The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NOT since Derrick Atkins’ sterling silver-medal performance at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, in 2007 has the Bahamas had a legitimate male sprinter on the international scene.

This year, Adrian Griffith is hoping that he can be the next competitor to emerge on that level. “This is the best season that I’ve had ever,” Griffith said. “It’s just tapering up for the Olympics. That’s my main objective right now. So I’m trying to stay injury free so that I can compete in Rio.”

So far this year, Griffith has produced the fastest time by any Bahamian of 10.11 seconds in the 100 metres and trails quarter-miler Demetrius Pinder, who has ran 20.45, compared to his 20.52.

While Griffith, 31, has surpassed the qualifying standard of 10.16 for the Olympic Games August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he’s slightly off the time of 20.50 for the 200m. But the former CC Sweeting and Dickinson State standout said he knows that he can run faster.

“In the 100m, I know that 10.1 ain’t going to make it (out of the rounds in the Olympics),” he said. “I have to get a little faster. As soon as my body is well rested and I get ready for a particular meet, I know that my times will drop.

“So my main objective first is to break this 10.1 barrier and then I can work on my 200m. My 200m has really not been what I wanted it to be, but now I’m getting back there. Things are on the ball right now.”

Having been around when Atkins was on the scene, Griffith said he relished in the fact that he should have already joined him under the 10-second barrier. But he’s confident that he will eventually get there.

“I just have to focus on a particular meet and I know that I can do it,” he projected. “I really want to come home and run fast at Nationals. It’s in the new stadium, so I hope to really go fast and run sub-10 in the 100m at home where it counts.

“I’ve been training a lot and it’s been a hectic three weeks. I’ve had some knick-knacks, but my body is healed up, so anything goes. I’m a competitor. I’m coming home to compete, regardless of who is there.”

In his last meet over the weekend at the Star Athletics Pro Meet in Monte, Florida, Griffith ran 10.11 for seventh in the 100m and 20.52 for fifth place in the 200m, despite getting a slight pull coming off the curve. “I’m going to see how it goes in the Nationals,” said Griffith, who indicated that he hopes that he can stay injury-free. “I will see how it goes in the first two rounds in the Nationals in the 100m and then I will see how it goes for the 200m.”

The good thing for Griffith is the fact that he has qualified for Rio this year.

“That was the first thing for me to do,” said Griffith, who is coming off competing in seven meets in Europe. “Now I just want to drop my times and be prepared to run in the high-powered races so that I can compete with these guys in Rio. I don’t want to wait until I get to Rio and run in front of the 30-50,000 fans.

“I am glad that I got the chance to do all of that when I went to Europe. Now I feel I’m better prepared to go through the call rooms and everything. Even though it wasn’t my best performances, I got the feel of it and so I think I’m now ready for it.”

In Rio, his ultimate goal is to advance through the rounds and eventually be in the final. It’s a tall order, he said.

“It’s a 100 metres and just 100 metres,” he said. “Who ever crosses the finish line first wins, but there are seven other lanes. I want to get one of them. Any given day, it could be anyone’s day. I just hope that my day will come soon.”

In addition to the sprints, Griffith is also hoping that the Bahamas will field a solid team to compete in the men’s 4 x 100m relay.

“Earlier this year we’ve been trying to get things together, but it hasn’t turned out the way we expected it to,” Griffith said. “Some guys were dealing with some injuries and some were not yet ready to compete.

“I know they’re waiting for the Nationals so that they can come home and compete and hopefully qualify (for the Olympics in the 100,m and 200m). Once Nationals is over, we will try to get in a quality meet to run as a team.”

Griffith said it’s obvious that there’s no shortage of sprinters for the BAAA to consider for the team, but they just have to come together s a unit.

“The 4 x 100m is not like the 4 x 400m,” he pointed out. “You can’t expect us to come together two or three days before a meet and run fast. We have the foot speed, but some teams have been working 2-4 years in advance.

“Every time it come to us, it’s a last minute thing. We have the potential to do it, but we have to come together and do it. We have to work together and put all of the egos aside and put in some work.”

Not putting the blame on the new administration because they just got into office in November, but moving forward, Griffith said he would suggest to the BAAA to put the team together at least a year in advance so that they can be probably ready.

“I’m kind of jealous and happy of the men’s 4 x 4 guys, but it’s kind of easier for them to go to the meets and compete,” Griffith noted. “ But the 4 x 1 guys need the work. We need to come together and look at the whole picture and look at how best for us to get the stick around.”