The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@troibunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN Olympic quarter-miler Andretti Bain is back at his alma mater at Oral Roberts University, but this time as an assistant coach of the Golden Eagles’ track and field/cross country staff.

Head coach Alick Musukuma made the announcement yesterday, revealing that Bain’s main responsibilities will include recruiting and evaluating talent.

“We are proud to have Andretti Bain as a part of the track and field/cross country programmes,” Musukuma said. “We are rebuilding the programmes and need someone like Andretti to be on board.

“Andretti has done amazing things for ORU as he is the only track and field athlete to win an NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championship and an Olympic silver medal in the same year, 2008. This will inspire other alumni to see that the ORU track and field/cross country programmes are going to be great.”

Bain, a 36-year-old graduate from St John’s College who excelled in both the 400 and 400m hurdles, will still be allowed to continue his health and fitness programme he established here at home while working remotely with the track programme in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“This is a position that allows me to remain in Nassau because of my other business interests,” Bain said. “We were able to work it out where I can travel as often as I’m needed or my schedule allows, so I’m probably looking at travelling every six to eight weeks for as few days.”

Bain was inducted into ORU Hall of Fame in 2014 after he finished as the most decorated track athlete in the Golden Eagles’ programme history, including earning the the programme’s first national championship, winning the 400 metres at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Later that year, Bain captured the title in the same event at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

During his career at ORU, Bain was a three-time All-American, 11-time conference champion and a nine-time Summit League Athlete of the Week.

After his career with the Golden Eagles, Bain went on to win a silver medal as a member of the Bahamas 4x400 metre relay team in the 2008 Olympics.

“This is something that I’m looking forward to doing,” Bain said. “Truth be told, I’ve matured and grown a lot during my time at ORU, so I’ve experienced the good and the bad.

“There were a lot of bad and a lot of tough times before the NCAA Championships, so understanding what my journey was, my mission is just to try and create more opportunities for the student-athletes, who are currently attending ORU and those who we will be recruiting.”

Through his job, Bain said he’s hoping that he can make an impact on the lives of the next generation of athletes to compete for the Golden Eagles. He noted that he’s passionate, just like he was as a student athlete, about the programme at ORU.

And while he knows that there will be a lot of interest from athletes to compete for the Golden Eagles, Bain said he has to stress to them that nothing is given, but rather it is earned.

“I know the standard that ORU has and I know the standard that I have,” he said. “Before I’m looking at their athletic talent, I’m looking at their character as student-athletes. They have to fit into ORU because ORU is a special place.

“ORU is a place that is focused on body, mind and soul and you can’t just be about track and field. Spiritually you have to be connected, socially and ethically, you have to be connected, educationally you have to be connected and then the talent is what we look at.”

Like any other school, Bain said there are standards that the student-athletes must first attain and he will take the opportunity to sit with the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and the prospective athletes in outlining the criteria they are looking for.

“If you match the criteria and the standards that ORU is looking for, then of course you get a scholarship to Oral Roberts University,” Bain said.

“I would love to see Bahamians there. So that is my goal. I know what it did for me and for my other Bahamian buddies, but, at the same time, there is a standard. It has to be earned, it can’t just be given.”

Aside from taking on this new role as an assistant coach, Bain is still actively involved in motivational speaking.

He said he’s eager to juggle all of the roles he has as well as spending time with his family as a husband and a father.

After tearing his Achilles in 2017 and although most of the doctors have prescribed that he won’t be able to run again, he’s defied the orders and has been working to getting back on the track.

“Through me being off the track, trying to rehab my Achilles, not taking track and field as my main priority at this point, it’s amazing how these other opportunities just open up for me,” he said.

“So my message to a lot of the athletes is that sometimes you believe an injury is a setback, but everything happens for a reason and you just have to trust the fact that God has a purpose in our lives and if we continue to do our part, he will take care of the rest.”