The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

rwells@tribunemedia.net

IN the weeks since announcing changes in coaching and management, men’s national 400 metre record holder Steven Gardiner has made a strong push to keep his name synonymous with the title: ‘world’s best male 400m athlete’.

It was in late March when the Abaco native disclosed that as a result of his ‘mutual separation” from former coach George Cleare, he had forged a relationship with Gary Evans and On Track Management.

If the latter sounds familiar, well that’s because the management agency also handles the affairs of our very own 2016 Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo.

Of the chance, Gardiner told reporters: “At the Olympics, I wasn’t at my best. It just made me realise that I could do so much better, so I guess I had to make a change,” he said. “I feel very good about it. I’m very happy and I’m very happy with the environment that I’m in.

“I guess I just needed people to motivate me, instead of training by myself. Being in a group, it makes me more happy and I get to enjoy what I’m doing at the same time.”

Ever since making the change, Gardiner has catapulted himself to the top echelon of male track athletes – in some instances, stating definitely that he is focused on etching his name and country into the top spot.

Gardiner has long displayed the talent necessary to dominate on both the season and Olympic circuits, however, his raw ability always seems to be outshined by poor strategy in the moment.

From my view, the move from Cleare to Evans has aided primarily in the way Gardiner approaches races and the way he handles those in the moment, split -second decisions.

If you recall his 2016 Olympic outing in Rio, Gardiner, positioned in a heat that favoured him, misjudged the effort it would take to get out of the gate and around the first 200 metres of his race.

As reports have it, he fell behind in the first 200m and, by the time he tried to accelerate coming off of the final curve and into the home stretch, the field was already too far ahead.

Those who witnessed the race added that Gardiner “attempted” a late comeback, but it was only good for a fifth place finish in 44.72.

Gold was secured by South African Wayde Van Niekerk with a time of 43.03. Kirani James of Grenada secured silver with a time of 43.76, followed by American Lashawn Merritt, who grabbed bronze with his 43.85 outing.

Since his mishap in Rio, Gardiner’s pacing has improved tremendously. It has proven useful.

In April, he broke his own national record in the 400 metres, posting a 44.26 seconds in the B race at the inaugural Grenada Invitational. Reports at the time of the invitational qualified the results of the race with the note that Gardiner’s run upstaged that of local hero Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic 400m champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist.

It was during that race where I first realised Gardiner had adjusted his initial sprint motion, adopting a more firm and balanced stride that seems to reserve energy. Once nearing the 200-metre mark, Gardiner widens his stride, seemingly covering more ground with each stride.

The strong performances only continued thereafter.

For starters, Gardiner ran the opening leg for the team Bahamas during the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Relays mixed gender 4x400m relay – that team won the gold medal.

Again, Gardiner didn’t sacrifice speed in his open strides, pacing himself perfectly to that 200 metre mark, where he gave team Bahamas a good lead to start that race.

Then again last Friday, in the IAAF Diamond League at the Doha 2017 meet in Qatar, using the same strategy, Gardiner pulled away from Americans LaShawn Merritt and Tony McQuay to easily take the gold in 44.60. Merritt crossed the line behind Gardiner in 44.76, followed by McQuay in 44.92, both season’s best performances.

While he is still behind the pace set by the top three finishers in the 2016 Olympics, Gardiner is set up to do wonders over the next three years and into the 2020 Olympic Games.

The 21-year-old, in my opinion, is now competing only with his own limitations.

• Ricardo Wells writes Fourth Quarter Press every Monday. Comments to rwells@tribunemedia.net