The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT was one of those “what if” performances turned in by ‘Golden Knight’ Demetrius Pinder over the weekend.

In a prelude as he gets warmed up for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations 2014 BTC National Open Track and Field Championships at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium this weekend, Pinder ran as a rabbit in the men’s 800 metres at the Fritz Grant Invitational this past weekend.

The Grand Bahama native, who hopes to regain the men’s 400 metre title that he last held in 2012 after he had to skip his defence last year because of an injury he sustained in the Chris Brown Invitational, said it was a blessing for him to be home and to get the “blow out” in the race.

“I just tried to run the first 500 and it felt pretty good,” said Pinder, who was so far ahead of the three competitors that he was urged on to continue. “I just want to give God thanks for being able to finish as the rabbit and to still be healthy for the nationals this weekend.”

On why he didn’t continue the last lap and possibly challenge for the national 800m record of one minute and 49.54 seconds that is currently held by his arch rival Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown from 1998 at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Pinder said he was mad at himself after he stopped.

“I didn’t realise that I was that far ahead,” said Pinder, who watched as Ashley Riley went on to win the race in 1:52.99. “I probably would have ran 1:40-something, but that’s the question mark that is always going to be there. What if . . .”

What if Pinder does decide to pursue the 800m in the future?

“I might decide to do it,” said Pinder, who has gone down to run the 200m, the event in which he competed in during the Chris Brown Invitational that saw him pull up last year.

Pinder, who eventually missed the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia last year, was back this year as the Bahamas hosted the IAAF inaugural World Relays where he ran on the second leg of the men’s 4 x 400m team that finished second to the American team anchored by Pinder’s training partner LaShawn Merritt.

Just before returning home for the Fritz Grant Invitational, Brown competed in the IAAF World Challange Ostrava Golden Spike meet where he turned in a season’s best of 45.30 for fourth place in the race that was won by Merritt in a meet record of 44.16.

“I knew that there were a lot of good guys in the race so I had to go out there and give my legs a test before coming to nationals,” he said. “So I was able to go out there, got out a little too fast, but I was still able to finish with a pretty good time, so holding onto a 400 after going out in a 20-point gives me a lot of confidence coming into nationals.

“So once I slow that down a little bit and gradually build up, I feel like I can go pretty fast.”

With Pinder healthy, as well as Brown, although Ramon Miller will not be out to defend his title after he suffered an injury at the World Relays, a lot of fireworks are expected in the men’s marquee race on the track.

“I feel good a week out, so I can’t go wrong with that,” Pinder said. “Anything could happen. This is track and field. Expect anything to happen, but with a new coach and a new programme I’m under, I don’t know what I have. I feel as if I have something, but I have to field it out.”

Even though Miller won’t be there, Pinder is convinced that the field will still be a very competitive one with a number of the younger guys trying to upstage him and Brown.

“We’re all brothers and so when one is not there, we all feel it,” Pinder said. “I don’t want to wish any harm on any of the other guys. We’re all from the Bahamas, so I just want everybody to go out there and give it their best and hopefully we all end up running a good race.”

With the Commonwealth Games next month in Glasgow, Scotland, as the highlight of the season, Pinder said he intends to compete in a meet in Canada at the end of the nationals. After that, he will head to Europe to get ready for the Commonwealth Games.

“I would like to run my personal best before I head to the Commonwealth Games, if not, once I’m in the 44-range I will feel good,” Pinder projected. “Being in a year out for the World Championships (next year in Beijing, China), I know I will have my rhythm, so I will be happy with whatever I put out here.”

As for the Commonwealth Games, Pinder said he’s not counting out anybody, nor is he going to count his eggs before they are hatched.

“A lot of the guys want to beat the Bahamas. So we never know what is going to happen at the Commonwealth,” Pinder said. “A lot of guys within the Commonwealth have been running pretty fast this year, so you can expect anything. You just have to stay healthy and just come out there and run and be ready to compete.”

Only time will tell just exactly how fast he will run this weekend.

Pinder, 25, has ran a personal best of 20.23 in the 200m and 44.77 in the 400m. The Texas A&M University graduate also holds the national indoor 400m record of 45.33. He was a silver medallist at the 2012 IAAF Indoor Championships in Istanbul and that same year placed seventh in the final of the Olympic Games.

Pinder also ran the second leg of the Bahamas men’s 4 x 400m relay team that won the gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.