The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING 

Tribune Sports Reporter 

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING another successful hosting of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Junior and Senior Track and Field Nationals in June, Bahamian athletes have now returned to track and field action overseas.

Olympian Steven Gar- diner turned in yet another winning performance in the men’s 400m event at the 14th Gyulai István Memorial-Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix in Szèkesfehèrvàr, Hungary on Tuesday.

It was the latest stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour and the quarter-miler got out to his usual strong start in the event, running out of lane five at the Bregyó Athletic Center. He would ramp up his speed during the final 100m of the event to create separation and win his fourth straight 400m event of this season in 44.50 seconds. It was his third fastest time of the season in this event.

Jamaica’s Sean Bailey, who ran out of lane six, gave the Bahamian a push during the final 50m of the event. Despite closing some of the gap, he had to settle for second place with a season’s best time of 44.64 seconds.

Lythe Pillay, representing South Africa, had a third place finish in the quarter mile event in a time of 45.24 seconds.

Wendell Miller, the men’s 400m national champion, also competed in this event. He picked up a sixth place finish overall and clocked 46.19 seconds.

Veteran Donald Thomas was back in the mix for the high jump event for the first time since the BAAA Jr and Sr Nationals. He cleared 2.24m for a fourth-place spot overall. Ukraine’s Dmytro Nikitin took home the win with a season’s best jump of 2.24m in less attempts. Brian Raats, of South Africa, and Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk ended the event in second and third place respectively.

Sprinter Ian Kerr doubled up on the wins at the Cork City Sports International Meet hosted at the Munster Technological University Track in Cork, Ireland on Tuesday.

Kerr would lead the field of competitors in the men’s 100m final in race one. He outran them with a wind- aided time of 10.33 seconds. It would have been a season’s best time for the 28-year-old but there was a wind reading of +3.9. He returned to the track again in the men’s 200m final in race two.

The five-time national champion ran away with a winning time of 20.31 seconds.

The time was 0.02 seconds under his current personal best of 20.33 seconds but the wind reading was +2.7 meaning it was wind-aided.

Gardiner, Kerr and Thomas have all qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games scheduled for July 26 to August 11.

Kerr and Thomas have secured their spots in Paris, France, through the World Athletics Rankings system.

The trio of Bahamians will continue to ramp up their efforts in preparation for the prestigious Olympic Games.