Gardiner, 21, has not run a 200m since last year when he did his personal best of 20.63 on April 30 at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium.

As a point of interest, Gardiner started out his career in Abaco as a half-lap specialist under coach Anthony Williams before his former coach George Cleare converted him to the one-lap race when he migrated to Nassau.

Gardiner has not raced since he won the Doha Diamond League 400m title in 44.60 on May 5, almost a month after he put up his world leading time of 44.26 at the inaugural Grenada Invitational on April 8 in Georgetown, Grenada.

Gibson came back for seventh

Day one of the competition on Friday saw national record holder Jeffrey Gibson compete in the men’s 400m hurdles. Running out of lane five, Gibson had to settle for seventh in 51.06 as he makes his return from an injury that sidelined him last year and showed when he failed to get out of the preliminaries of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 26-year-old Grand Bahamian is trying to work his way back into the form that enabled him to snag the Commonwealth Games bronze and the Pan American gold in 2014 and the IAAF World Championships bronze in 2015 in his specialty.

In Friday’s race, it was a sweep of the first two spots for the USA as Michael Stigler took the tape in 48.69 with Michael Tinsley trailing in 49.28. Jamaican Roxroy Cato got third in 49.41.

Wilson soared to fifth

Meanwhile at the Brazil Invitational in Brazil, high jumper Jamal Wilson was the lone Bahamian in action on Saturday in between the two days of competition in Boston.

Wilson finished fifth in the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.20 metres or 7-feet, 2 ½-inches. He cleared his opening height of 2.10m (6-10 ¾) on his first attempt, got through 2.15m (7-0 ½) and 2.20m (7-2 ½) on his third attempts and passed on 2.23m (7-3 ¾) before he missed all three attempts at 2.26m (7-5).

Fernando Ferreira of Brazil won with a leap of 2.28m (7-5 ¾), followed by Eure Yanez of Venezuela with 2.26m (7-5) and David Smith II of Puerto Rico with 2.23m (7-3 ¾).

Wilson, 28, is trying to keep his international streak going as he look forward to making this year’s World Championship team on the heels of his breakout senior campaign last year at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and the Olympics.

He began the year with an impressive 2.27m (7-5 1/4) in Trinec during the indoor season on February 11 after he soared to his season’s best of 2.23m (7-3 ¾) here at home on January 21 at the BAAA’s Odd Distance Track Classic.

Wilson, coached by Ronald Cartwright at home, has personal best of 2.31m (7-7) indoors and 2.30m (7-6 ½) outdoors both of which he accomplished last year.