The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

At first it was thought he had just twisted his ankle, but upon further examination it has been discovered that “Golden Knight” Ramon Miller actually broke a bone in his right ankle before the start of the men’s 4x400 metre relay on Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Miller, 27, reunited with his ‘Golden Knight’ teammates – Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown – as they ran the fastest qualifying time of 3:00.30s at the inaugural International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Relays.

But on Sunday, as the Bahamas faced one of his toughest competitors, the United States, in the final, Miller was conspicuously absent. Subsequently, his replacement, LaToy Williams, Pinder, Brown and Mathieu got beaten by the US for the first time in their head-to-head match-ups since the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

During that epic showdown which won them Olympic gold, Miller ran an exceptional anchor leg to pass American Angelo Taylor. The Americans, who also lost this year to the Bahamas at the Penn Relays, returned the favour by winning the title at the World Relays. The Americans did not have LaShawn Merritt in the previous two meetings, but on Sunday he sped past Mathieu on anchor for the victory over the team which was missing Miller in its line-up.

“Before the semis I slipped down in the call room just before we went on the track and I didn’t thought anything about it,” Miller said in an interview with The Big T.

“When you slip, you feel bruises, so I thought it was a bruise. I was able to run the semis, but after the race my foot felt odd. I couldn’t put any pressure on it. I thought it was just a sprain.

“I went to the doctors and let them diagnose it and they thought it was a little bruise, too, at first. I tried icing it and they gave me some pain killers to try to keep me get ready for the next day. But the next day I couldn’t put any pressure on it. I tried to warm up with the team, but even though the coaches wanted me to run, I made the decision on my own not to jeopardise the team because the pain was just too unbearable.”

It wasn’t until Tuesday when an X-ray was taken of Miller’s ankle that the severity of the injury was discovered.

“I got a boot on it for the next three weeks,” he said. “I’m keeping my fitness because I can do my exercise and I can ride the bike until I am able to run again. I really want to make sure that I can get back on the track so that I can run again for the Commonwealth Games.”

The Commonwealth Games, the marquee event for the international athletes this year, will be held from July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Known as the ‘Giant Killer’ because of his distinctive height at 5’7” compared to his much taller rivals, Miller has made a valuable contribution the Bahamas men’s 4x400m relay success from 2008 at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan American and Central American and Caribbean Games.

But as the Bahamas hosted its biggest sports event to date last week, he was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch as his teammates went to war against the Americans before the packed stadium that had the fans on their feet roaring from start to finish.

“I’m always on the stage representing my country, but my loss was somebody’s else gain,” said Miller of Williams, who got to temporarily take his spot. “LaToy (Williams) did his best. It made me feel good to know that we had a guy to step up when he needed him. He gained the confidence of the people again.”

Have no fear, Miller said, his injury will only keep him on the sidelines for a short while.

“I will start therapy next week to try to get the blood flowing around the area of the bone. It’s a bone and not a muscle that is broken,” he said. “Muscles heal quicker than bones, but I just have to let the bone heal a little more before I go back on the track and not damage it any more.”

The C R Walker graduate, who went on to excel at Dickinson State University where he won nine NAI track and field national championships in his four-year stint, gave God thanks that his injury was not more severe.

Keith Parker, chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the World Relays, said he was stunned to learn of what Miller had to endure.

“There was no time to substitute him when he suffered the injury on Saturday,” Parker said. “So he ran, and he ran a fast time of 44.3 and afterwards, the next day, he didn’t run because of the swelling. Then when he went to the doctor he was told that he had a broken bone in his foot. So he actually ran the 44.3 with a broken bone in his foot.

“We all know he’s a tough little guy, but that was quite remarkable.”

Parker, a long-time coach of the Bahamas athletic team, said he never witnessed any athlete competing with that much pride for his country under those kind of circumstances. He noted that Miller has to be singled out once again, as he was for his tremendous come-from-behind victory in London, for his gutsy performance in the semifinal.