SPORTS SECTION E
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
‘Coach Yo’ - Page 6
Gardiner looking to bounce back, focus on 200 By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net RECOVERING from his father's death and a recurring left ankle injury that hampered his performance last year, multiple national record holder and international medal winner Stevie Gardiner is eager to make his return to the track scene this year. Gardiner, now in his 14th year as a professional track and field athlete, has indicated that he's going to refocus his attention primarily on the 200 metres, the event that he made his breakthrough from Moore’s Island All-Age School under coach Anthony Williams in 2014. That year, Gardiner represented The Bahamas at the CARIFTA Games in Fort-de-France, Martinique where he missed out on the podium with fourth place in the under-20 boys' 200m. However, he teamed up with Cliff Resias, Ian Kerr and Deedro Clarke for the silver in the 4 x 100m relay and a bronze in the 4
x 400m with Kelso Pierre Jr, Janek Cartwright and Ashley Riley. Upon graduation, instead of enrolling in college, Gardiner turned pro when he moved to FlorGARDINER ida and began training under the tutelage of American coach Gary Evans, who moved him to running the 400m. Gardiner went on to capture the Olympic Games' gold medal in the one-lap race in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan and the bronze as a member of the 4 x 400m relay team that included Alonso Russell, Michal Mathieu, Chris 'Fireman' Brown and Stephen Newbold. Additionally, he earned the World Championship bronze in the 400m in 2017 in London, England and followed that with the gold in 2019 in Doha, Qatar. Gardiner, now 30, noted that the death of his father and confidant
Steve Gardiner Sr on August 10 in Abaco, coupled with the recurring left ankle injury, forced him to shut down his season before the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September. But he's now back in training with coach Evans between Clermont and Orlando, Florida where he's been working out on his comeback for this season as a 200m competitor. "Last year was a tough one for me with the tragic loss of my father in a car accident," Gardiner said. "I'm just looking forward to the best as I try to move on with my life. But it's hard just thinking about him. "My dad was my close friend. We hung out together. He came to Florida and interacted with our training camp and coach Gary and he was always there encouraging me." As he looked on the bright side, Gardiner said he knew that his father would want him to "pick up the pieces and move on" with coach Evans, whom he's been working with for the past 10 years
and is considered to be like his "second father.” "I look up to Gary like I did my father and my former coach Pastor Williams. We sit down and talk every month. He's been encouraging me to go on and pick up the pieces in the absence of my father." Having achieved all that he wanted in the 400m where he has lowered the Bahamas national record to 43.48 seconds, Gardiner said he will be concentrating solely on the 200m where he intends to improve on his national record of 19.75. "I'm getting older now, turning 31 on September 12. I've had a long, tough journey competing in the 400m," Gardiner said. "Now we want to see what we can do in the sprints where I got started in the 200m. "I might do a 400m here or there, but my focus will be on the sprints and the 200m specially, especially as I look forward to the Ultimate Championship this year." The Ultimate Championship is a new biennial event being
introduced by World Athletics from September 11-13 in Budapest, Hungary. It will provide the top athletes to compete in a fastpaced, high-stakes competition for a world record $10 million prize pool. In preparation for the long season ahead of him, Gardiner said he had to take some time off to recompose himself. He started training again in November, but has not pinpointed any timeframe for his first event. What he did note is that he will not compete indoors, which poses a problem for his 6-foot, 5-inch frame running on the tight 200m tracks. So he's geared to just competing outdoors and primarily in the shorter half-lap race. "I'm looking forward to running my PB (personal best), which means that I should break my national record in the 200m," Gardiner projected. "I just want to focus on the season because each race will be a
RETURN - See Page E2
HANGTIME: ‘VJ’ SOARS
LIKE MIKE: 76ers’ Valdez “VJ” Edgecombe, centre, hangs from the rim after dunking against the Denver Nuggets in overtime on Monday, January 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 5
Equestrian Bahamas’ presence being felt under the leadership of Ramsingh-Pierre By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net UNDER the leadership of president Catherine Ramsingh-Pierre, Equestrian Bahamas has been making its presence felt on the international scene. The association, according to Ramsingh-Pierre, has produced some outstanding individual and team successes in just about every meet that they've competed in last year. This year, Ramsingh-Pierre has announced that Equestrian Bahamas has some more lofty goals to attain. She has outlined a fiveplan for the season. They are as follows: 1. Elite level "We will represent The Bahamas in Show Jumping at the Central American and Caribbean Games 2026 in Santo Domingo," Ramsingh-Pierre said. "Our goal is to gain an individual qualification spot for the
Pan-American Games and the LA Olympics 2028." 2. Developmental level "We will continue to develop our riders in the 10-15 age group accord- Ramsingh-Pierre ing to our sport development pathway," Ramsingh-Pierre continued. 3. Community level "We commit to spreading the joy of equestrian sport to all Bahamian youth through our outreach programme in partnership with the RBPF and the Urban Renewal Authority," Ramsingh-Pierre revealed. 4. Governance "We will make a thorough overhaul of our Rule Book to align with recent changes made by our International Federation," Ramsingh-Pierre stressed.
5. Welfare and Clean Sport "We commit to always being guided by the important principles of horse welfare and clean sport, as laid down in the FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse and the WADA Anti-Doping Code, respectively," Ramsingh-Pierre concluded. Catherine Ramsingh-Pierre said Equestrian Bahamas will be looking forward to some more top-notch performances from competitors such as Anna Camille 'Millie' Vlasov, who will be competing at the CAC Games and has Olympic aspirations. "We expect Marlo Pinder, Alana Pyfrom, and Connor Watkins to be our top performers on the Caribbean circuit as Juniors," said Ramsingh-Pierre. "We also have Ella Saidi and Katerina Coello, who are on track to make their adult international debuts in CSI competitions." Watch out for Equestrian Bahamas.