The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHATEVER happens in the final of the men’s triple jump tonight, Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands will take solace in the fact that he already made a triumphant return to international prominence.

After getting counted out by many who felt he was done when he suffered his knee injury at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, that required surgery, Sands began his comeback trail that included a silver medal at the Pan American Games to qualify him for the 15th IAAF World Championships. A bronze at the NACAC Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, helped to solidify his confidence coming here.

As he patiently waited until collegiate Latario Collie-Minns was done as the last competitor on the runway in the preliminary round of the men’s triple jump yesterday, Sands knew that his leap of 16.73 metres or 54-feet, 10 3/4-inches had secured him the 12th and final spot for the final. He was tied with American NCAA champion Marquis Dendy, but in the countback, Sands’ performance came second round, compared to Dendy’s in the third.

An emotional Sands, who celebrated his 34th birthday on August 16, was left speechless at first as he tried to put his feelings into perspective for the medal in the mixed zone at the Bird’s Nest Stadium where Sands made history in 2008, winning his first Olympic medal - a bronze in the triple jump.

“My first championship back and I did it,” said an emotional Sands as he tried to hold back the tears. “It feels so good. This is what I worked so hard for. People thought it couldn’t happen, but I proved them wrong.”

He thanked God for making it all possible and everybody, including his family and friends, who were all supporting him on his quest to his inspiring “Road to Recovery,” a documentary that he hopes will have an even happier ending, not just in Beijing, but when he comes full circle in a return trip to the final at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next summer.

His fate for Team Bahamas’ second appearance in a final, which will happen around the same time that Shaunae Miller goes after her medal and even world title in the women’s 400 metres tonight, rested on the success of Dendy and Collie-Minns - the runner-up at the NCAA Chmpionships - on their jumps as the last two competitors behind Sands.

“He is a talented guy. I really thought he was going to do it,” Sands said of Dendy. “I thought he was going to be the one to knock me out. I know Will Clay was hurt all year. It was a possibility that he could have done it also. Even Latario. But I just prayed and asked the Lord to put me through. This is what I wanted. I worked hard for it. My goal is to just get to the final. I did it. I’m there. My first championship back and I’m in the final.”

It’s a feeling that Sands said he will cherish for the rest of his life.

“This is a dream. That’s all I could say,” he said. “I dreamed about this day of me running again after the injury and to see it come true, I’m just so excited and happy.”

And when he steps back out in the Bird’s Nest for the third time, Sands said he’s hoping that it will be the charm that he relished in when he made his debut here in 2008 at the Olympics.

“I’m here because the hardest part of getting into the final is qualifying,” said Sands, whose series of jumps included a progression of 16.60m (54-5 1/2), 16.69 (54-9 1/4) and 16.73m (54-10 3/4). “Once you get into the final, anything could happen. So I’m just going to go out there and get the crowd into it and do what I do.”

If there was one consolation that Sands could enjoy, it was the fact that he was welcomed back by his peers and rivals as they congratulated him and encouraged him, even those who were not here competing.

“They were just excited to see me back because I help to motivate them too,” he said. “I bring the hype when I come to the track. That’s what they have been telling me that they missed out there, even (American) Christian Taylor. They say some of the other guys are too quiet. But I talk a lot of trash.”

Now that he’s in the final, Sands has one more hurdle to cross and that is to advance to the top eight after the first three rounds to be in contention to pursue a medal and also earn some of the cash prize that is up for grabs from the IAAF.

“My goal is to go over 17.20m (56-5 1/4). I hope to do that tomorrow (tonight),” Sands said.

If he is successful in winning a medal, it will be his second at the World Championships after he captured the bronze in Denis, Paris, in 2003. That will be added to his collection of the Olympic bronze, Commonwealth Games bronze in Manchester, England in 2002, the Pan Am silver this year and four Central American and Caribbean Championship medals, including three gold and one silver.