SPORTS SECTION E
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016
Shaunae advances to 400m final in Rio By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubb@tribunremedia.net
RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — It will be another epic final, this time for Olympic gold, as Shaunae Miller tangles with American Allyson Felix tonight. The duo picked up where they left off at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China as the 30-year-old Felix came from behind this time to pull off the victory over the 22-year-old Miller in the semi-final of the women’s 400 metres on sensational Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in one of the highlights on the track of the 2016 Olympic Games. Felix, running out of lane three in the last of three heats, caught Miller in lane four on the back stretch. Felix slowly pulled away coming off the final curve and took it home in the fastest qualifying time of 49.67, a season’s best. Miller, the runner-up to Felix in Beijing, tried to accelerate to catch the American, but she didn’t have enough real estate, finishing second in 49.91, the fourth fastest qualifying time. Jamaican Shericka Jackson was the second fastest qualifier in winning heat two in a personal best of 49.83, holding off American Natasha Hastings, who trailed in 49.90, her season’s best. Miller, the national champion, didn’t come through the mixed zone to talk to the reporters, but as she passed by, 30-year-old Felix quipped: “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” about the rematch with Miller. Although she didn’t come through the zone, head coach George Cleare indicated that she was okay. The final will take place tonight at 9:45pm EST with Miller
BAHAMIANS IN ACTION RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Here’s a look at the Bahamians in action at the 2016 Olympic Games over the next few days: TODAY Olympic Stadium 8:30am EST - Leevan Sands, ninth competitor in Group A, men’s triple jump qualifying round 8:30am EST - Latario Collie, 21st competitor in Group B, men’s triple jump qualifying round 8:36am EST - Ty’Nia Gaither, heat two, lane six, women’s 200m heats 8:54 am EST - Anthonique
SHAUNAE MILLER, of the Bahamas, and United States’ Allyson Felix, right, compete yesterday in a 400-metre semifinal in the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP) running out of lane seven in between Hastings in six and Jamaican Stephanie Ann McPherson in eight. Felix has drawn lane four
with Jackson in five. Another American, Phyllis Francis - the winner of heat one in 50.31 - will run out of three.
Lane two will be occupied by Libania Grenot of Italy and Otha Zeml Yak of Ukraine will take up lane one.
Strachan, heat five, lane one, women’s 200m heats 9:06am EST - Sheniqua Ferguson, heat seven, lane seven, women’s 200m heats 10:35am EST - Jeffery Gibson, heat one, lane six, men’s 400m hurdles heats 9:45pm EST - Women 400 final
Smith, men’s 200m heats. 7:30pm EST - Trevor and Donald Thomas at No.10 and No.13 respectively in the men’s high jump final 8:05pm EST - Bianca Stuart - Women’s long jump qualifying 9pm - Women’s 200m
9:30pm - Women’s 200m final 9:53pm - Women’s 100m hurdles final Thursday, August 18 Olympic Stadium 11am - Men’s 400m hurdles final 9:30pm Men’s 200m final Friday, August 19 Olympic Stadium 7:40 pm EST - Women’s 4 x 400m relay preliminaries 8:10pm EST - Men’s 4 x 400m relay preliminaries Saturday, August 20 Olympic Stadium 9pm - Women’s 4 x 400m relay final 9:35 pm - Men’s 4 x 400m relay final
Tuesday, August 16 Olympic Stadium 8:50pm - Men Triple jump final 10:05am EST - Pedrya Seymour, women’s 100m hurdles heats 10:50am EST - Shavez Hart, Demetrius Pinder and Teray
semi-final Wednesday, August 17 Olympic Stadium 7:45pm EST - women’s 100m hurdles semi-final 8:15pm - Women’s long jump final 9pm EST - Men’s 200m semifinal
WORLD RECORD
400M FINAL, Page 2
BOLT SHINES BRIGHT, WINS ANOTHER GOLD IN OLYMPIC 100 By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — If there were any doubts, it took less than 10 seconds — 9.81, to be exact — for Usain Bolt to erase them. He is the Olympic champion once again. On a muggy Sunday night in Rio, the Jamaican superstar won the signature event in track and field in a runaway and added this line to his already gleaming résumé: first person to capture three straight 100-metre titles at the Olympics. Bolt beat American Justin Gatlin, who fans greeted with raucous boos, by .08 seconds. Andre de Grasse of Canada won the bronze. He shoved Michael Phelps aside to take centre stage for Week 2 of these troubled Rio Games. He pushed his total to seven Olympic gold medals, with a chance for two more — in the 200 and 4x100 relay — later in the week. Bolt wasn’t the only one putting on a show. A few minutes earlier, South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk eclipsed what many thought was the most-unbreakable record in the book — Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old mark of 43.18 seconds in 400 metres. Running out of Lane 8, where the lag puts him well in front of the rest of the field, van Niekerk never saw a soul — crossing in 43.03 and only glancing to his left when he approached the line to peer at the clock, which showed him what he had done. “Usain Bolt will be retiring soon, but this could be the next star of the sport,” Johnson said during his commentary on BBC. The current star? That guy named Bolt. The 6-foot-5 sprinter/celebrity overcame his typically slow unfurling from the blocks — he was second-to-last after the break — then churned his legs to gradually build up speed. He caught Gatlin with about 40 metres left and was celebrating — pointing at his chest with his thumb — before he crossed the finish line. After he crossed, Bolt raised the index finger, and then, the real party began. A few minutes after the finish, Bolt was unlacing those now-famous gold spikes and taking selfies with the fans and the medallists from the heptathlon. He turned his yellow hat backward, kneeled down and gave the crowd what it really wanted. It’s that famous,
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Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands’ comeback story one for the ages By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Olympic Games isn’t about sports. It’s about nations, about people, about stories. Sports is just our tangential connection to it all. Every one of the 32 members of Team Bahamas has a story to tell, but the comeback story of Leevan Sands has been well documented …and it had to be. “Superman” has the most interactive performance of any athlete and that has endeared him to his Bahamian fanbase. It’s a symbiotic relationship – he feeds off the
energy of the crowd and we get to feel as if we play a direct part in his success. We were up there with him at the pinnacle in 2008 when he won bronze in Beijing and at the low point when a knee injury denied us a shot at greatness in London 2012. Four years ago, we eulogised his career prematurely in what seemed like the way it had to end – in the pit. That’s because four years ago, many people thought they’d never see him compete at this level again. Others questioned whether they’d ever see him take flight at all.
LEEVAN SANDS
It was round four of the triple jump at the Olympic Stadium in London, England. Sands, who entered the final as the second best qualifier, peered down the runway, gearing up for a jump to keep pace with the remainder of the contenders in the field. We all clapped in unison, sure that this jump was supposed to be the one. Optimism turned to our worst fears realised when we saw Sands land awkwardly, grab his knee and grimace with pain. The end result was a ruptured patella tendon. Fast forward to Rio 2016, and Sands, who turns 35 tomorrow, has done the unthinkable. He’s fought his way back to a famil-
iar spot – the parade of athletes at Maracana stadium - his fourth Olympic Games appearance. “These Rio games are special to me. Even something as simple as the opening ceremony stood out to me more so than usual just because of the special feeling of being back at the Olympic Games, especially after the London incident where I got injured. I’m just excited to be back in this position.” As a senior at Auburn, Sands made his first Olympic appearance back in Athens in 2004. He has undergone the full transition
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