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| Brown leads quartet of Bahamians in London |
Sheldon Longley
Guardian Sports Editor slongley@nasguard.com
Published: Jul 16, 2012
It seems like Chris ‘The Fireman’ Brown is heating up at exactly the right time! With less than three weeks before the start of the athletics portion of the London Olympic Games, Brown produced his first sub-45 second race of the season, at a tune-up meet in London. The Bahamian national record holder in the men’s 400 meters (m) rounded the track in 44.95 seconds on Saturday, to trail just Grenadian World Champion Kirani James to the tape at the Aviva Grand Prix Meet, in London, England. James won the 400m title in 44.85 seconds, Brown was second, and American Tony McQuay, who finished his college eligibility at the University of Florida with a national title this year, finished third, in 45 seconds flat. Former World and Olympic Champion Jeremy Wariner, of the United States, could only muster up a fifth place finish, in 45.29 seconds. Three other Bahamians competed at the Aviva Grand Prix Meet, the year’s eighth of 14 Samsung Diamond League Meets, this past weekend. In the men’s triple jump, ‘Superman’ Leevan Sands leapt 16.97m (55' 8-1/4") to finish second. American World Champion Christian Taylor, the fifth best triple jumper of all-time, finished with a best leap of 17.41m (57' 1-1/2") on Saturday, to win the event. Tosin Oke, from Nigeria, was third behind Taylor and Sands, with a best leap of 16.93m (55' 6-1/2"). In the men’s high jump, former World Champion Donald Thomas could only muster a best of 2.18m (7' 1-1/4") to finish tied for fifth with Samson Oni, from Great Britain. Michael Mason, from Canada, cleared that same height but finished fourth based on number of knockdowns. His countryman Derek Drouin won the event with a clearance of 2.26m (7’ 5”). British athletes Robbie Grabarz and Tom Parsons finished tied for second with identical clearances of 2.22m (7' 3-1/4”). In the women’s 200m, national record holder Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie continued to struggle in her return from a bone bruise in her right ankle, as she finished eighth, in 23.89 seconds. American Charonda Williams won the event, in 22.75 seconds, Jamaican Anneisha McLaughlin finished second, in 22.81 seconds, and American Bianca Knight rounded out the top three, in 23 seconds flat. |
