SPORTS SECTION E
Judo, Page 3
MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018
Gardiner breaks his national record By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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n his 400 metre debut for 2018, Steven Gardiner made it look so easy at the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar. The 6-foot, 2-inch Gardiner powered his way to an impressive victory on Friday in 43.87 seconds for the world’s leading time as he lowered his national record of 43.89 that he set in the semi-final before he clinched the silver last year at the IAAF World Championships in London, England. Qatar’s Abdalleleh Harqoun got second place in 44.50 with Botswana’s Isaac Makwala third in 44.92. Makwala had the previous season’s best time of 44.35 in snatching the gold at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia in the absence of Gardiner and South Africa’s world record holder Wayde van Niekerk. Gardiner, 22, was one of two Bahamians competing in the first of the series of 14 meets on the Diamond League. He told Tribune Sports that his race was just a tip of the iceberg. “It was a smooth race. I just got out in my 40 metre drive and went up the back stretch nice and tall and started my move at the 200m,” he said. “At 150m, I just brought it home.” In his first meeting against Makwala in his first quarter-mile for the year, Gardiner said he expected the race to be a little slower, but it turned out to be quite fast. “It’s all good. It was great to get that kind of competition so early in the season,” he pointed out. Not only is Gardiner holding the fastest time in the world in the one-lap
race, but he’s also sitting in second place in the halflap race after he added his name to the men’s 200m national record in 19.75 at a meet in Coral Gables, Florida, on April 7. That has him trailing Republic of South Africa’s Clarence Munyai, who posted the fastest time of 19.69 on March 16 in Pretoria, South Africa. “I feel very very good about both performances. Two PRs (personal best) early in the year, it’s pretty good for me right now,” he stated. “I started off with a PR last year and this year I did the same thing, so it’s all going good right now.” Coached by Gary Evans in Florida in a training squad that includes the Bahamian combo of Jeffery Gibson, Teray Smith and Elroy McBride, the Abaco native said he’s in the right atmosphere and that has been the key to his success so far. “I have a coach who understands and knows that I’m an actual human and there is only so much that I can take,” Gardiner said. “It’s going very good for me and my training partners are pushing me and I’m pushing them in practice. “So it’s just a matter of going out there and doing the work and compete like I train in practice.” Based on the times he’s ran so far, Gardiner said the sky is the limit for him. “In the 400m, I felt good out there tonight, so I feel I can go a bit faster. “This was just my opener,” he said. “But to come out with a world leader, national record and PR all in one, I’m just so happy for that. “In the 200m, it’s a bit faster this year too. That was a surprise as well, so I just expect good things ahead of me this year.”
STEVEN Gardiner competes in the 400m at the Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar.
As a 200m runner under his initial coach Rev. Anthony Williams in Moore’s Island before he was converted to the 400m by his former coach George Cleare, Gardiner said he’s so comfortable with the half-lap as opposed to the full lap. “Everybody who runs the 400m likes the 200m because it’s shorter and the 400m hurts so bad and only the strong could survive in the 400m,” Gardiner said. “But I now like both events because I both of them. So I just have to like it.” While Gardiner was holding his own on the track, two Bahamians faced each other in the men’s high jump in their first meeting since the Commonwealth Games. Donald Thomas, coming off his fourth place finish at the Games, took third place with a leap of 2.30 metres or 7-feet, 6 1/2-inches, while Jamal Wilson, the silver medallist in the Gold Coast, was ninth with 2.20m (7-2 1/2). Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, the reigning IAAF World Outdoor and Indoor champion and Olympic silver medallist, soared to victory before the home crowd with a leap of 2.40m (7-10 1/2). On Saturday, May 12, Gardiner will be competing in the next Diamond League meet in the 400m again and will be joined by Bahamian twin tower Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who will contest the 200m. “I’m just going to stick to my same race model, my same plan, just go out there and perform and have some fun,” he said. “I’m just going to bring it.” As a 200/400 threat, Gardiner said he welcomes the opportunity to compete against the world’s best.
“With Wayde (van Niekerk) now out (of competition with an injury), it’s going to be the same (competition),” Gardiner said. “I just have to focus on my lane and focus on what I have to do and not worry about anyone else. Following Shanghai, Gardiner will head to the 2018 Adidas Boost Boston Games on Sunday, May 20 where he will compete in the straight 200m again. Last year, he slipped and fell, suffering a few bruises as he finished fifth in 31.28 as van Niekerk took the tape in 19.84. “The 200m is always my favourite race, but I just have to go out there and work on my 100m start because everybody knows I hate the start,” he said. “But it’s just for Boston and I’m just going to go out there and have fun no matter what the outcome. I’m just going to go out there to perform.” And for those who have suggested that because he skipped the Commonwealth Games to wait for his green card in the United States that he would be changing allegiance to the USA, Gardiner said they know more than him. “I never said that so right now I don’t know what they are talking about,” he emphasised. “They probably heard something and whoever it is, they probably are going to compete for the US, but I never said that I was going to do it.” Coming off his third year in Doha, Gardiner said he’s looking forward to returning there next year. The IAAF World Championships will take place from September 28 to October 6. And he is expected to carry the Bahamian flag in either the 200 or 400m or in both events.
Nairn: ‘I will be pursuing my professional career’ By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net LOURAWLS “Tum Tum” Nairn will make the transition to the professional ranks following his career with the Michigan State Spartans. Nairn officially signed with Ryan Dempsey of Kitch Law Firm based in Lansing, Michigan. “Thank you, Lord for your many blessings and opportunities. Thanks to all my family, friends, coaches and teammates who have helped me in ways I cannot explain. Since the age of 13, it has been my dream to play professional basketball and I will be pursuing my professional career as I have signed with Ryan Dempsey of Kitch Law Firm.”
In January, the NBA certified Dempsey to act as an NBPA Player Agent. Dempsey is also a certified basketball agent with FIBA, in the business of representing professional basketball players in leagues throughout the world. Nairn’s final season for the Michigan State Spartans ended prematurely with an upset loss in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32, but he was still able to exhibit the leadership that made him a star in the eyes of the coaching staff in East Lansing. The Spartans, ranked No. 3 in the West Region, lost 53-55 to No. 11 Syracuse at the Little Ceasar’s Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday. Nairn, who was a member of the 2015 Final Four team as
LOURAWLS NAIRN a freshman, offered words of insight in the locker room following the loss to place the game in perspective.
“It’s part of life,” Nairn said. “Basketball is what we play, so it hurts. It sucks when you lose a game and you don’t have any more, but nobody on our team is battling cancer. Nobody’s fighting for their life. I’m not trying to say losing doesn’t hurt, but there is so much pain going on outside of this game of basketball that people are facing - kids not eating, homeless people, people that are fighting disease. Nobody on this team is in that position.” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has always heralded Nairn’s leadership abilities as something that could not be simply measured on a stat sheet. He awarded Nairn the title of team captain for three consecutive years and often called him an extension of the coaches on
the floor. “That kid has meant the world to our programme, our community, our team, and to me. I don’t know if there is another Tum out there. He has been rock solid through a lot of things this year, and I love him for that,” Izzo said. “Tum’s not God, but he’s right there.” Nairn ends his Spartans career with averages of 1.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. After 65 career starts, his numbers in his senior season saw a decline with the emergence of sophomore point guard Cassius Winston. He was awarded the Stephen G Scofes Inspirational Player Award this past offseason for the third straight year when the Spartans hosted its annual Men’s Basketball Awards Banquet for the 2016-17 season.
Deandre Ayton declines invitation to NBA Combine By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Playoffs, Page 5
Deandre Ayton has developed into a consensus top overall pick for next month’s NBA Draft but the highly touted frontcourt superstar has opted out of an important part of the draft process. Ayton declined an invitation to participate in the NBA Combine, set for May 16-20 in Chicago, Illinois. Approximately 70 players were invited to the combine which is an opportunity for invitees to show off their vertical leap, quickness, and all-around basketball skills to NBA franchises. Despite skipping the combine, Ayton is still likely to participate in team workouts once the NBA Draft Lottery is complete. The Draft lottery takes place Tuesday May 15 at 7:30 aired on ESPN.
Ayton has been listed as the top player on many draft boards, including NBAdraft.net, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and others. His latest accolade was being named the “Karl Malone Power Forward” of the year, ahead of Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III and three other finalists for the award. Ayton was also voted an Associated Press First Team AllAmerican. He was also the First Team All-American from the NABC, USBWA and Sporting News. Ayton averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 per cent from the field. He was the first player in the history of the Pac-12 Conference to earn Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Most
Outstanding Player of the conference tournament in the same season. The two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week rewrote numerous pages in the Arizona Basketball record book. Ayton is already projected to be one of the top three picks in the draft. If he goes with the first pick, he will become just the second Bahamian to be selected number one behind Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson, the first foreignborn player taken in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. ARIZONA forward Deandre Ayton can be seen during an NCAA college basketball game against California, on March 3 in Tucson, Arizona. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)