LONDON, England – Ramon Miller, the new anchor for The Bahamas men’s 4x400-meter (m) relay team, said that one thing kept him going around the track on Friday night in pursuit of American Angelo Taylor – gold.
The team made history with its gold medal performance at these 30th Olympic Games, and Bahamians were ecstatic. They ran a national record time of 2:56.72, the mighty United States had to settle for second, in 2:57.05, and Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze medal, in a national record time, of 2:59.40.
It was The Bahamas’ night though. The team of Chris Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Miller, in that order, wasn’t going to be denied.
Pauline Davis-Thompson, who accomplished the gold medal feeling as a member of the original Golden Girls in 2000 in Sydney, said that it was a feat of heroic proportions.
“I am so proud of those guys and so proud to be a Bahamian,” she said. “It took our guys 12 years to get to this point. They persevered and they now realize that nothing in this life comes easy. I am especially proud of Chris Brown because he never gave up. He has to be numb right now because of the run itself and the moment. Brown is a true champion and all of the guys are warriors. I am so overwhelmed – very proud to be a Bahamian.”
Davis-Thompson was making the presentation of the women’s 4x100m medals when The Bahamas’ ‘Golden Men’ were doing their victory lap. They will be presented with their medals at 6:45 p.m. in London, 1:45 p.m. in The Bahamas.
Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) President Mike Sands said the controversial order, with Brown leading off and Miller anchoring, paid off.
“It’s a decision that was made in consultation with the coaches based on what we had available to us,” said Sands. “We knew that we needed to make up about two seconds from the heats so we had to devise a plan to make that happen. The main thing that worked in our favor is that Chris wasn’t a hard sell to us. Chris has anchored The Bahamas’ team for many years but in the end he would have done anything for the betterment of the team, and the element of surprise was one of the biggest advantages that we had working for us. It worked so now no one could question. I am just happy for these boys and so very happy of the accomplishment.”
The race will go down in history as one of the greatest moments in the history of Bahamian athletics. It was a new national record, leapfrogs The Bahamas to the third fastest nation ever behind the United States and Great Britain, and continues a streak of at least one medal for The Bahamas at six straight Olympics.
