SPORTS ‘Run in heats or there is no final’ NAUGHTY’S
SECTION E
TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2017
NFL PREVIEW E3
PAULINE Davis-Thompson
DAVIS-THOMPSON: SOME ATHLETES SELFISH AND SELF-CENTRED By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net LONDON, England: Pauline Davis-Thompson was busy with her duties as a Councilwoman for the International Amateur Athletic Federation at the 16th IAAF World Championships. But it didn’t stop her from checking in on Team Bahamas’ performances – and being highly critical of some of the athletes. The Bahamas finished tied for 30th on the medal chart with a silver from Steven Gardiner in the men’s 400 metres and a bronze from Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the women’s 200m. The Bahamas also ended up tied with three others for 22nd overall. “I expected that we would have done better, truth be told,” said Davis-Thompson, a former Golden Girl for the Bahamas at the championships. “Yes, we won a silver medal and a bronze medal, but I expected more from our team. “We’ve had outstanding athletes in the past and I feel like these athletes of today are more gifted than we were and more talented. They don’t seemed to be as focused. It seemed as if they lack focus. They have the ability, but they are not focused.” As one of the proudest athletes to wear the word Bahamas on the chest of her aquamarine, gold and black uniform, Davis-Thompson said she’s noticed that the athletes of today are “selfish” and “self-centered”. “They seemed to think that it is a right to be on the Bahamian team instead of it being a privilege,” she stressed. “It’s a privilege to compete for your country and to put on the colours of your country. I just was a bit disappointed in some of our athletes.” Davis-Thompson didn’t pinpoint anyone in particular, but she said that over the last few years, there’s been an issue of some of the elite athletes on the team not being fully prepared to represent the Bahamas, especially when it comes down to the relays, the most exciting events in any games or championships. Based on what she’s seen, Davis-Thompson said the Bahamas Government should take another look at how the money is spent on the athletes who are subvented and go to a reward system instead. “In other words, I think the subvention should reviewed in whatever event the government deemed to be important by putting a price tag on it,” she said. “If you come to the trials and you make the national team, you get x-amount of money. It should be performance based. “No longer should you get money or collect subvention and the athletes are not performing up to par. It should be performance based. I also don’t believe that because you are put on a relay team SEE PAGE E3
Head coach Dianne Woodside-Johnson responds to Gardiner relay controversy By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net HEAD coach Dianne Woodside-Johnson said it was her responsibility to put out the best team possible to represent the Bahamas at the 16th International Amateur Athletic Federation World Championship in London, England last week. As a result, she took exception to remarks by national record holder Steven Gardiner, who defied her orders to run in the heats of the men’s 4 x 400 metre relay on Saturday, more than three days after he opened the country’s medal account at the event. In giving his side of the story after it was reported in the media that he “refused” to run in the relay, Gardiner said he had informed Woodside-Johnson that he was still recuperating from running a blistering 43.89 seconds to lower his national record in the individual 400m semifinal and booked his lane in the final. Gardiner, 21, said he was also recovering from the flu, but claimed none of that was taken into consideration when he was told by
ABOVE: Head coach Dianne Woodside-Johnson and relay coordinator Rupert Gardiner overlook the women’s 4 x 100m relay practice before the World Championships. Woodside-Johnson that he had to run the heats to ensure that the team got into the final. Back home from the championships and reviewing Gardiner’s comments, Johnson-Woodside said she will provide a full report to the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations on what really transpired. But she didn’t mince her words on responding to certain things that Gardiner had to say. “I don’t wish to play this out in the media. It will be detailed in my report,” she said. “But I thought it was quite interesting about what he had to say. When I did the interview, I told the ath-
LEFT: Silver medal winner Steven Gardiner. lete that if he had not run in Michael Mathieu, Ojay Ferthe heat, it was highly un- guson and Ramon Miller likely that there would have ran a season’s best of three been a final. minutes and 03.04 for sev“That’s when he refused enth place in their heat and to run. He said I disliked 11th overall, denying the him because I don’t coach Bahamas a chance to comhim, but everybody knows pete in the final. that I am an educator for “The truth was he reall of his lifetime and I love fused to run in the heat,” all kids. I am a professional Woodside-Johnson said. and I love all kids. It doesn’t She also noted that whatmatter who I coach, every ever changes were made to athlete can attest to the fact the relay teams were disthat I don’t favour anyone.” cussed with the coaching She said it seemed as if staff, including relay coorthis was Gardiner’s way of dinator Rupert Gardiner, trying to cover up the rea- the day before and they son why he chose not to run then advised the athletes. in the heats, in favour of “The only change on running in the final if the the morning of the day the team qualified. relay took place, we disWithout Gardiner, the cussed the order and eveteam of Alonzo Russell, rybody agreed, except for
one, which was Anthonique Strachan, who really wanted to run the 4 x 1, but we needed her for the 4 x 4,” Woodside-Johnson said. “That was the only change. “Kendrick Thompson, who was mentioned in the article, his name was never considered for any relay, which was discussed by the coaches. I think the truth will come out, everyone will have their say and they will let you exactly what happened. “That is as much as I would like to say in the media at this time. All of the other things that he (Gardiner) said, which I feel were disrespectful, I won’t respond to them at this time.”
PREPARING FOR CENTROBASKET: The Bahamas Basketball Federation Junior Women’s National Basketball team.
JUNIOR WOMEN’S TEAM TIPS OFF AGAINST COSTA RICA By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
Centrobasket gets underway in Puerto Rico
THE Bahamas Basketball Federation Junior Women’s National Basketball team will continue their path toward qualification to more prestigious tournaments in the region, beginning with this year’s Centrobasket. The team tips off play today in the FIBA Americas Centrobasket Under-17 Women’s Championship, to be hosted August 15-19 in Aguada, Puerto Rico. Participating teams include the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Suriname. “We are looking forward to having excellent results in this tournament. We believe we put together a
strong team and we also have a strong coaching staff. BTC and the Omni Financial group allowed us to have some of the ammenities we may not have been afforded and asissted with travel, sneakers, bags and the like so we have to thank them for the support they have rendered to the BBF,” said BBF Treasurer and Chief de Mission - Simone Beneby. The Bahamas was placed in Group B along with Suriname, Costa Rica, and the hosts Puerto Rico. They will face Costa Rica today at 1pm local time in the tournament opener. “We anticipate that that will be one of the more challenging teams in our bracket, but we anticipate that
we will fare well, but the most challenigng team will be the host team Puerto RIco who we face on Thursday,” Beneby said, “With our team, this is one of our better talent pools we have had. The cutting process was that difficult and began with about 50 girls. The chemistry between the girls is good and the girls work out their challenges so this is a good strong unified group headed into Puerto Rico.” Group A includes El Salvador, the British Virgin Islands, Guatemala and Mexico. The top-three teams from the tournament will qualify to FIBA Under-18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018.
Varel Clarke-Davis serves as the head coach with Terrence McSweeney and Devynn Johnson as assistant coaches. “We have a very talented group of ladies with high expectations. Most of them are new but we have some girls who were here from the last time we won the gold medal,” Johnson said, “We are looking forward to a great time and competing again for gold. These girls have worked hard, and they put in the work. Now its time to represent the flag and represent it well. It wont be easy but we have prepared and these girls will do their best.”
SEE PAGE E3