The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter​

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net​

WHEN she competes in the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s 17th World Championships in Doha, Qatar, quarter-miler Shaunae Miller-Uibo will have some familiar faces in the stands at the​ renovated multi-purpose Khalifa International Stadium.

Not only will she have parents Shaun and Mabeline Miller there, along with her older sister Shauntae and younger brother Shaun Miller, but also her spiritual advisor, Apostle Jan McKenzie.​

In her first rodeo for an international global track and field meet, McKenzie said she’s going to be there to prepare all of the prayers and spiritual presence that Miller-Uibo needs.​

‘This is like a vacation for me coming out here to watch her perform,” said McKenzie, who noted that she has only seen Miller-Uibo in action on the world stage on television, but she viewed her live when she competed at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations Nationals in the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium and at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.​

“This is actually my first time travelling and watching her perform. So my expectations for her is always the same. She’s going to do very well and I truly believe that with God on her side, she will come out on top.”​

McKenzie said before she left the Bahamas, she was praying for Miller-Uibo and will continue to provide that prophetic atmosphere in Doha leading up to the start and finish of the championships.​

“That’s my assignment,” said McKenzie, the senior pastor of Prophetic Destiny Ministries International in the Bahamas, which is located on Carmichael Road.​

“I would rather be no better place than to be here to watch her perform,” McKenzie summed up.​

She travelled to Doha with Shauntae and Shaun Jr on the two-day journey that started on Wednesday and ended yesterday.​

For Shaun Jr. this is the third international meet that he has attended to watch his big sister perform.​ “It’s pretty exciting to watch her run and to be able to travel,” said the younger Miller, who is creating his own niche as one of the country’s rising high jumpers. “So I’m looking forward to the competition.”​

Having had the opportunity to view the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 where Miller-Uibo claimed the gold medal in the 400m and the 2017 World Championships in London, England where she earned a bronze in the 200m after a bizarre finish in the 400m, Shaun Jr said he’s expecting to watch his big sister clinch her first World Championship gold medal in the 400m in Doha.

“She’s doing very well for right now in the season. She started off really good and she’s going to end it on a high note, so we are looking forward to her doing very well,” he said. “Everybody expects the gold, so we’re just praying that she brings it home.”​

The 18-year-old Queen’s College 2019 graduate, who is expected to enrol at Ohio State University in January, said he’s looking to follow in his sister’s footsteps and make as many senior national teams as possible as he makes the transition from the junior ranks where he has had some success at the CARIFTA Games.​

“This family is just special. We have a lot of athletes and a lot of upcoming ones, so it will be fun to watch the others compete at the level that we are at right now,” he said. “I’m just proud of all that we have accomplished as a family.”​

Some of Shaun Jr’s latest achievements could be attributed to Ronald Cartwright, who has been coaching him since 2026. Cartwright, on Tuesday night, received his Veteran Pin from IAAF president Sebastian Coe for his long years of service to the sport.

While Shaun Jr said he would have liked to have been here to witness his achievement, he gives him the respect that is due.​ “To be able to be coached by him is an honour and I’m just enjoying the ride,” he stated.​

As a graduate of Carson University in Norfolk, Tennessee, Shauntae has abandoned her track career and has spent the past two years as a full-time model and beauty queen.​

But she admits that she couldn’t resist the opportunity to be in Doha to witness another historic experience.​ “I’m extremely excited for her,” the older sister, who is an inch shorter at 6-feet, quipped about Miller-Uibo. “I’m very happy for her. She’s making herself and our whole family and the country extremely proud. The way she has decreased her time this year is just amazing. She’s doing some amazing things in track.”​

With a number of international trips under her belt to watch her younger sister perform, Miller said the Olympics in Rio was by far the most exhilarating. But she’s confident that Doha will top it all this year.​

“I’m just looking for her to reduce her time and by the grace of God, she can pursue the world record,” Miller said. “But I am not just looking forward to her, but also for Steven Gardiner and the rest of Team Bahamas to do exceptionally well.”​

It has been a long journey to get to Doha and the spectators can’t wait for the competition to begin.

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