The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Sopot, Poland: They both wanted to become world champions, but Chris 'Fireman' Brown and Shaunae Miller can be content with the silver and bronze respectively in the finals of the men and women's 400 metres.

For Brown, it was his fifth straight as he made history as the only athlete to clinch every colour. He added the silver to the gold he won in 2010 in Doha, Qatar and the three bronze in 2012 in Istanbul, 2008 in Valencia and 2006 in Moscow.

For Miller, there's no better way to start her professional career after shortening her collegiate eligibility at the University of Georgia after her freshman season. The bronze medal was certainly worth the major decision.

The duo got the aquamarine, gold and black flag to be hoisted twice in Ergo Arena as the Bahamas brought the curtain down on their performances at the end of the first two days of competition.

At the end of the night, the Bahamas climbed into a five-way tie for 14th place with Canada, Jamaica, the People's Republic of China and Ukraine on the medal table and in a three-way tie for 16th with Greece and the Netherlands with 13 points on the placing table.

The Bahamas is not done yet, as sprinter Sheniqua 'Q' Ferguson is left to compete in the women's 60m semifinal on Sunday at 9:15 am. If she advances, the final will be contested at 12:05 pm.

But for now, the Bahamas is celebrating the double medal feat from Brown and Miller.

BROWN'S MEDAL GLORY

Don't count out the 35-year-old Brown just yet. He proved that he still has a whole lot more left in the tank.

"God is good. All I can say is God is good," a jubilant Brown stated.

"I know a lot of people counted me out, but whatever God has for you, no man can take. This just made my collection complete. I have a gold, silver and bronze.

"At age 35, I feel great and I just want to thank all of my family and friends for believing in me. I just wanted to come out here and represent the Bahamas as best as I could and I did that, so I'm really happy."

In a gutsy performance that one can only attribute to a veteran warrior, Brown got caught running our of lane six by eventual gold medalist Pavel Maslak from the Czech Republic on the back stretch of the first lap.

By the time they got around for the cut in to go into the gun lap, Maslak was out front, but Brown trailed him through the back stretch.

As they came around the final bend, American bronze medalist Kyle Clemons made an attempt to catch the front runners.

But as Maslak surged ahead in the final sprint for the gold and $40,000 in a new indoor record time of 45.24 seconds for the Czech

Republic, Brown maintained his position for his prize of $20,000 in a

personal best of 45.58. Clemons held on for the bronze for $10,000.

"To be honest, I wasn't going to run no one's race," Brown pointed out. "I went out there to run Chris Brown's race. I know it was up for grab. I did my part. I got out well. I executed well and I was just focused on me.

"He (Maslak) knew what he was capable of doing and I know what I was capable of doing. Hats go off to him and the guy from the US. They ran a superb race. Today, the Lord just had it in store for me to get one and I got one. Hopefully the Bahamas can be just as proud as I feel right now."

Miller got her first senior medal

It didn't take Shaunae Miller long to crack the elite status of the global scene at the senior level.

After leaving her mark behind as the IAAF 2010 World Junior and 2011 World Youth champion, Miller added the World Indoor 400m bronze to her collection.

The 19-year-old, who closed out her junior campaign as the winner of the prestigious Austin Sealy award winner as the most outstanding athlete at the 2013 Carifta Games in Nassau, was sensational in her debut.

Her time time of 52.06 was good enough for the bronze and a $10,000 cheque. She was in contention for the anticipated gold, but that went to American Francena McCorory in 51.12 and the $40,000 jackpot. And she had a chance to hold onto the silver, but Jamaican Kaliese Spencer took that away from her with the $20,000 in a personal best of 51.54.

"I feel pretty good about it. I was just glad that I got a chance to come here and compete for a medal," Miller stressed. "The competition was fierce, as expected, but I'm just glad that I was able to come here and compete well for our country."

Running out of lane one, Miller used her height to come through the first lap in the lead just ahead of American Joanna Atkins in lane two. The two bumped slightly as they tried to take control of the race.

But that left the door wide open as McCorory surged from behind and into the lead on the back stretch. Miller chased her, but by the time she got to the final bend, Spencer caught and passed her.

Again Miller made a gallant effort to catch the pair, but as they stayed ahead of her, she made sure that Justyna Swiety didn't ride the momentum of her home crowd in Poland to pass her too. She did that as Swiety got left out of making the podium with her fourth in 52.20.

"I'm just so happy that I won a medal," Miller said. "I really wanted the gold, but I will take the bronze. It's just my first world indoor, so I still some more opportunity to get it in the future. I will be back."

Fraser short of advancing

In order to get into the final, Fraser knew that he had to put together a spectacular race. He got out of the blocks and was right in the pack until he let it go right at the end when it counted the most.

The one small mistake made the difference as his fifth place finish in 6.59 seconds was not enough to allow him to join the elite eight into the final. He ended up tied for ninth with Guyana's Adam Harris, both just shy of advancing by one spot.

The final spot went to Great Britain's Dwain Chambers, who edged out Fraser for fourth place in their heat in 6.58. The top qualifier was Jamaican Nesta Carter in a season's best of 6.50 in setting the stage in heat one.

For Fraser, he was still pleased with his effort, despite coming up short in his first appearance at the indoor championship.

"It was good, but not good enough to get into the final," Fraser reflected. "I stopped thinking. My eyes were closed for most of the way. I felt I was getting a lot of explosive, but coming into the last metre at the line, I just leaned for it a little and lost a split second.

"Other than that, I'm happy with my performance. I could have easily been in the final, but I came up short. It was still a pretty good performance if you ask me."

The 22-year-old Clemson University graduate, now based in Tallahassee, Florida, said he remembers when he was "struggling once upon a time" and now he's made it to the semifinal at the World Indoors.

"My mindset has basically changed," he said. "My focus is getting to the top. I'm not just concerned about making it. I want to be able to compete for a title. Hopefully I will get there. This is a good indication of where I'm at and what I need to work on."