Chandra Sturrup runs in Berlin World Championships, 2009 Photo: Getty Images

After the World indoor Games in Paris in 1985 The IAAF Inaugurated the World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis in March of 1987.

This was just four years after the inaugural World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 1983.

Rutherford Makes History

Frank Rutherford made history when he won the Bronze medal in the Triple Jump in Indianapolis on Sunday, March 8^th. Rutherford popped a 17.02m (55’10-1/4”).

This was the first time ever that a Bahamian won a medal in an IAAF Championships or Olympic Games.

Tommy Robinson had made the final of the 100m in Tokyo in 1964 and several other Bahamian athletes had made finals in World Championships and Olympic Games up to that time. Rutherford made the podium.

Since then we have had Bahamian win two Gold medals, three Silver medals, and six Bronze medals.

Interestingly none have come from the 4x400m relay or the Triple Jump or High Jump.

No indoor competition is held in The Bahamas but Bahamian Track and Field athletes attend US colleges where the sport is popular.

The tracks are much smaller so for events longer than 60m efforts of negotiating tight curves are most important.

Also competitions are held early in the season, from December to March, when most athletes are just preparing for the outdoor season.

Medals won by Bahamians in the World Indoor Championships are:

1987 Indianapolis-

    Frank Rutherford    Triple Jump   Bronze   17.02m (55’10-1/4”)

1995 Barcelona

    Pauline Davis      200m Silver 22.68sec

1997 Paris

   Chandra Sturrup  60m   Silver 7.15sec

1999 Maebashi, Japan

   Pauline Davis-Thompson   200m Bronze  22.70sec

2001 Lisbon

   Chandra Sturrup    60m  Gold  7.05sec  

2003 Birmingham, UK

   Christine Amertil    400m  Silver 51.11 NR

  Dominic Demeritte  200m Bronze  20.92sec

2004  Budapest

  Dominic Demeritte      200m Gold 20.66sec NR

  Tonique Williams- Darling 400m Bronze 50.87sec NR

2006 Moscow

  Christine Amertil 400m Bronze 50.34sec NACAC Record

Chris Brown   400m Bronze 45.78 NR

Amertil was the third Bahamian in history to hold a NACAC record. The other two were Tommy Robinson in the 300m and Danny Smith in the 50m hurdles. All were Indoor.

2008 Valencia, Spain

Chris Brown  400m Bronze 46.26sec

2010 Doha, Qatar

Chris Brown 400m Gold 45.96sec  

Chris Brown wins 2010 World Indoor 400m in Doha, Qatar. Photo: Getty Images

Since 1995 The Bahamas has won a medal in every World Indoor Championships.

Chris Brown has won three consecutive medals.

Chandra Sturrup , Dominic Demeritte,Pauline Davis Thompson, and Christine Amertil have all won two.

Amertil decided to skip the 2004 Championships to concentrate on preparation for the Athens Olympics where she finished in seventh place.

As of this writing, it is less than three weeks before the Championships in Istanbul, the city that straddles Asia and Europe.

Which Bahamian(s) will win medal(s) in Istanbul next month?

The competition will be held Friday, March 9^th to Sunday, March 11^th. 

Maybe because it is an Olympic year, there is not the usual activity of Bahamian athletes at this time. That does not mean that there are not several outstanding performances though.

Grand Bahamian Demetrius Pinder has the fastest time in the world in the 200m at 20.50sec altitude. This event has been dropped from the World Indoors because of the difficulty of staggering the lanes equally for all the competitors.

Dominic Demeritte was the last World Indoor Champion in this event!

Pinder’s 20.50sec at altitude is a new Bahamian indoor record.

Pinder does have a 45.40sec in the 400m, which is third on the world list so far this year. It is also a new Bahamian National record as is his 200m. His 45.40sec was done on the 11^th of February in Fayetville, Arkansas.

He was the NCAA Indoor Champion for his college, Texas A & M last year. His eligibility has now finished.  

Demetrius Pinder competes for Texas A&A. Photo: Texas A&M Athletic department.

The world leader in the 400m is World Champion Kirani James from Grenada, who has run 45.19sec this year.

This was done in Fayetville with Pinder trailing behind in second.

The other Bahamians on the IAAF list are :

Chris Brown 10^th 46.17sec            Birmingham, UK, 18^th February

Michael Mathieu  27^th 46.62sec      Birmingham, Alabama  10^th February

And

Jeffrey Gibson    56^th  47.14sec     Lincoln, Nebraska           4^th February

In the High Jump where we have never won an Indoor medal, World Championships Bronze medalist Trevor Barry has a personal best of 2.30m (7’6-3/4”) in BRNO, Czech Republic. This jump on Valentine’s Day, February 14^th puts him in sixteenth place worldwide.

World leader is Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar who has a best of 2.37m ( 7’9-1/4”) done yesterday, February 19^th in Hangzhou, China.

The twenty year old was seventh in Daegu.

World 2007 Champion Donald Thomas has a seasonal best of 2.24m (7’4-1/4”) done in Fayetville on February 11^th.

In the Men’s Long Jump Raymond Higgs, who attends the University of Arkansas jumped 7.93m (26’0-1/4”) in Fayetville for twenty-third place on February 10^th.

The world leader is Aleksander Menkev of Russia with a 8.24m (27’01/2”) distance in Moscow on February 5^th.

Bianca Stuart, the new Bahamian Outdoor record holder in the Long Jump at 6.81m (22’4-1/4”) cleared 6.79m(22’3-1/2”). That placed her in sixth on the world’s list this season. It was done in Fayetville on February 11^th.

The world leader is Russia’s Olga Kucherenko who jumped 6.91m (22’8”) in Krasnodar.

Chandra Sturrup came back after a year off with a 7.29m 60m. This places her in 44^th place worldwide.

Debbie Ferguson-Mckenzie ran 7.33sec last week at Milrose in New York. This places her 70^th worldwide.

Nivea Smith is the only Bahamian on the women’s 200m list. She ran 23.69sec, which places her in 29^th place worldwide. The 200 is not a World Indoor Championships event anymore.

Chris Brown will be defending his championship. That should put him up front and centre with Pinder!

Who else will step up to the plate prior to the Championships?