The Tribune

ENGINEER and civil servant Harold Munnings passed away at his residence in Dannottage Estates on August 15. He was 90.

“The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, the Bahamas Olympic Association and the Bahamian sporting community give sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Munnings family,” according to a press statement.

Munnings was the third president of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association and a vice president of the Bahamas Olympic Association.

Harold was a member of the Vikings Sporting Club. There he participated in track and field and was the captain of their cricket team. Munnings followed sports writer Cyril “Cap” Richardson as BAAA president.

At the Rome Olympics in 1960, Munnings served as the chef’ de mission of the Bahamas’ team. There, Thomas Robinson made the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m, and Hugh Bullard participated in the 400m.

Julian Brown was a member of the team scheduled to run the 800m but did not participate due to illness. Joe Yancy of the New York Pioneers team assisted the team. Munnings was also the flag bearer in Rome.

Munnings’ son Tim took up running at a late age and anchored the 2001 World Championships 4x400m relay team that consisted of Carl Oliver on the first round, Avard Moncur, Chris Brown, and Troy McIntosh. Tim is now the director of sports in the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture. The team placed second but was years afterward upgraded to the gold medal due to doping infractions by the USA team.

In 2013, Harold Munnings was inducted into the Bahamas National Sports Hall of Fame. Munnings was a “renaissance man.”

He was a technical man as an engineer but also was an artist among other things. He did enjoy golf.

Munnings made significant contributions to the nation, especially in the public service and athletics.