TRIBUTE TO GUS COOPER 8 | The Nassau Guardian | Thursday, January 9, 2014
A race well run for
Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper ALPHEUS FINLAYSON Our Winston ‘Gus’ Cooper was passed the baton in track and field and has run his leg extremely well. While we mourn his passing it is time to celebrate his great contributions to our beloved sport. Cooper attended St. John's College and was a founder of the Pioneer's Sporting Club in 1960, with Kirk Knowles, Doyle Burrows and Perry Christie, all of the Valley before the age of nineteen. Later he attended Morgan State University in Baltimore along with Bahamian Track and Field greats Errol Bodie, Hugh Bullard, and Hartley Saunders. They have all passed now. He was the coach of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City where the 4x100m relay team of Norris Stubbs, Bernard Nottage, Kevin Johnson, and the great Tommy Robinson ran a national record of 39.45sec that would last for a quarter of a century. Gus took over the presidency of the BAAA in 1972 after the Munich Olympic Games and made a bold move to host the 1976 Carifta Games. The critics said that we did not have the money, the facilities or the athletes to do well. Gus designed the flag and the logo for the Games and for the first time an Opening Ceremony was held. On the evening of Easter Monday during the closing of the Games not even standing room was available at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. In three short years The Bahamas had
gone from one medal in Port of Spain 1973, four in Kingston 1974, eight in Bermuda in 1975 to a whopping 27 in Nassau in 1976, which placed us in third place behind Jamaica and Bermuda. Just think of it for a moment. Last year The Bahamas won 31 medals at Carifta at home and many new events had been added since 1976. A month after those Games Gus gave up the presidency but continued his involvement in our beloved sport through the Bahamas Association of Athletic Officials, BACO. In 1978 he became the first Director of Sports and in this position he continued his outstanding contributions to sports in the country. He served in that position for nearly 25 years, the longest serving Director in the Public Service. A memorial will be held this Thursday at Rawson Square at 10pm and you are encouraged to attend. Much credit needs to be given to his wife Cassie, who through it all stood by him through thick and thin, even with the loss of their son Anthony the day before Gus' 72nd birthday in October. Let's continue to pray for her and her family. Please read the column Small Country Great Athletes in today's Guardian on Gus and listen to Track World with Alpheus Finlayson at 6:30pm this evening on Guardian Radio 96.9FM. You can also get it on cable channel 969 or on the internet at www.guardiantalkradio.com. — with Ida Regena and 28
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