The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

LEEVAN 'Superman' Sands is back.

Completing his recovery from an injury at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Sands clinched the silver medal in the men's triple jump on Friday, securing the second medal in two days for the Bahamas athletics team and the fifth overall at the 17th Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Sands, who was not originally named to the team but was included after he lobbied the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and the Bahamas Olympic Committee, who are responsible for the trip, made good of the last minute decision by posting a season's best of 16.99 metres (55ft 9in).

In the process, Sands also booked his trip to the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, next month where he will again team up with national champion, Latario Collie-Minns, who finished tenth in Toronto after he missed making the final cut of eight with a best of 16.08m (52ft 91/4in) on his third attempt.

Sands, 33, needed to clear at least 16.90m (55ft 51/2in) in order to make the trip to Beijing. On his fifth attempt, he stamped his ticket to the World Championships as he broke up a bid by the Cubans for the top two spots.

Pedro Pichardo won gold with a leap of 17.54m (57ft 61/2in) on his fourth attempt and was leading a Cuba 1-2 before Sands intervened, while his compatriot, Ernesto Reve, took the bronze with 16.94m (55ft 7in) on his second attempt.?

"It was a great performance," said team manager Ralph McKinney. "Track and field is an individual event, except for the relays, so all of the athletes know that they have to come out here and perform at their best if they want to be successful in their respective events."?

The performance by Sands came after Jeffery Gibson made history on Thursday night as the first Bahamian to win a gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the Pan Ams. His time of 48.51 seconds was another Bahamas national record.?

Sands, winner of a medal at every international meet, will now be gearing up for another trip to the podium at the World Championships. He won a bronze in 2003 in Paris, France.

His last global meet, however, came in Beijing where he got a bronze in the triple jump at the Olympics in 2008. Prior to those feats, he earned a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 in Manchester, England.?

The two medals by Sands and Gibson, along with the gold and bronze from Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace in the swimming pool, puts the Bahamas in 15th place on the medal chart and ninth in athletics with the evening session and the final session on Saturday still to come.?

Also during today's morning session at the Pan Am Games, the men's 4 x 400m relay team of LaToy Williams, Michael Mathieu, Andretti Bain and Alonzo Russell won their heat in 3mins 01.00sec for the fastest qualifying time for the final. The United States won the other heat in 3:02.99.? The Bahamas will run in lane six in Saturday's final.?

The women's 4 x 400m relay team of Lanece Clarke, Christine Amertil, Shakeitha Henfield and Katrina Seymour ran a season's best of 3:31.18 to finish second behind Cuba (3:28.15) in their heat. The United States had the fastest time in winning the other heat in 3:26.40. The Bahamas had the fifth fastest time.?

In Saturday's final, the Bahamas will run in lane three.?

Tonight, Anthonique Strachan will run in lane eight in the women's 200m final and national record holder Bianca 'BB' Stuart will be the 13th out of 15 competitors in the women's long jump final. Both the women and men will run their heats in the 4 x 100m in their bid to also get into the finals on Saturday.?

The only other final for the Bahamas on Saturday will be the men's high jump, where Donald Thomas is the defending champion. He will be joined by national champion, Ryan Ingraham.?