The Tribune

UPDATE: As the Rio Olympic Games drew to a close on Sunday, the Bahamas men's 4x400 relay team received their bronze medals. Alonzo Russell, Michael Mathieu, Steven Gardiner and Chris 'Fireman' Brown took to the podium to end the games on a high note for the Bahamas after their exploits on Saturday night. Their race, and Shaunae Miller's gold medal winning run in the 400m, were the undoubted highlights for the nation during a thrilling two weeks in Brazil.

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunermedia.net

RIO de Janeiro, Brazil: The team of Alonzo Russell, Michael Mathieu, Steven Gardiner and Chris 'Fireman' Brown held on to nip Belgium for the bronze medal behind the United States' gold and Jamaica's silver in the final of the men's 4 x 400 metre relay on Saturday night.

Their time: three minutes and 58.49 seconds was another season's best, highlighted by splits of 45.3 for third on his leg for Russell, 45.1 for seventh for Mathieu, 43.79 for first for Gardiner and 44.20 for Brown for fifth. Combined, it produced the bronze.

In the process, they improved on the previous SB of 2:58.84 that the quartet of Russell (45.2 for first), Brown (44.6 for fifth), Gardiner (44.90 for second) and Stephen Newbold (44.83 for fifth) ran the night before for second in their heat and sixth overall to secure their berth into the final.

While they didn't successfully defend their title from the 2012 games in London, England on the strength of Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Mathieu and Ramon Miller, the Bahamas got back on the podium with the United States, who ran away with the race in their SB best of 2:57.30 to regain to regain their crown and Jamaica, who clinched the silver in their SB of 2:58.16.

It was the fourth relay medal for Brown as he closed out his fifth Olympic experience and his third in the anchor spot. In addition to leading off on the gold medal team in London, he also anchored the silver medal performance from Andretti Bain, Mathieu and Andrea Williams in Beijing, China in 2008 and anchored as well in Sydney, Australia in 2000 when he and Avard Moncur, Troy McIntosh and Carl Oliver clinched the first relay medal with the bronze.

Brown, the elder statesman of the team at age 36, rebounded after dropping to fourth on the back stretch. He was passed by Jamaica's Javon Francis as they trailed LaShawn Merritt from the United States and Gaone Leaname Maotoanono from Botswana.

But as they came of the final curve and into the home stretch, Maotoanono stumbled with the pressure behind him as Francis reeled him in. Brown passed him as well and just as he got closer to the finish line, he managed to dip to keep ahead Kevin Borlee from Belgium.

Belgium, featuring three Borlee brothers, established a new national record of 2:58.52, but they didn't have enough real estate to catch the Bahamas.

The race started with Russell bringing the baton right in the thick of things for the Bahamas. Mathieu was the third to make the stragger to the inside on the second leg, but as he got to the exchange to pass off to Gardiner, he was in fifth place. Gardiner made a push in the final 200m and came around to put the Bahamas back into contention as Brown finished off the job.

"It was pretty good," said the 24-year-old Russell of his first leg. "I just wanted to go out there and set it up for our team and I think I was able to do that, put us in a good position to be able to get a medal. So I just want to thank God, my coach, my teammates for pulling it off."

As the freshest leg, running for the first time in the games, Mathieu said they got the medal and that is all that matters.

"I sprained by hip muscle on the very first curve, but I just had to keep on pushing through it," said Mathieu, the 32-year-old three-time medallist. "We had a rough year and I knew that it was going to be hard, but we came out with something. We just want to thank God for that."

And Gardiner, the 20-year-old national champion, thanked God for allowing them to come out of the games healthy because they went through a battle in the final.

"A lot of people counted us out, but we managed to bring home a medal, so that's really good," he said.

Brown, who wasn't able to advance out of the first round of the 400m, said it was a great feeling to get back on the podium.

"First I want to thank God," he stressed. "We went out there and we gave it our best. A lot of people didn't believe that we could do it, but we came through and it's better to go home with a bronze than to go without anything. So I'm very pleased with the way the guys performed."

The medal, according to Brown, was dedicated to Demetrius Pinder, the only member in the relay pool who didn't get to compete.

It was the second medal for the Bahamas as the relay team joined Shaunae Miller, the women's 400m gold medallist. The Bahamas tied for 51st overall in the standings with Cote d'voire and the Independent Olympic Athletes, while finishing 14th in the athletic competition.