The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — The BTC Bahamas team is all set and ready to put on a show when the athletic competition gets underway on Friday at the Olympic Stadium, according to head coach George Cleare, who is predicting some medals at the end of the 10 days of competition.

“We have settled in. We have people getting in so basically the entire team is in place,” Cleare told the local media. “We’ve been going to the practice sessions and we are looking good. We’ve been monitoring athletes that have been training with their individual coaches and we feel as though they are basically healthy, which is a good thing. There’s always some knicks and knacks, but that’s a part of the sport.

“But I’m looking forward to the competition. I think the athletes now are getting restless and the excitement of them beginning on the 12th is starting to really show up. They’ve been coming to practice and they’ve been on time. We have a good group, we have a lot of newcomers, it’s really a young group, but the future looks bright and we’re hoping to make a lot of noise in the upcoming days.”

With all of the athletes here qualified to compete in their individual events, Cleare said it makes the job of the coaching staff that much easier. “A lot goes into it, it’s not just about physical, but mentally,” he said. “We always remember our great accomplishments, but we forget about our licks. Along the way, many of our stars, who have gone on to become medallists, took some licks. But this young group of athletes that we have, I think that they’re going to do, how well they do will show how well we are going to be in the next four years and we know we have some veterans here that are very strong, so we have a few shots at some medals. We hope to have a perfect storm and leave out here with a lot of hardware.”

Coupled with the fact that there are no complaints from the living accommodations to the sporting facilities, Cleare said it is definitely a total team effort in Rio.

“I think that everybody is getting along. The accommodations are great. I don’t think Team Bahamas has much to complain about. I think it’s been more than satisfactory,” he said. “The venue is beautiful, so I think that everybody has been getting together, they’re catching the bus together and eating together as a group, so I’m pleased with the way the team is gelling.

“It’s not just the track, the swimmers are here and we have a rower and everybody is sharing the space. We’re always in the office watching TV together and encouraging each other so I think it’s a good mix.”

There, however, could be something brewing in the camp with word emanating that flag bearer Shaunae Miller is now leaning towards running the double and if she does, it will eliminate one of the three female competitors already listed to compete.

Bear in mind that Miller has qualified, not just for the 400m, but for both the 200 and 100m. She’s the only member on the track team to do so in multiple events.

Ty’Nia Gaither, who has qualified in both sprints, is entered in the 200m along with Anthonique Strachan and Sheniqua ‘Q’ Ferguson. Carmiesha Cox, who is here to run on the 4 x 400m relay team, has also qualified, but was fourth behind the top three finishers in the order listed at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Association’s Nationals and final Olympic trials in June.

Miller, who has the fourth fastest time in the world of 22.05 in the event, did not contest the 200 at the nationals. Instead, she only ran the 400m where she has the world’s best time of 49.55.

As for the schedule of both events here in Rio, the heats of the 200m will be held on Sunday with the final set for that evening.

When asked about the situation, Cleare could only say: “I actually heard that too,” but he declined to comment any further, saying “no comment.” Pressed about whether or not Miller wants to run the half-lap race, which , Cleare again answered “no comment, next question.”

When the competition start, what’s your expectation?

“We will start of with the 400s and we have the short sprints coming up. Right now we are just looking at one round at a time. The expectations, we leave that up to the fans. You guys can be out there and predict and project, but at the end of the day, we’re the professionals and the athletes know that you have to take care of business each round, each day, so we’re going in with ‘let’s take care of each round, each day’ as we work on the small things, making sure that we are at the venue on time, making sure that we’re eating the right food, making sure we’re coordinating with the medical staff and everybody is where we need to be.

“Those are the things that we don’t necessarily see that creates the medal. So right now, we are just focused on doing our part and once we get out there, we will see. But I think that we are ready to go. The young athletes are excited, the older athletes have been wonderful. They have been setting a wonderful example. I can’t say enough about Chris Brown and Christine Amertil. They are our team captains and I’ve seen them mentoring the younger athletes.”

With respect to the coaching staff, Cleare said James Rolle has been relentless in assisting all of the jumpers everyday doing multiple sessions; Rudolph Ferguson is working with the men’s sprints and Debbie Ferguson is keeping it together with the ladies and they’re just waiting on coaches Tyrone Burrows and Shaun Miller to arrive to complete the team.

“The staff is wonderful and the athletes are doing their thing,” he pointed out. “The elderstatesmen are really leading by example, so I’m really excited. You guys have the luxury of dealing with all that other stuff. As for me and my staff, we’re just dealing with the little things, making sure that each and every Bahamian athlete can go out there and represent the country to the best of their abilities.”