The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE there was virtually no competition for our senior female athletes on the local scene, there were a series of events that took place on the international scene despite the coronavirus pandemic.

And although they struggled through the new norm with competitions staged under strict COVID-19 protocols, there were quite a number of performances that stood out and made The Tribune’s 2020 Senior Female Athlete of the Year an interesting one.

And the winner is Shaunae Miller-Uibo

No Diamond League appearances - due to COVID-19 - no problem for the 6-foot, one-inch Miller-Uibo as she stayed at her training site in Florida and made the headlines.

With a test of the virtual competition, Miller-Uibo took on American Allyson Felix and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji in an inspirational 150m race. While Felix came out on top in California, Miller- Uibo was second in Florida and Kambundji finished third in Switzerland.

On the track in actual competition with virtually no fans in the stands, Miller- Uibo showed her versatility from St Augustine’s College when she sped to a personal best of 10.98 seconds to win the final of the four-woman field in the 100 metres at the National Training Centre in Clermont, Florida.

Competing for Adidas/ Pure Athletics Track Club, she became just the fourth woman in history to run that fast in the 100m, 200m and 400m combined – following her 200m time of 21.74 in Zurich last August and 48.37 in the 400m at last year’s World Championships in Doha.

Miller-Uibo’s times in both the 200m and 400m are listed as the Bahamas’ national records, while her 100m time is off the mark held by Chandra Sturrup, 10.84, that she posted in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 5, 2005.

The 26-year-old Miller- Uibo was not done as she posted a season’s best of 21.98 in the 200m at the same meet where she got her personal best in the 100m. And in 400m, Miller- Uibo got the second-fastest time for the year of 50.52 at the Showdown in Otown Meet at Montverde Academy, in Montverde, Florida, on July 4. At one point in that stretch, Miller-Uibo sat on top of the world with the fastest times in the three events - 100, 200 and 400m - all at the same time.

Miller-Uibo, however, was forced to shut down her season in August after she experienced some discomfort as she pulled up at the Drake Blue Oval Showcase at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. The race saw fellow Bahamian and two-time World Championships finalist Tynia Gaither pick up a third place in 23.08 seconds for fourth place overall.

The precautionary measures for Miller-Uibo came three weeks after she withdrew from the final of the women’s 100m at the Star Athletic Sprint Showcase at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.

Off the track, Miller-Uibo was vocal as she expressed her disappointment that Bahraini Salwa Eid Naser was cleared in October for her case of missing drug tests from early 2019.

Naser, who defeated Miller-Uibo for the world 400m title in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, was provisionally suspended in June, 14 months after the crucial third missed test, before being cleared. “Why in this case was the athlete not provisionally suspended until a year and two months later?” Miller-Uibo asked on her social media post.

If athletes miss three drug tests in a 12-month span, they can be suspended one to two years even if they’ve never failed a test.

Naser’s third missed test or filing failure was April 12, 2019, citing an anti-doping rule violation.

Runner-Up Lashann Higgs

Higgs, a native of Harbour Island who left Eleuthera to continue her high school in Texas, made her professional basketball debut in the Spanish Women’s Basketball League after graduating from the University of Texas.

Coming off a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee during her junior season, Higgs bounced back and helped the Longhorns reach the Big 12 Conference Championships in March.

But the spread of COVID-19 prevented them from playing and possibly advancing once again to the NCAA Championships.

While averaging nine points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, Higgs was hoping that she would have been drafted in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), but after that fell through, she found herself playing in Spain.

Now with the Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM, Higgs is off to a great start in the highest women’s basketball division in Spain. She is averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, but as a team, they are struggling near the bottom of the 16-team pool in the standings.

Consolation Third Place Anna Camille Vlasov

The sport of equestrian in the Bahamas made a major breakthrough during the pandemic with 21-year-old Vlasov becoming the first Bahamian to win an international title in FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports).

Riding Beaumont W/V at the Jumping du Golfe de St. Tropez Hubside event in St. Tropez, Grimaud, France September 11-13, Vlasov was victorious in all three of her events at the Grand Prix CSI 1 level.

To the benefit of the country, the national anthem was played on the three days of competition as Vlasov and Beaumont took the spotlight with the hat trick.

Prior to their impressive triumph, Vlasov and Beaumont competed on August 14, in Deauville, France where they placed third out of 42 in the 1.15m class.

Their performances set the stage for the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games where they will have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games.