The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Four months away, Kendrick Thompson snatched the Bahamas national decathlon record away from Ken Mullings. Over the weekend, Mullings regained the record at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Track and Field Championships.

During the two-day event that wrapped up on Sunday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, Mullings accumulated 7,734 points to erase the previous mark of 7,644 set by Thompson at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ Easter Track Classic in April.

Thompson got second with 7,505, while Maicel Uibo, the wife of Shaunae Miller-Uibo, came in third with just 5,471 as he recovers from an injury that may prevent him from representing Estonia in the 2020 Olympic Games next month.

Mullings, who is waiting to see if the Bahamas Olympic Committee will include him and Thompson on Team Bahamas heading to Tokyo, Japan, for the Olympics, said he was delighted to be back as the king of the most gruelling event in track and field. “I feel like a lot of hard work with coach Sherman Dames paid off. We got some good results,” Mullings said. “I feel like I could have executed much better on three of the events, but I’m very happy with the end results. I’m happy with his performance.”

Munnings, 24, clocked 10.85 in the 100m for 894 points; he did 7.06m in the long jump for 828 pts; 12.98m in the shot put for 666 pts; 2.05m in the high jump for 850 pts; 49.95 in the 400m for 817 pts to finish the first day with 4,055 pts.

On day two, Mulllnigs did 14.13 in the 100m hurdles for 958 points; 43.58m in the discus for 738 points; 4.60m in the pole vault for 790 points; 51.86m in the javelin for 616 pts and finish the 10-event package in the 1,500m in 4:57.04 for 577 pts.

Thompson’s performances included: 10.78 in the 100m for 910 pts; 7.18m in the long jump for 857 pts; 13.23m in the shot put for 681 pts; 1.90m in the high jump for 714 pts; 49.28 in the 400m for 848 pts; 14.52 in the 100m hurdles for 908 pts; 32.36m in the discus for 511 pts; 4.20m in the pole vault for 673 pts; 62.30m in the javelin for 773 pts and 4:48.09 in the 1,500m for 630 pts.

Uibo, on the other hand, did 11.64 in the 100m for 723 pts; 7.03m in the long jump for 821 pts; fouled out in the shot put; clered 2.02m in the high jump for 822 pts; 51.55 in the 400m for 745 pts; 14.72 in the 100m hurdles for 884 pts; 47.55m in the discus for 819 pts; didn’t clear any height in the pole vault; fouled out in the javelin and ran 4:43.73 in the 1,500m for 657 pts.

Looking back at his performance, Mullings said he felt the discus and hurdles helped him to seal the deal. But he admitted that he still has some work to do with the long jump and the javelin.

“Even though I scored 800 points in the long jump, it’s not as good as the guys who are scoring 900 points,” he said. “In April, Kendrick scored 910 points, compared to my 790. That’s a big difference that takes away from my performance.”

Mullings said while the competition came down to him and Thompson, it was good to have Uibo in the field, although he was not at full strength, which would have made it that much stiffer.

“He was giving us a lot of advice on what to do, how to make the event easier, what he eats between events to make me feel better and that was what helped me to get my discus PR on Sunday.” Mullings said.

“I’m a visual learner, so just by watching him, I was able to execute a little better in the circle to get in the big throw. And he was talking to me in the pole vault because we’re not as big as we should be in that event. He was giving me a lot of tips.”

If he doesn’t make the trek to the Olympics this year, Mullings said he will prepare during the off season for the World Indoors, the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships next year.

He thanked God; his new coach Sherman Dames; Ednal Rolle, his sprint coach; Ronald Cartwright, who worked with him in the field events; Andew Tynes for motivating him and assisting him with his sprinting and his family and friends for their continuous support.