Sprinter becomes second Bahamian male to capture a World Indoor Championship medal

By SHAVAUGHN MOSS, NG Sports Reporter

Sprinter Dominic Demeritte made history on Sunday. He is the first Bahamian male to capture a gold medal at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships in Athletics.

He will also go down in the history annals as the final man to capture a 200 metres world indoor title, as this was the final year, the 200's will be contested at the championships

Demeritte ran 20.66 seconds inside the newly-built Sportarena, Budapest, Hungary, to post the fastest time ever by a Bahamian male indoors over 200 metres to top the medal podium at the 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships.

He is also only the second Bahamian to win an indoor championship gold medal. Chandra Sturrup was the first. She ran to the title in 2001 in the women's 60 metres.

But Demeritte, is also only the second Bahamian male to capture a world indoor medal. In 1987, triple jumper Frank Rutherford captured the bronze. He was also the country's first indoor world medalist.

Demeritte, the 200 metres national record holder, was unable to be reached for comment yesterday after the win, as he was out celebrating with friends.

Demeritte called his dad, Don, who is at home in The Bahamas after his race. Don said Dominic was excited about the medal, because he knew if he wanted his name inked among the great Bahamian sprinters, he would have to win a medal.

"He called (Don) Saturday at approximately 11:30 p.m. (Budapest time) and said he couldn't sleep, but all he needed was four hours sleep and he would pull it off. He was very confident he would win," said Don.

"He got off to an okay start, but he knew that because of his conditioning and training and the results he's had in Europe over the past weeks, that it was his race," he said.

He said he and his son, a former St John's College student, have always joked about how he would take his victory lap, and the plan was to trot the bend and walk the straight.

"I asked him if it happened, but he said the photographers actually got in his way, but he actually ran it through. He said his manager John Regis said to him that it didn't look like he knew what to do in victory," said Don, with pride evident in his voice.

In the final, Demeritte drew lane six, which he wanted, and trailed in second place for much of the race behind Sweden's national record holder Johan Wissman. But in the last 15 metres, Demeritte, surged in the outside lane, and powered home to a 20.66 win.

Wissman was second (20.72). Germany's Tobias Unger took the bronze (21.02).

The victory is Demeritte's first gold medal in international competition. He won't get a chance to defend his indoor title, because due to the tightness of most indoor tracks, the men and women's 200 metres events will no longer be a part of the programme at future championships.

As a result, Demeritte's name will forever be etched in the history books as the last man to ever capture a world indoor 200 title

In Saturday's first round heats, he ran 20.99 seconds out of lane six to win the fourth of seven heats, to advance to the semi-finals later that day.

He again drew lane six in the semis, where he won the third and final heat in a season best 20.75 to set himself up for the final.

Team manager, Livingstone Bostwick speaking via the telephone from Hungary yesterday, described Demeritte's gold-medalling run as "a very decent, controlled race," and said he stayed within himself and got the result he wanted.

Twenty-six-year-old Demeritte now has a gold medal in international competition to go with the bronze medal he won in Birmingham at last year's indoor World Championships.

He has also won gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games

Bahamas Association of Athletics Association president Desmond Bannister, who did not travel with the team to Hungary, said Demeritte was excited about the win and that he was happy for him.

"The thing that made me happiest for Dominic was that he was able to put it all in perspective," said Bannister. "He realizes this is something he has to celebrate after the season is over, so his goal is to win an Olympic gold medal, and that's what he's focusing on. Being (an indoor) world champion now is good, he's happy about that, that's something that's never been done before, but he's going to celebrate that when the season's over. Dominic wants to focus right now on the Olympic Games and doing the best he can for The Bahamas at the Olympics."