Leevan Sands captures triple jump bronze

By Shavaughn Moss NG Sports Reporter

Saint-Denis, Paris - One of the six rookies on this year's World Championships squad captured the country's first medal.

Triple jumper Leevan Sands popped 56 feet 6 inches last night in the Stade-de-France at the 9th International Association of Athletics Federations World Outdoor Championships in Athletics for the bronze medal win to put The Bahamas on the medal table.

At the end of competition last night, The Bahamas, a small country with less than a quarter-of-a-million people was tied for 18th position with giants like Canada, Great Britain and North Ireland, Japan and the People's Republic of China, countries with millions of people, which had all won only one bronze medal each.

With the medal win, the country is two shy of the three-medal total won at the 2001 Edmonton Championships when Avard Moncur claimed the men's 400 metres title; Debbie Ferguson sprinted to the silver in the 200 metres; And the men's 4x400 metres relay team of Avard Moncur, Christopher Brown, Troy McIntosh and Tim Munnings (Carl Oliver ran heat) won the silver.

This year's team was expected to top those performances, and were on course to do so. Chandra Sturrup made the final of the women's 100 metres but came up short. She finished fourth on Sunday night.

Male quarter-milers Avard Moncur who came into the championships as the defending champion and Chris Brown were also both considered medal hopefuls this year. They did not get past Sunday's semi finals.

But female quarter-miler Tonique Williams has positioned herself to possibly pick up the country's second medal on Wednesday as she advanced to the final yesterday with the best time of the field (50.43 seconds).

And Ferguson begins her quest today to at least equal or better her 2001 silver-medal performance.

Topping the medal table after the third day of competitin was Belarus with five medals, three gold and two bronze.

Ethiopia is second with five medals also, two gold, two silver and one bronze, and Sweden rounded out the top three with three medlas, two gold and one silver.

Russia was fourth, two gold and two bronze and the United States fifth with three medals one gold and two silver.

The Caribbean countries on the medal table included Saint Kitts and Nevis. Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba each with one medal.

Last night Kititian Kim Collins shocked the 100 metres field to claim the fastest man in the world title in 10.07 seconds, with Trinidad and Tobago's Darrel Brown trailing him across the finish line in 10.08 for the silver. Great Britain's Darren Campbell took the bronze in an identical time, as they held people like Great Britain's Dwain Chambers and American Tim Montgomery off the medal podium.

After three days of competition, the 47-strong Jamaican squad had yet to win a medal, even though they have athletes competing in almost every event.

Caption:AIRBOURNE - Bahamian triple jumper Leevan Sands executes his bronze medal winning jump Monday, a distance of 56' 6" distance to give The Bahamas its first medal at the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the Stade-de-France in Paris, France. Staff Photo by Donald Knowles

Posted Tuesday 26 August, 2003