SPORTS SECTION E
Tiger Woods,
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018
Water polo teams bring home the gold By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ead coach Laszlo Borbely said Team Bahamas made sure they didn’t leave any hardware in Kingston, Jamaica, as they won all three divisional gold medals and carted off all of the individual awards in their dominating performances at the CARIFTA Water Polo Championship. When they returned home Monday night, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard assured them that they will be rewarded very soon as the government, in conjunction with the Bahamas Swimming Federation, is looking at the possibility of getting them their own facilities to train in. Pintard, welcoming the team home at the Lynden Pindling International Airport, said when he congratulated them in the House of Assembly, the island nation’s policy makers were extremely pleased with their performances. But he told them that the excitement pales in comparison to the support from their family and friends, who were outside of the arrival lounge where they waited with the junkanoo music. Yesterday, the team was in the House of Assembly for an official government recognition. “We are in your corner. We clearly understand that water polo needs additional facilities,” Pintard told the team. “So we are prepared to work with the federation, parents and your support team, those of you that are from other islands originally, we believe that it is important for us to have a build out of additional facilities, not just in New Providence, but outside of New Providence.
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WATER POLO CHAMPIONS: The Bahamas’ water polo programme won gold medals in all three age categories - under-14, under-16 and under-19 - at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston, Jamaica. The three teams returned home on Monday night and can be seen above at the Lynden Pindling International Airport in New Providence. Team Bahamas was congratulated by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard. Photo: Raymond A Bethel Sr/BIS “The Grand Bahama Port Authority is partnering with the government. We are looking to build a 50-metre pool in Grand Bahama. We will work closely with your federation and we make a commitment that we will work with you, your parents and your support team so that we can provide just one part of what you need so that you can continue to excel.” The announcement was sweet music in the ears
of the team that comprised of three squads that captured the under14, under-16 and under-19 championship titles at the Kingston National Stadium on Sunday. It started with the under14 team winning their first title with a 16-2 rout over Jamaica. The under-16 followed as they repeated as champions with a 17-3 clobbering of the Reggae Boyz. It climaxed with the under-19
securing a 13-10 decision over Jamaica. In the end, the Bahamas also captured six individual awards as Oliver Roberts won the under-14 most valuable player and Jayden Seymour was the best goalie. Gabriel Sastre was the under-16 MVP and Aiden Johnson was the best goalie. Saequan Miller was the under-29 MVP and Aiden Johnson was again the best goalie. “The younger team,
under-14 and under-16, didn’t have any competition,” said Borbely. “They went into the finals and they put on some very good performances. The 19-year-old team had some problems in the beginning in the preliminaries, but once we got to the semis, we had one goal that changed everything and we went into a fighting mode. “When we played Jamaica for the gold, I told them to just hang on,
hang on. Keep them close and not let them get too far away from you. By the third quarter, we had their number. “By the fourth quarter, we had three goals ahead of them and they couldn’t catch us.” Borbely said the team won everything and “there wasn’t anything else to bring home,” so he was thrilled with their performances.
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Sprinters Fraser, Hart get set for Commonwealth Games By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net NOT since Derrick Atkins ran 9.91 seconds to win the silver medal in the men’s 100 metres at the IAAF World Championships in 2007 in Osaka, Japan, has there been a Bahamian male sprinter that was a serious contender for global success. Reigning national champion Warren Fraser and 2016 champion Shavez Hart are both having to change that landscape when they head to the Gold Coast, Australia, next month as a part of the 31-member team that will represent the Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games.
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“So far things are looking good as we take the next two weeks to prepare for Commonwealth,” Fraser said. “I’m basically just trying to get my race model down packed so that I can be comfortable at the games.” Fraser, who has ran a personal best of 10.14 in 2014, said it’s always good to have another compatriot entered in the same event because it takes a little of the pressure off when they step out into the huge crowd of spectators in the stands. How much that will inspire Fraser depends on how healthy he can remain going into the competition where all eyes will be watching to see whether or not he or Hart will be able to break the 10-second barrier and be a contender for at least a spot in the final and possibly a medal in the Gold Coast. “I think the one thing I have to actually do to run that fast, because I believe I’m capable of running that fast, is I just have to focus on trying to stay healthy,” Fraser said. “If I can stay healthy and be consistent for a whole year, I know that I will be able to run under 10 seconds. “Everything else hinges on how well I take care of my body, eating right and stay away from things that could cause me to get
WARREN FRASER
SHAVEZ HART
away from my proper training programme.” As he heads to Australia, Fraser said he expects the competition to be fierce even without the presence of the United States of America. “The 100 metres will still be the most competitive event because we really won’t be missing much people, except for the United States,” he stated. “All of the other people who have set records and are among the top competitors in the world are from the Commonwealth countries. “So it’s basically a world championship match-up minus the
United States, so I still have to go there and perform. It’s going to be a lot of fun because I have some people on my list that I have to beat. I have a whole list. I just mark them off after I beat them.” Fraser, who won’t have a meet to compete in before he heads to Australia, is training at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, under coach Ken Harding. He is coming off his appearance at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Great Britain, at the beginning of the month where he got to the
semi-final of the 60m with a season’s best of 6.66. Hart, who is training in Phoenix, Arizona, under coach Stuart McMillan of the ALTIS group that includes Canadian top sprinter Andre De Grasse, Great Britain’s 2017 Diamond League 100m champion Chijindu ‘CJ’ Ujah and American Ameer Webb, said he’s in the right atmosphere to succeed. “I like it here,” said Hart, now in his second year and his first full season in the camp. “Practice here is a simulation of a meet. That’s good because I’m in a professional environment where everybody is making a name for themselves. I like it here.” Coming off an indoor meet in January, Hart said his training there is progressing very well and should culminate with him turning in a great performance at the Commonwealth Games. He intends to compete in at least one meet before he heads to Australia. “I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life, but doing that in practice is one thing and doing it in a meet is another thing,” he said. “I just have to translate everything now from practice to competition.” As the games draw near, Fraser advised the public to: “Just watch out for the sprinters.”