The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

“AMAZING” and “very humble child” were some of the words that Steven ‘Speedy’ Gardiner Sr used to describe his son, World and Olympic men’s 400 metre champion, Steven Gardiner Jr, whom he quipped “not too many people get to experience what he achieved.”

“It’s a feeling that money can’t buy, but it’s a feeling I wish everyone could get,” he stated. “But I’m proud that I am the one who has experienced it all.”

However, his mother Theresa Woods-Gardiner said she always knew she had a “special child,” who would have amounted to something great in life.

“During my pregnancy with him, I had fluid around him and I had to leave Abaco before he was born because they said the water in me could have drowned him,” she remembered. “But thank God it didn’t.

“Then when he started to run, they had to continue to pour water on him because he was something like a fish. He was always dehydrated when he finished running.”

After watching his accomplishment in 2019 when he captured the world title in Doha, Qatar, Woods-Gardiner said she prayed over her son when he went to Tokyo this year and even their pastor prophesied that he would win the gold.

“I am thankful and grateful to God for giving me such a special child,” she stated. “I know God let me have him for a reason. I’m so proud of him and his accomplishments.”

Although he was born and raised in Murphy Town, Abaco, his parents said everybody thinks their son came out of Moore’s Island. But they both admitted that they only sent him to Moore’s Island to continue his training under the tutelage of coach Anthony Williams before he went to New Providence and then to Florida to pursue his professional track career.

Both parents said they appreciate the commitment Williams - a local pastor in Abaco - made to allow their child to succeed.

Williams said one day he got a call from Randy Davis, who worked at BTC, to inform him of Gardiner. He told him to pack him up and send him to his home.

“I never knew his parents, but I got to know them after that,” he said. “The moment Stevie walked into the house door and he bent his head, I knew he was special.”

Williams said he and his wife, Vera, spent a lot of time catering to Gardiner providing him with whatever meal was cooked, as there were a number of other athletes who were a part of the training camp.

“He was a very manly child. I had no problems with him. In fact, he was one of the leaders in the house, keeping the other athletes in check,” Williams said. “I had one problem with him when it came to running the mile in the morning.

“At 5 o’clock, we had to be on the road. Everybody was gone and Stevie was in the back there. I would tell him to go back home. He would only do about a quarter-of-a-mile of half-a-mile and he was blown. Even at practice when we were training him to go 10 300s, Stevie would do one and then sit down.”

Despite his frailness, Williams said he noticed from day one that Gardiner would amount to someone special and so he believed in him becoming a great ambassador for the Bahamas and now an ambassador for BTC.

As he prepares for next season, the elder Gardiner, who used to play basketball and now stands about 6-feet, three-inches tall, just a little shorter than his son, said he would like nothing better than to see his son capture another gold medal in defending his title at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

“Three-time gold medallist sounds good. I would like to see him do it all over again,” said Gardiner Sr, who knows the excitement of being a champion after helping to sail the Abaco Rage to the gold medal in sailing at the first Bahama Games.

The Gardiner family could have possibly had a few more champions, but Gardiner’s two sisters didn’t have the stickability as their brother to persevere in the sport.

Nonetheless, his younger sister Mesha Smith said Gardiner has been an inspiration to their family.

“I’m very proud of him. Watching him run at sports meets at our local high school to seeing him on the world stage, has been a fantastic journey to be a part of,” she stated. “I’m very proud of him.”

And although she admits that Gardiner “gets on my nerves” at times, she said they are all very proud of the fact that he has gone on to forge his own legacy in their family.

Co-manager Juanita Bryant, along with her husband Claude Bryant first met Gardiner in 2014 when he was only interested in playing volleyball. But because of his height and demeanour, they convinced his parents to sign him to a professional contract.

“We’re very proud of Stevie,” she said. “He’s getting ready to compete in the World Championships in 2022 and we’re looking forward to some good things from him - another gold medal.”

With no plans to run him during the indoor season, Bryant said they’re looking forward to his coach, American Gary Evans getting him ready to possibly run his first race sometime in April.

By the next Olympics, his Bahamian coach Anthony Williams predicted that Gardiner will be before another champion through the support he’s now receiving from BTC as a brand ambassador.

Williams thanked persons like Mike Sands, former president of the BAAA and now NACAC president, who also stood by them in providing the assistance that was needed to help Gardiner get to where he is today.

For Gardiner, he’s just enjoying his off-season going back home to Abaco and doing some fishing and cooking for his family and friends.

“Next year, I just want to do it all over again,” he proclaimed. “I want to win another gold medal at the World Championships in Oregon.”

He declared that he couldn’t ask for any better support than what he’s received so far.

“This is like top tier support,” he said. “I knew that once I won the Olympic gold, it’s all over. It’s been more than I anticipated and I am truly grateful to everybody for the support they have given me.”

Just being home with his family is enough of a celebration for the modest Gardiner., But he knows that come November 1, he will be back on the track to start training for next year.

“I just have to keep working hard. The hard work doesn’t stop,” he emphasized. “I just hope to go out there and do what I have to do. The small things that didn’t go right this year, I have to work on fixing. So there’s always room for improvement.”

Gardiner said he’s happy and appreciative for the people of Abaco and hopefully serving as an ambassador for BTC, he can stay connected to them wherever he goes to compete and bring home “the gold medal” for the Bahamas.