The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SOPOT, Poland — Coming into the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s 15th World Indoor Championships, quartermiler Shaunae Miller knew that she was a potential medallist. She just wasn’t sure what colour the medal would be.

Going into the final of the women’s 400 metres on Saturday night, Miller made sure that the medal didn’t get away from her, despite the fact that she drew lane one at the Ergo Arena.

In a gutsy performance, Miller took advantage of her height and some advice from veteran Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown to propel herself on the podium for the bronze in a season’s best of 52.06 seconds.

As she leaves, she will carry $10,000 in her share of cash prizes after paving the way for an historic night for the Bahamas as Brown came back an hour later to put the icing on the cake with a silver in the men’s 400m final in a personal best of 45.58 and a $20,000 cheque.

“Thank God I am here. I am so exhausted I cannot even talk,” said Miller, who was too physically drained after the race to talk to the media as she first offered a few words. “Thank God for this result.”

It didn’t come without its share of pain, but it was certainly worth it all in the end.

“I feel pretty good about it. I was just glad that I got a chance to come here and compete for a medal,” Miller said. “The competition was fierce, as expected, but I’m just glad that I was able to come 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 Francena 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 have some more opportunity to get it in the future. I will be back.”

The 19-year-old who abandoned the rest of her collegiate career to turn pro, signing a lucrative contract to represent Adidas, said she was appreciative of Brown for the pointers he shared with her.

“We had a long talk before the race. He sat me down and he told me that running out of lane one, I had to go for it and make sure that I got to the stagger line in front,” she said. “Once I get there, he

said I would be in a good position to go for the medal.”

Miller, however, said her only regret was the fact that her parents, Shaun (original coach) and Maybelene Miller, along with George Cleare, her Bahamian coach at the University of Georgia where she continues to train, were not here to celebrate her feat.

“The good thing is that I had a chance to talk to them before I went out to compete,” she said. “They were able to give me some more advice and encouragement. So although they were not here, I felt they all helped me out in this process.”

It was Miller’s debut at the World Indoors and as the youngest member of the team, she’s confident that she will be back to produce the kind of performances she had prior to making her transition to the elite field.

She won back-to-back IAAF World Junior and Youth 400m titles before she closed out her junior career last year at home as the Austin Sealy Most Outstanding Athlete, having won both the under-20 girls 200 and 400m and running on the women’s victorious 4 x 100 relay team.

No doubt, Miller said she’s looking forward to returning home soon, not just for a celebration of her performance here, but as a member of the Bahamas team at the IAAF’s inaugural World Relays May 24-25.

Hopefully, she can provide another reason for the Bahamas to celebrate again.