The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

LATARIO Collie became just the fifth Bahamian to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s division one triple jump title.

He did it Saturday on Hayward Field at ‘Track City’ in Eugene, Oregon as he soared 16.97 metres or 55-feet, 8 ¼-inches to snatch the lead on his first attempt.

Collie sat out the remainder of the competition that featured his Texas A&M teammate, twin brother Lathone, and fellow Bahamian Kaiwan Culmer from the University of Nebraska, as he monitored a slight injury.

“It feels good to be NCAA champion,” Collie told The Tribune. “It also feels good because I was able to continue on with the tradition of the Bahamian triple jumpers.”

Collie followed in the footsteps of pacesetter Phil Robins, the Government High standout who won the first title for Southern Illinois University in 1978 in Philadelphia with a wind-aided 54-feet, 8 ¼-inches to beat out Willie Banks, who was third with 52-0 ¼.

Robins went on to compete in the 1978 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, where he scratched all three of his jumps in the preliminary rounds.

Next up was Steve Hanna from St John’s College, who went on to claim back-to-back titles for the University of Texas at El Paso. His first came in 1980 at the University of Texas where he cleared 55-1.

With the Bahamas boycotting the Moscow Olympic Games that year, Hanna went to the Liberty Bell Classic in Philadelphia where he claimed the bronze with 53-10 ½.

The next year in 1981 at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he improved on his performance by duplicating the feat with 55-11.

It took six years before Frank Rutherford out of LW Young represented the University of Houston in 1987 in Baton Rouge where he triumphed with 56-1.

Before that achievement, Rutherford made history by not competing in the inaugural International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, but he won the gold.

He came back in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, and claimed the biggest accomplishment for the Bahamas, winning the first Olympic medal in athletics with a bronze in the men’s triple jump.

Another seven years later, Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands out of Temple Christian, competed for Auburn University, winning the NCAA title at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, in 2004.

Now 12 years later and still competing against Sands, Collie has put the Bahamas back on the top of the chart, earning a title that many felt he should have won a year ago.

“I had a lot of expectations for myself. I wanted to score some points for my school. I also wanted to win the NCAA Championship so that I can get a decent professional contract,” he said.

“I know on my first jump I had to jump far so that I could get myself going and get started.”

After the first jump, Collie admitted that he was unstable coming of the hop phrase and going into thee skip and jump routine, so instead of putting more pressure on his ankle, he shut it down and avoided getting injured with the Olympics on the horizon.

“I was a little concerned because there were some good jumpers out there, but after I realized that everybody else wasn’t jumping that good, I got a little relaxed.”

With his place in history secured, Collie started rooting for his jumping partner and twin sibling, Lathone, as well as Culmer, the other Bahamian, who made up a historic final with three Bahamians competing together for the first time.

“It felt like practice, something that we do every day,” said one Collie of another. “His performance was good. I felt like he is coming back and getting better.”

As for Culmer, Collie said he wanted to motivate the sophomore, who should be his replacement on the collegiate ranks over the next two years.

“Me and my brother are just going to continue to train and come home for the trials and go to the Olympics and hopefully make the finals,” Collie said.

While he was thrilled to have seen the performance from his brother, Lathone Collie said he’s still looking to ink his own niche in the Bahamian athletic scene.

“I felt that he deserved it. He struggled all year, so it was good to see him out together one good jump to win it,” said Lathone of his brother’s success.

“After he did what he did in the first round, I knew I had to go out and execute. I felt pretty strong, so I knew that I had the ability to be right up there with him. I just didn’t get the rhythm that I needed to get the job done.”

Nonetheless, Lathone Collie said he will put the entire season behind him and just concentrate on his future.

“I know I’m strong, so I expect that I will only get better in the upcoming meets,” he said as he looks ahead to the Nationals. “I’m coming home to compete.”

This will be the first time that the twins will be healthy and competing head-to-head with Sands, who is in his second year of his comeback since he went down with a near career-ending injury at the Olympics in London, England in 2012.

The last big performance from the twins came in 2011 at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France where Latario clinched the gold and Lathone ended up with the bronze.

Will the twins be back and competing together in Rio in their first major senior meet at the Olympics in August, only time will tell? Look out for them at the BAAA’s Nationals and final Olympic trials, June 24-25 at the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

Latario Collie has already surpassed the Olympic qualifying standard of 16.66m (54-8 ) along with Sands. He’s hoping that Lathone Collie will join them in Rio and make it a triple threat for the Bahamas in August.