08172016 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2016

Thomas, Barry end up 7th, 11th overall

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Donald Thomas and Trevor Barry were nowhere near their best, finishing seventh and 11th overall respectively, as they made their return to the men’s high jump final at the 2016 Olympic Games.

The duo, who got eliminated in the qualifying rounds in London, England four years ago, came up with their best performances yesterday in the Olympic Stadium with 2.29 metres or 7-feet, 6-inches for Thomas and 2.25m for Barry.

Canadian Derek Drouin went on to clinch the gold with a season’s best of 2.38m (7-9 3/4), while Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar was the silver medallist with 2.36m (7-8 3/4).

Bohdan Bondarenko of the Ukraine secured the bronze with

BAHAMAS’ Donald Thomas and Trevor Barry (top right) compete in the high jump finals yesterday at the Olympic stadium. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) 2.33m (7-7 3/4) as he edged out three other competitors on fewer knockdowns.

Thomas, the 32-year-old 2007 IAAF World champion in Osaka, Japan, was clear through the first three heights at 2.20m (7-2 1/2), 2.25m (7-4 1/2) and 2.29m (7-6)

before he knocked down all three attempts at 2.33m (7-7 3/4).

Thomas, coming off his bronze medal at the Pan American Games and sixth place at the World Championships last year, ended up tied with two other competitors.

Barry, on the other hand, cleared his first two heights at 2.20m (7-2 1/2) and 2.25m (7-4 1/2), but he struggled at 2.29m (7-6) and wasn’t able to go any higher.

“I was disappointed,” Barry said. “But I give God thanks for

allowing me to compete and come out uninjured. But I’m very disappointed.”

During his jump phases, Barry said he was accelerating to the bar but not the curve going into the pit, he just didn’t get it right.

“I might shut it down,” said Barry when asked where he goes from here. “I have to talk to my agent and see what’s going on.”

Barry said the competition was extremely tough as the top three contenders were hoping to make an attempt at the world record of 2.45m set by Cuban Javier Sotomayor in Spain in 1993.

“I was jumping good up to 2.25. At 2.29, I was pressing it too much and I wasn’t relaxed on the curve,” he said. “All of those are manageable heights. They just didn’t come through today.”

Olympic gold ‘still so surreal’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Shaunae Miller said it was so surreal for her to finally receive her Olympic gold medal.

It happened last night, one day after she stunned American Allyson Felix by diving across the finish line to become just the second Bahamian to win gold, receiving it from one of the Bahamas’ ‘Golden Girls,’ IAAF councilwoman Pauline Davis-Thompson in the ceremony at the Olympic Stadium.

“It’s such an amazing feeling. I just thank God for it,” Miller told The Tribune after she received the medal. “I worked so hard for it.”

The hard work is over and Miller began celebrating with her family and the Bahamian delegation.

She said her biggest thrill was when she got to walk out of the tunnel and into the stadium with Felix and Jamaican Shericka Jackson to hear the national anthem played and the national flag

GOLD medallist Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller, centre, silver medallist United States’ Allyson Felix, left, and bronze medallist Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson hold their medals awarded for the 400-metres at the Olympic stadium yesterday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) raised.

“I am so excited and happy that I get to bring home a gold medal for the Bahamas,” she stated.

Twenty four hours since the accomplishment that drew mixed reviews all over social media and buzzed

throughout the media centre after the dive, Miller said it still hasn’t sunk in that she is the Olympic champion.

“It’s still so surreal that I won the Olympic gold,” Miller stressed. “I’m just going to enjoy the moment

with my family, who are all here and continue to cheer on the rest of the Bahamian athletes as they compete.

She also has some vested interest in Estonia as her fiancé Maicel Uibo is competing in the decathlon.

But with the Bahamas

women’s 4 x 400m relay team getting ready to compete on Friday in the preliminary rounds, Miller said she’s not certain that she will be able to suit up.

“I have to go to the doctor to check out the bruises,” said Miller about the minor

injuries to her body she sustained when she dove head first, scraping her arms and stomach area.

If she’s not ready to compete, Miller said she will be there to support her teammates 100 per cent on the stands.

Pedrya Seymour advances to 100 hurdles semis

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — In the aftermath of Shaunae Miller’s inspiring gold-medal performance the night before, Bahamian national record holder Pedrya Seymour rebounded from a disappointing start to propel into third place in her heat of the women’s 100 metre preliminaries yesterday.

Seymour’s time of 12.85 seconds was one of the three automatic qualifiers out of the second of six heats that saw American Nia Ali stop the clock in 12.76, followed

by Canadian Philicia George in

12.83. Seymour’s performance was tied for the 10th fastest with Anne Zagre from Belgium, who placed second in the first heat.

“It wasn’t my best, but I thank God that I was able to make it to the semi-final. That was the goal,” said Seymour, who got left in the blocks but made up ground in the middle of the 10 flights of hurdles to surge into second, only to be caught at the line by George when she eased up.

“It was just a race to get the nerves out,” she said.

Seymour, the 21-year-old from the University of Illinois who had a chance to win a medal at the NCAA Championships before she went crashing down over

PEDRYA SEYMOUR

the first hurdle, said she was a bit nervous coming out of the blocks, but she’s content that she got through and is now onto the semi-final where she will run out of lane three in the second of six heats today at 10:12am EST. The top two in each heat and the next two fastest finishers will advance to the final at 9:55pm EST. Seymour said the feeling of following in the footsteps of Miller winning a medal had to do a lot with her performance.

“Everyone was saying, ‘you’re next, you’re next’ and I know what my goal is and I know I have a lot more to give and a lot more to offer,” said Seymour, one of three

Bahamians who qualified for the Olympics but the only one competing.

Hurdler Devynne Charlton, who is taking in the experience in the Games Village, went down with a season-ending injury and Adanaca Brown, who is in the United States, didn’t compete this year.

As she consistently remains around the 12.8 mark, Seymour said she only expects to get better and “although I haven’t had the perfect race yet,” she insists that there is still more to come because 12.8 is not her best.

“I really want to PR big. I don’t know what that means, but I really want to PR big,” she said.

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 17, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

GOLDEN MOMENTS AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

David Rudisha retains Olympic title in 800, cements his legacy

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — David Rudisha glanced to his left twice as he came round the final bend, waiting for the challenge to come. It didn’t. He didn’t let it.

The world-record holder surged across the line to retain his Olympic title in the 800 metres on Monday, giving no one else a chance and becoming the first man in more than half a century to win back-to-back golds over two laps at the games.

“This is one of my greatest moments, to come here and defend my title,” Rudisha said. “There is nothing as great for an athlete as to maintain his performance.”

Rudisha won in 1 minute, 42.15 seconds, nothing on the incredible 1:40.91 he produced for his wire-to-wire win in London four years ago. But this was always going to be about the medal and not the clock, especially after a heavy downpour earlier in the evening left Rudisha and the others with a damp track at the Olympic Stadium. If there’s one thing the Kenyan hates, it’s running in the wet.

Rudisha still won well from Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi, who ran a national record time of 1:42.61 to add an 800 silver here to his gold in the 1,500 at the last Olympics.

Clayton Murphy powered through in the final 50 metres for bronze and a PB of 1:42.93, overhauling France’s Pierre-Ambroise Bosse on his way to a long-await-

KENYA’s David Lekuta Rudisha, left, celebrates winning the 800-metre final at the Olympic stadium on Monday.

(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) ed podium finish for the US. It was the first medal in the 800 for an American since Johnny Gray in 1992.

“Super exciting to race him,” Murphy said of Rudisha, “and hopefully not the last time I get to race him.”

Rudisha smiled at the end, a broad, beaming smile, relieved maybe after what started as a trying season when he lost a couple of times in the Diamond League

and was beaten into third — third!

— at the Kenyan trials. He freely offered up hugs to the other medallists, too, as he draped the red, black and green Kenyan flag across his shoulders once again.

His legacy as one of the greatest 800 runners was pretty firm already, but he cemented it in Rio de Janeiro: The 27-year-old Rudisha has now won four of the last five major titles and the only one missing — the 2013 worlds — he

was injured for.

With no strong challenger coming at him — not in this race and not in any general sense, either — Rudisha has the potential to make history with a third straight gold in four years in Tokyo.

“He wants to be the best, he is the best at it, he knows he’s the best,” said American Boris Berian, who was eighth. “It’s that confidence right there. He takes it out and he has that confidence to

hold on.”

Rudisha’s teammate, Alfred Kipketer, set a fast pace from the start — like a bullet, Rudisha said — and the defending champion had to hold himself back from getting into an early scrap.

Instead, Rudisha waited for the back straight to stretch out his long legs and move past Kipketer.

He built a cushion, not a big one, but he never seemed likely to get caught. Those two quick looks to the left as he approached the home straight let him know that he had it.

Richard Snell of New Zealand was the last man to retain his Olympic title in the 800, at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Some formidable recent 800 runners, including current IAAF President Sebastian Coe and Wilson Kipketer, didn’t even win once in the 800 at the Olympics. Coe, an Olympic champion at 1,500, consistently says that Rudisha is one of the best athletes the sport has had.

For Rudisha, this victory was absolute confirmation, if he needed it, that he’s deserving of such praise from former champions.

Rudisha himself could be confirmation, his country really does need it, that Kenya’s distancerunning culture of grass-roots talent and hard work is not being taken over by doping.

The Olympics “comes only every four years,” Rudisha said. “It means you have to be very disciplined, dedicated, focused and do the right thing to get here.”

KENNY, TROTT CAP TRACK PROGRAMME WITH TWO MORE GOLDS FOR BRITAIN

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Jason Kenny celebrated his third gold medal of the Rio Olympics with a kiss from his fiancé. Or maybe Laura Trott was simply celebrating her second.

Either way, British Cycling’s power couple capped another remarkable Summer Games with Kenny’s gold in the keirin and Trott’s gold in the omnium last night. The medals gave their nation six golds and 11 overall during the track cycling programme at the Olympic velodrome.

“It’s amazing, obviously.

I’m really happy for Laura,” Kenny said.

Kenny now has six Olympic gold medals, matching retired cyclist Chris Hoy’s British record, while Trott earned the fourth of her career to set a record among British women.

“I’m so proud at what I achieved,” she said. “I always thought how special London was. I went there without any expectations, so to win two golds was just incredible, and then I thought, ‘How on earth am I going to top that?’ We believed in ourselves, and in our team. It just started to snowball.”

Kristina Vogel of Germany at least slowed Britain’s snowball Tuesday, beating Katy Marchant in the individual sprint semi-finals and topping Becky James in the finals. James settled for silver, and Marchant came back to beat Elis Ligtlee of the Netherlands for bronze.

“It’s not about beating the Brits,” Vogel said. “Just to win an Olympic title is amazing.”

Matthijs Buchli of the Netherlands took silver in the keirin and Azizulhasni Awang took bronze, while Sarah Hammer of the United States took omnium silver and Belgium’s Jolien D’Hoore took bronze.

Not everything went well for Britain, though.

Callum Skinner was caught out in his heat in

LAURA TROTT, left, and her fiancé Jason Kenny, right, both of Britain, pose with their gold medals at the Rio Olympic Velodrome yesterday. Kenny won the men’s keirin cycling final and Trott won gold in the women’s omnium race. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) the keirin and forced to go to a last-chance repechage.

He roared to a victory and a spot in the semi-finals, only to find out moments later he had been relegated for deviating from his line, eliminating him from competition.

The first medal decided Tuesday night was in the women’s omnium, and it was essentially a done deal even before the final race in the six-event decathlon of cycling.

Trott had three victories and two second-place finishes in the first five events to build a big lead heading into the points race.

She just had to watch out for Hammer and D’Hoore to make sure they didn’t gain laps on her to win her fourth career Olympic gold medal.

The bigger intrigue was who would take silver.

Hammer and D’Hoore were tied entering the points race, and only a point separated them for most of the 100-lap event. But Hammer won the final sprint to earn her second-straight omnium silver medal.

“Jolien is an amazing racer. That’s her specialty ... the points races,” Hammer said. “I knew that it was going to be a big ask to try to match her in the sprints.”

Vogel proved to be one of the only riders to solve the

British puzzle.

First, the world sprint bronze medallist knocked off Marchant in the semifinals, then she swept past James in the best-of-three event to win Germany’s first cycling gold medal of the Rio Games.

Vogel had a problem with her saddle at the start of the race, causing a brief delay. The speed that she ultimately carried into the finish line sent the saddle clattering across the track, forcing Vogel to sit on her top tube as she rolled around for a victory lap.

She stopped on the front stretch, laid down on the track and held back the tears.

Trott couldn’t help but get teary-eyed when she walked onto the front stretch later to welcome her soon-to-be husband.

Kenny planted a kiss on her as cameras clicked around them.

His victory in the keirin was his most tense of the Rio Games.

The six-rider sprint was restarted twice when riders overtook the pacing bike, and Kenny and Awang were at fault the first time. Judges reviewed video for several minutes, and some thought they would be disqualified although they were ultimately granted a full-field restart.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 17, 2016, PAGE 3

AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

Bianca ‘BB’ Stuart doesn’t make the long jump final

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RIO de Janerio, Brazil — Bahamian national record holder Bianca ‘BB’ Stuart was hoping that this would have been the year for her breakthrough.

She came into her second Olympic Games with the hopes of at least advancing to the final of the women’s long jump, but fell short once again last night at the Olympic Stadium.

Her best of 6.45 metres or 21-feet, 2-inches put her in ninth place in Group A and out of contention of claiming one of the 12 spots in the final set for today.

“It was a great experience. It’s always good to come and represent the Bahamas at the highest level of competition, so it was good,” said Stuart, whose parents were also in the stands cheering her on.

The 28-year-old, who holds the national record at 6.83m (22-5) and had a season’s best of 6.52m (214 2/4), posted a series of jumps that included 5.40m (17-8 3/4) on her second attempt and 6.39m (20-11 3/4) on the third and final attempt. She admitted that she was hoping to have gone much higher.

“My first jump was pretty solid, so I was expecting to jump a little further than that, but on my second jump, my foot buckled, so I wasn’t able to jump,” she pointed out. “I tried to go all out on the final jump, but I just couldn’t.”

Once again, Stuart said she will have to use it as a learning experience and go on. “I can’t really dwell on it,” she insisted.

But she noted that if there’s any consolation for her to take out of Rio, it’s the fact that she improved on her 28th place finish in London in 2012 where her performance of 6.32m (17-8 3/4) also kept her out of the final. “So it was better this time, but I was really hoping to make the final,” she summed up.

Now it’s back to the drawing board as she looks ahead to the IAAF World Championships in London, England.

“My take off from the board, off the board is what me and my coach have been working on all this season,” said Stuart, who is being coached by Henry Rolle in Auburn. “Trying to master it has been difficult. But we’re going to get it.”

She wasn’t happy with the performance, but she indicated that she will get better as a result of it.

GAITHER FALLS SHORT IN 200 SEMIS

By BRENT STUBBS Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS’ Bianca Stuart makes an attempt in the women’s long jump qualification at the Olympic stadium yesterday. (AP)

BAHAMAS’ Bianca Stuart competes in the long jump yesterday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

BAHAMIANS IN ACTION FOR REST OF WEEK RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Here’s a look at the Bahamians in action at the 2016 Olympic Games over the next few days:

Olympic Stadium 7:40pm EST - Women’s 4 x 400m relay preliminaries 8:10pm EST - Men’s 4 x 4 preliminaries

TODAY Olympic Stadium 7:45pm EST - Pedrya Seymour, heat one, lane nine, women’s 100m hurdles semi-final 9:53pm - Women’s 100m hurdles final

Saturday, August 20 Olympic Stadium 9 pm - Women’s 4 x 400m relay final 9:35 pm - Men’s 4 x 400m relay final

RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Ty’Nia Gaither, fresh from graduating from the University of Southern California, didn’t know what to expect coming here, but she wanted to use this experience as a springboard for her professional career.

After bowing out of the first round of the women’s 100 metres, Gaither bounced back in the 200m to make it to the semi-final in her first appearance in the Olympic Games.

Her last race came on Tuesday night when she ran 23.45 seconds to place eighth in her heat to occupy the 24th and final spot. Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands was the winner of her heat, taking the top qualifying spot in tonight’s final in 21.96.

“Coming into the Olympics, I was just going on my will power and mental strength to get me through,” Gaither said. “It got me through the prelims, but not the semis.”

Despite the performances, the 23-yearold who made it to the NCAA Championships double sprint final, said she had a great experience being here.

“It was much more than I expected it to be,” she said. “Very great people, very professional atmosphere. I love it. I’m just excited that I got a chance to enjoy this experience.”

Looking back at her performances, Gaither said she had a slight injury at the NCAA’s and she didn’t do as much training to get prepared for the games. But she just wanted to come here and represent the country to the best of her ability.

She hopes that the Bahamian public was pleased with her performance.

And she has vowed that because of what she encountered here, she will be back to perform much better the next time that she gets to represent the country, especially considering the fact that she is now going to be competing full time as a pro athlete.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 17, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

In a breeze, Bolt starts pursuit of 200-metre title

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Usain Bolt glanced to his right once, twice, three times. No surprise: Nobody was there.

That’s how the quest began for his final individual sprint gold at the Olympics — a jog through the sunshine in the opening round of the 200 metres and a stress-free victory in the ninth heat of yesterday’s qualifying.

He finished in 20.28 seconds, a time that means nothing. More importantly, he coasted into the finish line after triple-checking on Nigeria’s Ejowvokoghene Oduduru simply to make sure nothing crazy was happening.

“I know how to run the 200,” Bolt said. “It’s all about just reminding myself. Tomorrow, I’ll show up with much better progress. I have to run fast, and so I’m looking forward to that.”

Everyone is.

If today’s semi-finals go as expected, he’ll be lining up for gold medal No. 8 on Thursday night, where the biggest drama may not be whether he wins, but whether he cracks the once-thought-untouchable 19-second barrier. He already owns both the world record at 19.19, and Olympic record at 19.30.

Among those who will challenge him include

JAMAICA’S USAIN BOLT, right, competes in a 200-metre heat at the Olympic stadium yesterday. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) American Justin Gatlin and Canadian Andre De Grasse, who finished 2-3 to Bolt in the 100, along with LaShawn Merritt of the US. They all won their heats on a muggy, sun-splashed day in a stadium with huge swaths of empty blue seats.

Most fans who did show

were crowded along the opening curve, and they made plenty of noise when Bolt came onto the track.

He flashed a big smile into the TV cameras and windmilled his arms, then raised them overhead to clap a couple of times. At one point, he looked toward

the scoreboard, covered his eyes and squinted into the bright sunshine.

“I’m not an earlymorning person,” said Bolt, whose race began at 12:45pm local time.

The fans went silent before the start. No, there would be no fireworks in an

opening heat with no medal at stake and nobody lining up who could even give him a race.

Only one other sprinter in his heat, Norway’s Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, had ever broken 20 seconds and he finished tied for last.

Still, this was Bolt — as

big a star as there is at these Olympics — so the silence made sense.

He lumbered out of the blocks. His .177 reaction time was the slowest of the eight runners. That has turned every 100-metre sprint he’s run into a comefrom-behind affair, where his pure speed takes the day.

He considers the 100 his hobby, and the 200 his real job. And as he starts working his way through the curve, it’s easy to see that his long-legged, 6-foot5 frame was built for the longer race.

In this case, it was over before Bolt even got to the straightaway. All those looks to his right weren’t so much taunting — no sign of that smile seen around the world in his 100-metre semi-final — but more a way of ensuring he doesn’t waste a lick of energy.

“I came out here to qualify,” Bolt said, “and that’s what I did.”

When it was over, Bolt walked over and hugged his closest pursuer, Oduduru, who finished only .06 seconds behind.

By the time the 10th and final heat ended, Bolt had only recorded the 15thfastest time of 77 sprinters who lined up. No matter.

The World’s Fastest Man is moving on, another gold and — who knows? — maybe another record in his sights.

SHAUNAE MILLER’S HEAD-FIRST DIVE AT THE FINISH LINE BEATS ALLYSON FELIX

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — For beating Allyson Felix, Shaunae Miller gets a gold medal.

Maybe they should give her a cape, too.

It took a head-first dive, Superwoman-style, for Miller to spring an Olympic upset Monday over America’s top female sprinter in the 400 metres and deny her a record fifth gold medal.

Miller, a 22-year-old from the Bahamas, took an early lead, then held off Felix’s charge along the straightaway. Neck-and-neck with two steps to go, Miller sprawled and tumbled across the line to win by .07 seconds.

Now, instead of a coronation for Felix, it’s a celebration for Miller, who finished second to the American at last year’s world championships. Her dive will go down as one of the most dramatic images we’ve seen at these, or any, Olympics.

Not that she planned it that way.

“I don’t know what happened.

My mind just went blank,” Miller said. “The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground.”

And yet, she didn’t even get the evening’s biggest roars. Those were reserved for pole vaulter Thiago Braz da Silva, who gave Brazil its first medal in track and field by setting an Olympic record (6.03 metres) to upset world-record holder and defending champion Renaud Lavillenie of France.

“I thought I was in a movie. ...

My first urge was to go run and hug Thiago so much,” said bronze medallist Sam Kendricks of the United States. “But I knew that it was his moment and he needed to be on camera and experience it for himself.”

Lavilleine put the bar at 6.08 metres for his last attempt, and as he was getting ready to jump, the crowd booed. He responded

BAHAMAS’ Shaunae Miller falls over the finish line to win gold ahead of United States’ Allyson Felix, right, in the 400-metre final at the Olympic stadium on Monday night. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) with a thumbs-down sign. After the loss, he complained about the spectators taking sides.

In the 800 metres, David Rudisha of Kenya won a second straight gold medal, and Clayton Murphy picked up bronze to give the United States its first medal in that event since 1992.

But The Dive is what everyone will be talking about.

As Miller, who formerly competed for University of Georgia, lay on her back, gasping for breath and maybe even stunned herself at what she’d done, Felix sat on the ground stone-faced. Ten seconds passed. Then 20.

TODAY AT THE GAMES all times Bahamian Athletics Men’s Decathlon 100m, 8.30am.

Men’s Hammer Throw Qualifying, 8.40am, 10.05am Men’s 5000m Heats, 9.05am Men’s Decathlon Long Jump, 9.35am Women’s 800m Heats, 9.55am Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final, 10.50am Men’s Decathlon Shot Put, 11.15am Men’s Decathlon High Jump, 4.45pm Men’s Javelin Throw Qualifying, 7.30pm, 8.55pm Women’s 100m Hurdles Semi-finals, 7.45pm Women’s Long Jump Final, 8.15pm Men’s Decathlon 400m, 8.20pm

The winner’s first clue came from the stands, not the scoreboard, which showed Miller winning in 49.44 seconds, ahead of Felix and bronze medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica.

A familiar voice cut through the air.

“I heard my mom screaming,” Miller said. “When I heard her screaming, I was like, ‘OK, I had to have won the race.’”

Starting from Lane 7, Miller expanded the lag, instead of getting gobbled up the way most women do when Felix is on the track.

Stride for stride they ran down the last 100 metres, until the

Men’s 200m Semi-finals, 9pm Women’s 200m Final, 9.30pm Women’s 100m Hurdles Final, 9.55pm Badminton Men’s Singles Quarter-finals, Mixed Doubles Gold Medal, 7.30am Basketball Men’s Quarter-finals, 10am, 1.30pm, 5.45pm, 9.15pm Beach Volleyball Women’s Bronze and Gold Finals, 9pm Boxing Women’s 75kg, Men’s 52kg Prelims, Women’s 60kg Semi-finals, Men’s 69kg Gold Medals, 1pm Canoe-Kayak (Sprint) Men’s C-1 200m Heats, 8am Men’s K-2 200m Heats Men’s K-2 1000 Heats Women’s K-1 500m Heats Men’s C-1 200m Semi-finals

last few steps. Felix, classically trained by Bobby Kersee, made a textbook lean into the finish line. Miller tried something else.

Something no coach would ever teach.

“She gave everything she had and her legs gave out at the line,” said Miller’s coach, Lance Brauman, who also works with 100-metre silver medallist Tori Bowie of the US. “Was not intentional.”

Then again, amazing things happen with a gold medal at stake.

While Miller jumped with her arms flailing forward, the rules say the win is determined by which athlete has any part of her

Men’s K-2 200m Semi-finals Men’s K-2 1000m Semi-finals Women’s K-1 500m Semi-finals Cycling (BMX) Men’s and Women’s Prelims, 12.30pm Diving Women’s 10m Platform Prelims, 3pm Equestrian Jumping Team Finals, 9am Handball Men’s Quarter-finals, 9am, 12.30pm, 4pm, 7.30pm Hockey Women’s Semi-finals, 11am, 4pm Golf Women’s First Round, 6.30am Sailing Men’s 470 (medal race), Women’s 470 (medal race), noon Soccer Men’s Semi-finals, noon, 3pm

torso cross the line first. The photo finish showed Miller’s shoulder barely beat Felix to the line.

“I don’t think I ever quite had a year this tough,” Felix said, as her eyes welled with tears.

She was one of those rare athletes who had the cachet to get the Olympics to change the schedule.

After winning the world championship at 400 metres last year, she put the 200-400 double in her sights for the Olympics. The schedule as it was originally written made it impossible: The 200 heats were scheduled for the same evening as the 400 final.

Felix asked, and she received: The 200 heats were moved to the morning to give America’s best female sprinter a chance for the two-fer.

But she never got to the starting line in the 200 because an injury derailed her training and she came up short at Olympic trials.

The 400 was her only chance for individual gold. Instead, she got silver to go with the pair she won in 2004 and 2008 in the 200.

Even so, Felix became the most decorated US female track athlete, with seven overall medals.

But this was Miller’s night.

The flagbearer for her country in the opening ceremonies, Miller came into the games 5 for 5 in her races this season, including Diamond League meets in Shanghai, Eugene and London.

Now she’s 6 for 6.

A wild finish to a crazy night.

It began with a downpour that stopped action in all the events and put the DJ to work, playing “Singing In The Rain,” ‘’Umbrella,” and “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” among other fare, while the fans waited out the delay.

Those who stayed got their money’s worth.

Miller ended up with a few scrapes and bruises. “My body is kind of numb,” she said. “It’s all just burning right now.”

The pain will go away. That gold is hers forever.

Table Tennis Men’s Bronze Medal, 10am Men’s Gold Medal, 6.30pm Taekwondo Men’s 58kg, Women’s 49kg Prelims, 8am Men’s 58kg, Women’s 49kg Quarter-finals and Semi-finals, 2pm Men’s 58kg, Women’s 49kg Recaps, Final, 7pm Volleyball Men’s Quarter-finals, 8am, noon, 4pm, 8.15pm Water Polo Women 5-8 classification, 10am, 2.10pm Semi-finals, 11.20am, 3.30pm Wrestling (Freestyle) Women’s 48kg, 58kg, 69kg Group Stage, 9am Women’s 48kg, 58kg, 69kg Medal Stage, 3pm

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 17, 2016, PAGE 5

AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

RUSSIANS STRIPPED OF WOMEN’S RELAY GOLD FROM ‘08 IN DOPING CASE

By STEPHEN WILSON AP Sports Writer

FROM left, Bahamas’ Shavez Hart, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, United States’ Ameer Webb, and South Africa’s Anaso Jobodwana compete in 200-metre heat at the Olympic stadium yesterday. (AP)

Sprinters eliminated in 200m preliminary heats

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — A disqualification by quarter-miler Demetrius Pinder, a sixth place by collegian Teray Smith and seventh by recent graduate and national champion Shavez Hart was all the Bahamas could muster in the preliminary rounds of the men’s 200 metres at the 2016 Olympic Games yesterday.

Like the men’s 100m on day one, none of the male sprinters advanced to the semi-final.

Pinder disqualified Trying something new as he made his return from an injury last year, Pinder got into the blocks and had his left hand raised indicating that he was not quite ready for the start of the first of 10 heats in the men’s halflap race. Unfortunately, the officials didn’t quite see it that way and they charged him with a disqualification as they called back the race.

“I was trying to get my hand up and I ended falling,” said Pinder, who had to make the long trek on the sidelines as the race eventually proceeded without him.

“They had us in the set position for so long, I was trying to get in the set position. But holding one hand down and in the set position at the same time caused me to trap.”

Pinder, 27, said it was

JAMAICA’S YOHAN BLAKE, left, Bahamas’ Shavez Hart, centre, and United States’ Ameer Webb compete in a 200-metre heat yesterday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) quite disappointing for him because his training was going quite well and he was running times that were close to 19 seconds and he wasn’t able to show something new in the 200m.

Now he will have to wait until next year at the IAAF World Championships in London, England.

But Pinder said the good thing is that he can now get some rest and prepare to join his team-mates in the relay pool for the 4 x 400m as they get set to defend their title from the 2012 Olympics in London.

Hart missed out twice Back after getting eliminated in the first round of the men’s century, Hart was hoping that he could redeem himself, but his time of 20.74 was only good enough for seventh place in heat two, which saw Spain’s Bruno Hortelano set a national record in holding off Jamaican Yohan Blake, who did 20.13. Hart was tied for 56th with Burkheart Ellis Jr from Barbados.

“It felt good the first one hundred metres. I just wasn’t able to hold on to what I had built up earlier

AMERICANS ON TOP IN MEDAL-COUNT STANDINGS

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The medal race at the Rio Olympics will likely remain close going into the final weekend.

For second place, that is.

The US — which has left the last five Summer Games with more medals than any other country — is about to make it six in a row, and the Americans seem like they’ll do so emphatically.

Through Tuesday, the US had 84 medals, 33 more than China and 34 more than Britain.

Take away the games that dealt with boycotts in 1980 and 1984, and the Americans are on pace for the biggest medal-count romp since outdistancing Sweden by 40 medals at the 1948 London Games. Incidentally, the all-time medalcount-margin record is way out of reach, that being the US win by 220 medals at the St Louis Games of 1904.

“We are the United States. We come here with an enormous presence and a lot of advantage and privilege,” swimming gold medallist Anthony Ervin said after he prevailed in Rio de Janeiro, part of a huge pool medal haul for the Ameri-

cans. “Our staff is unbelievable. The amount of people that help us ... I don’t think the other teams are necessarily getting that. It starts there.”

There’s no shortage of reasons why.

Russia’s Olympic team surely is missing some medal contenders because of the sanctions and fallout that came after a state-sponsored doping programme was brought to light.

China won 100 medals in Beijing eight years ago and 89 more at the 2012 London Games, though has struggled — by its recent standards, anyway — in Rio. Host Brazil has been a nonfactor, with just 11 medals through yesterday evening.

Meanwhile, US women have won 41 medals themselves, more than most full national teams. China is second on the women’s medal chart with 28 through Tuesday evening.

“When one of us succeeds, we all try to succeed that much more,” Ervin said.

“When your teammates are doing it, it becomes easier to believe.”

That sort of thinking isn’t confined to swimming, though what happened in the pool certainly set the

tone.

“I think we each feel an enormous responsibility to get things started off right,” US swimmer Nathan Adrian said.

The US has 33 swimming medals from Rio, took 12 more in gymnastics and were up to 12 in track and field through Tuesday evening — that number almost certain to rise over the coming days.

Fencing delivered four medals and sailing saw Americans take medals after going 0-for-London four years ago. And some chances have slipped away, too, as evidenced by the Americans failing to win a single gold on Monday after winning at least one in every full day of the London Games.

The top three medal winners so far in Rio are Americans: swimmer Michael Phelps got six, gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky took five apiece.

“It’s very crazy,” Biles said. “It’s been an amazing experience and I don’t think I could be more proud.”

There’s a whole lot of her red, white and blue-clad compatriots who feel the same.

on during the race,” said Hart, who followed fellow Grand Bahamian Pinder at Texas A&M where he just completed his tenure. “Obviously due to a lack of races and lack of competition.

“This was kind of like my second 200m for the season, but I felt it was a disappointing performance.

But for this to be my second 200m, it ain’t bad, but I expected it to be better.”

Hart, now preparing to go full time on the professional circuit at the age of 23, said he just has to maintain his body a little better if he

intends to be a contender in the future. He too indicated that he’s looking forward to making an impression at the Worlds next year.

Smith ends long season It wasn’t what he anticipated, but Smith knew that after a long season at Auburn University, he wouldn’t have anything much left in the tank to compete here.

Smith, 21, came though the fourth heat in 20.65 for sixth place, but not fast enough to get a shot in the semi-finals. Mexican Jose Carlos Herrera took the victory in 20.29 and Cuban Roberto Skyers followed in 20.44 to qualify. Smith was left out tied with two others for 52nd overall out of a field of 77 competitors.

“It was just wonderful to be at the Olympic Games.

I’m only 21 going into my senior year going into college,” said the Grand Bahamian.

“I felt like this was a learning experience for me.

I didn’t do too much running this year. I just came off injury, but I’m still thankful to be able to represent my country.”

Looking back at his race, Smith said he got up too fast, something he will have to work on when he gets back to school. He said the lack of competition, not having a race since he competed in their regional championships in June, showed that he still has a lot of work to do.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Russia was stripped of a relay gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics yesterday after one of its female runners tested positive for steroids in a reanalysis of her doping samples.

Sprinter Yulia Chermoshanskaya tested positive for two drugs — stanozolol and turinabol — and has been retroactively disqualified and stripped of the gold in the women’s 4x100-metre relay, along with her teammates, the International Olympic Committee said.

Chermoshanskaya was also disqualified from the 200 metres, in which she finished eighth.

Belgium stands to be upgraded to the relay gold, with Nigeria moving up to silver and Brazil to bronze.

The IOC asked the IAAF to modify the results and consider any further sanctions against Chermoshanskaya, who is no longer competing.

The three other Russians runners in the relay final were Yulia Gushchina, Alexandra Fedoriva and Evgeniya Polyakova.

Under IAAF rules, an entire relay team loses its medals if one of the runners tests positive.

The Belgian runners in line to get the gold are Olivia Borlee, Hanna Marien, Elodie Ouedraogo and Kim Gevaert.

The United States did not make the relay final after dropping the baton in the heats. The Jamaican and British teams dropped the baton in the final.

The experience here, he said, will “make me hungry.

If I can run out here with the big dogs, college should be a cake walk for me. It’s going to be a good year next year, so I’m blessed to be here “even though it has taken a toll on his body from the long grind at college this year.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 17, 2016, PAGE 7

‘Tureano Johnson is an underrated fighter with a lot of boxing skills’

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net DESPITE being sidelined with a shoulder injury in recent months, at least one publication still considers Bahamian fighter Tureano Johnson one of the elite members of his weight class.

In the latest rankings released by RING Magazine and the World Boxing Council on August 15, Johnson was unranked among middleweights.

However, BoxingNews24. com’s Dan Ambrose believes the boxing establishment is undervaluing Johnson.

He ranked Johnson at No.5 on his list of middleweights behind Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Chris Eubank Jr and Canelo Alvarez.

“Tureano Johnson is an underrated fighter with a lot of boxing skills, excellent punching power, and an aggressive attacking style that makes him an avoided fighter. Johnson is capable of beating Canelo, Jacobs and Eubank Jr on a good night, but he likely will never get a chance at fighting any of those guys due to him being such a difficult guy to fight,” Ambrose said.

“Johnson, 32, lacks the big name to force guys to fight him, and he’s not a world champion as of yet.

Johnson is a former 2008 Olympian with amazing talent. If he can get a title shot against someone like WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders, I think he would easily beat him.”

The stars aligned for Tureano Johnson’s opportunity at a major middleweight title bout in January but

that opportunity is now on hold due to a nagging shoulder injury.

Johnson, sporting a 19-1 win-loss record, has been sidelined ever since.

At the time of his injury he was the likely candidate to face IBF, IBO and WBA middleweight champion Golovkin in an eagerly anticipated bout in April.

Johnson earned his spot as mandatory contender when he dominated Eamonn O’Kane on the undercard of Golovkin’s knockout over David Lemieux in last October’s PayPer-View event.

Johnson scored a win via unanimous decision over O’Kane to improve to 19-1 (13 KOs), but suffered a shoulder injury in the process. It was his first time going 12 rounds in a bout and, according to official CompuBox statistics, John-

son landed more punches, including 58 per cent of his power shots (396 of 687).

His efficiency set a new CompuBox power punch record for the middleweight division to surpass the 375 punches that Bernard Hopkins landed against William Joppy. Johnson joined Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions late last year prior to the bout with O’Kane.

“If there was anything I would like to do, it’s to get in the ring and do what I was born to do, fight. As life has it, there will be setbacks. Setbacks are only for a moment. I’ll be back in the ring in short order,” Johnson posted in a series of tweets in July. “I’ll be in the ring this year, no doubts. This time you’ll see even more excitement.

I didn’t say (jabs) but more excitement.”

PRO BOXER TUREANO JOHNSON

THe WeaTHer repOrT

5-Day Forecast

TOday

OrlandO

High: 89° F/32° C low: 74° F/23° C

Tampa

THursday

FrIday

saTurday

sunday

Some sun with a t‑storm in spots

Patchy clouds, a t‑storm in spots

Partial sunshine

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

Sunny to partly cloudy

Partly sunny with a shower in spots

High: 92°

Low: 77°

High: 92° Low: 78°

High: 92° Low: 78°

High: 92° Low: 79°

High: 92° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

107° F

90° F

112°-92° F

114°-94° F

113°-94° F

114°-94° F

High: 90° F/32° C low: 75° F/24° C

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

aBaCO

S

N

High: 88° F/31° C low: 82° F/28° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 91° F/33° C low: 78° F/26° C

8‑16 knots

FT. lauderdale

FreepOrT

High: 89° F/32° C low: 78° F/26° C

E

W S

E

W

WesT palm BeaCH

N

uV inDex toDay

TOnIGHT

High: 89° F/32° C low: 77° F/25° C

mIamI

High: 90° F/32° C low: 77° F/25° C

6‑12 knots

Key WesT

High: 89° F/32° C low: 80° F/27° C

eleuTHera

nassau

High: 92° F/33° C low: 77° F/25° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016

High: 87° F/31° C low: 82° F/28° C

N E

W

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

7:41 a.m.

8:07 p.m.

3.0 3.6

1:42 a.m.

1:44 p.m.

0.3 0.1

Thursday

8:26 a.m.

8:51 p.m.

3.2 3.7

2:25 a.m.

2:31 p.m.

0.2 0.0

Friday

9:12 a.m.

9:35 p.m.

3.3 3.7

3:08 a.m.

3:19 p.m.

0.1 0.0

Saturday

10:00 a.m.

10:21 p.m.

3.5 3.6

3:51 a.m.

4:08 p.m.

0.0 0.0

Sunday

10:49 a.m.

11:09 p.m.

3.5 3.5

4:36 a.m.

4:59 p.m.

0.0 0.1

Monday

11:40 a.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

3.5 ‑‑‑‑‑

5:23 a.m.

5:53 p.m.

0.0 0.2

Tuesday

12:00 a.m.

12:36 p.m.

3.3 3.5

6:13 a.m.

6:52 p.m.

0.0 0.3

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:45 a.m.

7:43 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

7:14 p.m.

5:52 a.m.

Full

last

new

First

aug. 18

aug. 24

sep. 1

sep. 9

CaT Island

High: 87° F/31° C low: 80° F/27° C

N

S

E

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6‑12 knots

S

7‑14 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 78° F/26° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/32° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 93° F/34° C Last year’s low ................................... 80° F/26° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday .................................. trace Year to date ............................................... 26.52” Normal year to date ................................... 22.51”

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

andrOs

san salVadOr

GreaT eXuma

High: 86° F/30° C low: 80° F/27° C

High: 86° F/30° C low: 80° F/27° C

N

High: 89° F/32° C low: 81° F/27° C

S

lOnG Island

insurance management tracking map

High: 87° F/31° C low: 79° F/26° C

H

E

W

7‑14 knots

mayaGuana High: 87° F/31° C low: 80° F/27° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CrOOKed Island / aCKlIns raGGed Island High: 86° F/30° C low: 80° F/27° C

High: 86° F/30° C low: 79° F/26° C

GreaT InaGua High: 89° F/32° C low: 81° F/27° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

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8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast aBaCO andrOs CaT Island CrOOKed Island eleuTHera FreepOrT GreaT eXuma GreaT InaGua lOnG Island mayaGuana nassau raGGed Island san salVadOr

Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:

WINDS E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots

WAVES 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 85° F 85° F 86° F 87° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 83° F 83° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 87° F 87° F 83° F 86° F 85° F 84° F 85° F 85° F

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 17, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Wake Forest begins Bahamas tour with 93-72 rout of the University of Toronto THE Wake Forest men’s basketball team began its three-game tour of the Bahamas with a 93-72 victory over the University of Toronto at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday.

The Deacons had five players score in double figures, led by 17 points from Keyshawn Woods in his Wake Forest debut.

“I thought we moved the ball well and we had quite a few assists today,” said head coach Danny Manning.

“We need to do some better things defensively and in terms of attention to detail, but it was a good first game.”

Austin Arians and John Collins each had 13 points, Bryant Crawford scored 11 points and Doral Moore added 10 points for the Demon Deacons. Collins had a team-high seven rebounds while freshman Brandon Childress notched a teamhigh six assists.

Wake Forest led 28-23 after the first quarter before taking control of the game in the second quarter, going on a 19-1 run over the first

five minutes. The Deacons led the Blues 52-34 at the half. Woods scored 10 of his 17 points before the intermission.

The Demon Deacons led 72-51 after the third quarter before closing out the 93-72 victory. Twelve different players scored for Wake Forest, while 11 played at least 10 minutes.

“I thought some guys did some good things today,” said Manning. “Keyshawn was really efficient scoring in the minutes that he got.

Austin knocked down some big shots for us. I think the freshmen will continue to grow as they acclimate to the speed of the game and the strength of the players they are up against.”

Reilly Reid had a gamehigh 20 points to lead Toronto, who defeated UNLV earlier in the week in Nassau.

Demon Deacons will play Bahamian club teams the next two days, facing the CTG Knights at 7pm today and The Real Deal Shockers at the same time on Thursday.

ABOVE THE RIM: The Wake Forest Demon Deacons routed the University of Toronto Blues 93-72 yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

Photos by Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

MAGNUM NAMED MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THAILAND BASKETBALL LEAGUE

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

MAGNUM Rolle continues to have an impact on the international scene as his pro basketball career took him to another stop in a new location.

Rolle, a member of the Nakorn Phantom Mad Goats of the Thailand Basketball League, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

The 6’11” forward averaged 18.4 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. He recorded 13 double doubles on the season, including two 20-point, 20-rebound performances and one triple double.

In an 80-66 win over PEA,

Rolle showed his They lost 80-74 in versatility and fingame one and 81-76 ished with 23 points, in game two.

16 rebounds and 11 Thailand Basassists. ketball League was In a 71-70 victory started in 2012 by over the Vampires, the Basketball Sport he had one of his Association of Thaimost productive land to develop basgames of the year ketball players in the with 28 points, 26 country. Teams are rebounds and six composed of both MAGNUM ROLLE blocks – all season Thai and foreign highs. He also finplayers. ished with 24 points and 25 reLast season, Rolle played with bounds in an 87-81 win over TGE. Passlab Yamagata Wyverns in JaThe Mad Goats finished the pan’s National Basketball Develseason at 11-3 but their run at the opment League (NBDL) for the title this year ended in the semi- second half of the season. final when the Bangkok Mono He previously spent two seasons Vampires swept them 2-0.

(2012-14) in Japan and became an

All-Star for the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins of the National Basketball League.

During the 2014-15 season, Rolle spent time globetrotting with Bnei Herzelia of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, Boulder Strip de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional and the Yulon Dinos of Taiwan’s Super Basketball League.

In his previous stint in Japan and in 41 games for the Diamond Dolphins, Rolle averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He recorded seven double doubles on the year, including three in the final three games of the season.

Rolle also played briefly with

the LG Sakers in South Korea during the 2011 NBA lockout and has also played with Santurce of the Puerto Rican League.

Since graduating from Louisiana Tech in 2010, Rolle was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and spent time with the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. He also spent a season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Developmental League.

Rolle was an integral member of the Bahamas’ gold medal winning CBC championship team in July 2014. For the tournament, he averaged 13.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

He joined the team once again the following summer when they finished with a silver medal.