The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AVARD Moncur, Troy McIntosh, Timothy Munnings, Chris “Fireman” Brown and Carl Oliver would have all preferred the pomp and pageantry that came along with winning an Olympic Games medal during the actual event.

But 13 years after they fell short with a fourth place finish in Sydney, Australia, the five were presented with the bronze medal Monday at a luncheon presentation at the Hilton hotel after the US team was stripped of the gold after one of its members, the late Antonio Pettigrew, was found guilty of a doping violation in 2008.

The medal comes right on the heels of the upsetting gold medal performance by Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller over the USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, and on the eve of the Bahamas departure for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

With the exception of Brown, who wasn’t able to make it to town from Atlanta, Georgia, all of the athletes noted how thrilled they were to be recognised as Olympic medallists in front of the Bahamian people. The luncheon, held as a part of the 40th Independence celebrations, was organised by the Bahamas Olympic Committee.

Heading the list of dignitaries on hand were Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Dr Daniel Johnson, who both showered the team with their praises.

While they all were presented with their medal and a plaque, there was no mention of whether or not the athletes will receive any money from the government, as was mandated for all medallists at either the Olympic Games or the World Championships.

Nonetheless, the athletes were all just delighted to finally receive their medals.

Avard Moncur, who led off on the first leg in the final, said there’s no better feeling than being home to collect his medal.

“We heard about it for years and we heard about all the people violating our sport, so to finally have it in our hand is a great feeling,” Moncur said. “I’m very proud of these guys and it really couldn’t come at a better time as we celebrate our 40th Independence.

“It’s better late than never. We now have the medals in our hands. We had some really close moments, so for me the day that I stepped on the line to run that race, I wanted us to be successful. Unfortunately it didn’t happen then, but now it’s happened and I’m glad that we can all be called Olympic medallists.”

With the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations now preparing to send a team off to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia, August 10-18, Moncur is hoping that the Bahamas will win another relay medal.

“Don’t take anything for granted. We’re a small country, but there is a lot of great responsibility that goes along with it,” he said. “We just want them to go there and represent the Bahamas to the best of their ability and compete well because the future is bright for our country.”

Carl Oliver, the third leg runner, noted that it’s still a special moment in time.

“After 13 years, it’s been a roller coaster ride because some days we hear that we’re going to get it and some days we hear that we won’t get it,” he said. “We have it to hang around our necks now, so it’s just a great feeling. When you look at it, its the 40th anniversary of our Independence so it couldn’t come at a better time.

“We did it in Sydney, but this is the best time to receive it. It’s our 40th year of Independence and being presented with the medals by our Prime Minister, we can’t ask for a better feeling after not getting it at the games.”

Oliver said he’s so thrilled by what the Bahamians continue to do that he’s predicting that the 4 x 400 relay team will win a medal in Moscow.

“I think it’s basically the same team, with the exception of Demetrius Pinder, so I think they will be in a good position to contend for a medal,” Oliver said.

Troy McIntosh, who ran the second leg, was thrilled because he was celebrating a double feat.

“It feels really good because the last time it was announced that we were going to get it, we didn’t get it, so it was bitter sweet,” McIntosh said. “I was telling someone that in all of my career, I won every medal except two - the Olympics and Indoor Worlds. Now that I have the Olympic medal, I’m pretty much satisfied.

“The other thing is while we are celebrating the 40th year of our Independence as a country, I’m also celebrating my 40th birthday this year. So it came to be perfect, but it’s good to get the medal. When we heard the news couple weeks ago that it was going to happen, we were all excited. We can now go into the record books as the bronze medallists. We have the medals to prove it.”

Although it wasn’t 80,000 in an Olympic stadium cheering them on, McIntosh said the group of spectators who filled the room at the luncheon made it a memorable day for all of them.

“The key thing is to have the medals in our hands. It’s not where we would have liked to have gotten them, but the fact that we have them is just as exciting,” he said.

To the men’s team going to the worlds, McIntosh encouraged them to stay focused and do what they have to do because the bar has already been set and just continue to run fast.

Tim Munnings, who only ran in the heats, said he was pleased with his contribution. “We’ve been working at this for a long time and to actually have the medal in your hand is a gratifying feeling, especially knowing that we did it drug free,” he said. “We remember the race from the semifinal to the final. We were not considered medal contenders, but we were confident that we were ready. We trained hard and this is a result of our hard work.”

To the quartermilers who are hoping to continue the trend of medalling at the worlds in Moscow, Munnings said once the members all believe in themselves and the team as a whole, he is convinced that they can succeed.

“Don’t mind who is missing. We’ve had to run races without key persons and were still able to be successful,” he said. “You just have to be prepared to dig deep and give it your best.”

BOC president Wellington Miller said it was another proud day for the Bahamas.

“I want to tip my hat off to all of our executives who worked so hard to make sure that this event was a success,” he said. “This is a great feeling and we are so happy to see all of the Bahamians who came out and supported the athletes as they were crowned Olympic medallists.”

And said IAAF council member Pauline Davis-Thompson, who was also elevated from the silver to gold at the 2000 Olympics after American Marion Jones was stripped of her double gold medal in the 100 and 200 for failing a drug test: “I would have liked to see our flag being raised in Sydney, Australia, but it’s nice that they decided to have this celebration for the team,” said Davis-Thompson, who received her new medal in 2010.

“The boys worked very hard and I was very proud of them. God has been very good to the Bahamas and our men’s relay team and the women’s relay team have proven that.”

“But I want to take it a bit further and encourage our young people who don’t take education serious to follow the example of these guys. They all earned their college degrees and they have done extremely well after their track careers. I hope more people will follow them.”