The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S not how you start, nor how you get there. Most importantly, it’s how you finish.

• The Finish Line, a weekly column, seeks to comment on the state of affairs in the local sports scene, highlighting the highs and the lows, the thrills and the spills and the successes and failures.

THE WEEK

THAT WAS

Over the years, we have seen a number of top notch competitors emerge out of the swimming pool, but none has had the kind of impact as Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace.

You name a major international meet and you would have seen Vanderpool-Wallace touch the wall to have her name flash on the scoreboard as she competes in a final or gone on to get the Bahamas’ flag raised during a medal presentation, all except the FINA World Championships or the Olympic Games.

At the Pan American Games last week, Vanderpool-Wallace reached another plateau where she left Toronto, Canada with her name inked on a record - the women’s 50 metres freestyle. The date to remember is July 17 and the time posted is 24.31 seconds as she also shattered her previous Bahamas national record of 24.34.

The time has Vanderpool-Wallace listed at No.4 on the planet going into the 16th FINA World Championships, scheduled for July 24 to August 9 in Kazan, Russia.

Vanderpool-Wallace, 25, is also sitting in the 14th spot in the 100m free with a time of 53.97 that she did at the XXXILLE Meeting de Montecarlo - Mare Nostrum in Monte-Carlo on June 13. At the Pan Ams, Vanderpool-Wallace came through with a bronze medal in 54.15, although she swum faster in the heats in 54.00.

And in the 100m butterfly, Vanderpool-Wallace also qualified for the final after turning in a time of 59.33 for third in her heat and sixth overall. But she opted not to contest the final in Toronto so that she can concentrate on the 50m free, which followed the day after.

The decision paid off big dividends for the Bahamian professional swimmer.

From the time that Vanderpool-Wallace made her debut in the pool here at home, she has been a household name and her longevity in the sport must be credited to her tremendous work ethic in training and her desire to be one of the best swimmers in the world.

She reminds you of a Mark Knowles, who has been at the pinnacle of tennis for more than two decades, albeit in doubles where he made a hefty living and Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown, who at age 34, continues to defy the odds with his consistency in the men’s 400m.

For Vanderpool-Wallace, it’s more difficult for her to prevail in a sport where the success rate average is 20 years. Very seldom do you see or hear of swimmers being a force to reckon with past 21. Vanderpool-Wallace, however, is one of those freaks of nature, especially from the Bahamas’ point of view.

Not taking anything way from her, she deserves all of the accolades she is receiving and more.

Her career has been extended in a sport that has just recently opened the door for swimmers to compete well beyond their prime with the formation of a professional league where Vanderpool-Wallace has been holding her own, winning a number of events so far this year.

Vanderpool-Wallace is a member of SwimMac, headed by US Olympic coach David Marsh and she is sponsored by FINIS. SwimMac is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

One of the things that has impressed me over the years with Vanderpool-Wallace is the fact that she has not lost her common touch. She remains one of the few local athletes who has remained accessible to the media and is always willing to comment, whether she had a glaring or a disappointing performance.

The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, may be Vanderpool-Wallace’s swan song, but if she competes beyond that, we will welcome her efforts. I’m sure that she’s looking forward to using the World Championships as a test  as she competes against the best in the world.

And even if she is successful or not in winning a medal at both the Worlds and the Olympics, she will forever be one of the shining stars in the history of Bahamian sports and swimming in particular.

While Vanderpool-Wallace led the way, the Bahamas Swimming Federation, headed by Algernon Cargill, must still be basking in their glory, having turned in the most outstanding performances so far at the Pan Am Games. Dustin Tynes, Joanna Evans, Ariel Weech and Laura Morley all made this is an event to remember as they all advanced to either the final or B final in their respective events.

Both Tynes, shattering a 15-year-old mark by male swimming icon Jeremy Knowles, and Evans both came away from the games with national records.

Based on their performances, it will be interesting to see how well they both perform, along with Weech and Vereance ‘Elvis’ Burrows, when they join Vanderpool-Wallace in Kazan for the World Championships. Burrows, no doubt, will have something to prove more than the others, having not made the team for Pan Am.

Also at the games, it wasn’t the type of performance that neither of the boxers, Carl Hield, Keishno Major or Rashield Williams, expected. They all bowed out in their first round matches, although Hield and Major just needed to get one victory, fighting out of the quarter-final, and either one would have secured at least a bronze.

Now it’s back to the drawing board as the trio work their way back up the ladder for the Olympics.

Despite the fact that she didn’t advance, Kianna Dean can take solace in the fact that she broke the barrier for the sport of gymnastics. This was the median voyage for any Bahamian competitor to compete in the sport in a major international meet and I’m sure that based on what they saw, the Bahamas Gymnastics Federation and coach Trevor Ramsey will be looking at making the necessary adjustments.

The good news is that Dean and Simone Hall, who is coming off an injury, will pack their bags and head to the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in October. The gymnasts may not be ready yet to turn heads, but at least they are breaking new grounds as the federation moves forward.

And as the lone ranger in the sport of tennis, Philip Major Jr gave it a gallant effort only to lose in three hard fought sets in his first round singles. Major represents the new breed of players who are expected to carry the sport forward. But it’s obvious that unless he and the others like Kevin Major, Rodney Carey and Justin Lunn can crack the ATP Tour, it’s going to be extremely difficult for them to survive.

I would have liked to have seen one of our female players participate in the games, but Kerrie Cartwright, the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Federation’s nominated candidate, didn’t survive the cut. Like the men, I just think our female players need to get the opportunity.

An event like the Pan Am Games, where some of the top athletes in the world showed up to compete, would have been a good opportunity for our athletes to get the exposure that they needed to propel them to the next level. The Olympics - the biggest global event where everybody will be preparing to participate - is right around the corner.

The Week Ahead

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will have a chance to showcase the men and women teams in both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 metre relays at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. While there are a few athletes missing, this should provide the Bahamas with a chance to complete their qualifying process for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, next year.

So far, only the men’s 4 x 400 team have booked their ticket to the championships. After missing out at the IAAF World Relays at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in May, it has come down to a last minute ditch for the remaining three teams to book their lane at the championships. Just hope it’s not too late to get in.