The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE she cherishes every opportunity she gets to return home, “Golden Girl” Shaunae Miller-Uibo said there’s no better gratification for her to be able to do it with some of her training partners in Pure Athletics Track Club.

Miller-Uibo was joined by her husband, Estonia’s decathlete Maicel Uibo, British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, American sprinter Lynna Irby and Trinidad & Tobago’s sprinter Khalifa St Fort, along with Pure Athletics’ founder and head coach Lance Brauman.

The group spent the past week in town, wrapping up their training session on Friday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. During her visit, Miller-Uibo also got a chance to return to school at her alma mater at St Augustine’s College where she and teammates interacted with the faculty and staff without any students present because of their virtual classes.

“We had a lot of fun. We got a lot of sun. It was a bit windy at first, but things turned out really nice at the end,” Miller-Uibo said.

For Miller-Uibo, the trip here from their training base in Clermont, Florida, provided her with the opportunity to show her teammates where she came from, mixing some training with some sight-seeing.

“This time of the year, it’s a pretty tough time of training. We’re just getting in our last bit of base training,” she said. “Today was pretty tough, but we got through it and we had a lot of fun, so we’re excited about the upcoming season.”

Coming off her repeat gold-medal performance in the women’s 400 metres in a lifetime best of 47.36 seconds in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last August, Miller-Uibo said her training has been going great and if that’s any indication, 2022 should be another exciting year to look forward to.

“The goal is always to get better each year,” Miller- Uibo said. “But we’re taking it one step at a time. The main goal is to stay healthy. If we do, we can expect some great things this year.”

Having had a successful run in the 400m, but still missing that elusive gold medal at the World Championships after her efforts were thwarted by suspended Bahrain’s champion Salwa Eid Naser in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, Miller-Uibo said she’s preparing for another shot at the top of the podium in Eugene, Oregon, for this year’s championships from August 6-15.

“The plan is to do World Indoors, but we will take it one step at a time,” Miller- Uibo revealed. “If we do World Indoors, we will go for the title in the 400m. That’s pretty much the plan indoors. Then outdoors, we want to go for the 400m title in Oregon.

“I think I’ve had a great career so far. I can’t complain. I just want to continue to have some fun and do my best and to see how far that will take me. I think I’ve accomplished a lot, but the world record would be nice. But for me, it’s just about having fun.”

Having lowered her Bahamian and North American, Central American and Caribbean area records to 48.36 in winning the gold in Tokyo, just under her previous mark of 48.37 she posted for her silver behind Naser (48.14), Miller-Uibo said she would like to take a crack at the world record of 47.60 that was set by Marita Koch of East Germany on October 5, 1985, in Canberra, Australia.

The 27-year-old Miller- Uibo currently sits in sixth place on the all-time list of performers in the women’s one-lap race, which gives her the incentive to believe that the record is attainable, once she can break the 48-second barrier with only one other competitor to achieve the feat in Czechoslovakia’s Jamila Kratochvilova, who ran the second fastest time ever of 47.99 on August 10, 1983 in Helsinki, Finland.

Whether she does it not, Miller-Uibo said she will definitely give it her best shot. The towering 6-foot, one-inch Miller-Uibo said she’s been inspired by her international teammates, who look up to her for their leadership. She noted that while she doesn’t have a favourite, she feels they are all amazing.

“I’m so excited to see the progress all of them have been making,” she insisted with a chuckle. “I think everyone is going to be able to put down some exciting times, so I really can’t wait to see them all compete.”

With the hospitality that they have all received during their stay at Breezes SuperClubs, in expressing her appreciation for their support to her team-mates, Miller-Uibo said she hopes that after another gold medal performance in Oregon, hopefully she can return home to celebrate again.

And there would be no better way to do it than with her teammates coming back to the Bahamas for another visit on the island and at her alma mater at St Augustine’s College and training camp at the TAR Stadium.

While her teammates are expected to leave town today, Miller-Uibo and her husband are scheduled to head out on Tuesday.