Gold for Gardiner

TOKYO, Japan – “Speedy” Steven Gardiner is the first individual male gold medalist for The Bahamas at the Olympics in history, a feeling he said hasn’t sunk in yet, but for now, he’s enjoying the moment and looking forward to celebrating with the Bahamian people.

Despite stumbling out of the blocks, the Bahamian quarter-mile sensation quickly regained his composure, made his move on the back stretch, came off the second curve in blanket unison with a few of the top contenders, but came home faster than anyone else to record the spectacular win for The Bahamas at these Tokyo Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Gardiner finished the men’s 400 meters (m) in a blazing season’s best time of 43.85 seconds, tying for the world lead and recording his second-fastest time ever – only topped by the 43.48 he ran for the world title in Doha, Qatar, in 2019.

Not only is he the first individual gold medalist for The Bahamas at the Olympics, but he is also just the second Bahamian to win back-to-back World and Olympic titles in athletics, joining Tonique Williams who accomplished that feat in 2004 and 2005.

“I’m ecstatic and I’m proud to be the one to do it,” said Gardiner. “All of my hard work has paid off. It’s all about who crosses the finish line first and I was able to do that. I just wanted to make everyone proud and myself also. It’s all done and the pressure is now off my shoulders.”

A joyous Gardiner said he’s thankful for all the support he has received from the Bahamian people and is looking forward to celebrating with them on his return home.

“This is unbelievable. I know I won’t go to sleep tonight. I think it will sink in at the medal ceremony tomorrow. Maybe we’ll see some tears. I wanted to cry tonight, but I held it down,” he admitted.

Gardiner actually came off the second bend trailing former World and Olympic Champion Kirani James, of Grenada, but he separated himself from James and the other top contenders on the homestretch.

“Me and my coach talked about it, prayed about it and set up a race plan. It didn’t happen like I wanted it to. I stumbled coming out of the blocks but I didn’t let it get the best of me. I just kept it moving and I was able to recover from it. I just set it up like I wanted to and with 100 meters to go, I just let it rip,” he said.

Gardiner admitted that his stumbling out of the blocks was all nerves, even though he felt the hold by the starter was a bit long. Certainly, no one could blame him for the nervousness. After all, he was 

running in his first individual Olympic final.

“All I was saying was that I messed up, but I just kept it moving,” he said. “I didn’t panic. I just wanted to win so bad that I wasn’t going to let a little stumble stop me. The adrenaline was rushing through me. Coming to the tape, I saw that I was out front but I knew they were coming for me. I just didn’t want anyone to catch me, so I kept it going.”

Gardiner was a model of consistency through the rounds of the men’s 400m at these Olympics. He qualified out of the first round in 45.05 seconds and won his semifinal heat in 44.14 seconds in an oversized T-shirt after mistakenly leaving his team running jersey at the Olympic Village.

He came back in the Olympic final on Thursday and circled around the track in 43.85 seconds. Anthony Zambrano, of Colombia, won the silver medal behind him, just like he did in Doha two years ago, this time in 44.08 seconds after running an area record of 43.93 seconds in the semis. James took the bronze, running 44.19 seconds.

Given the government’s remuneration program for Olympic gold medalists, Gardiner is set to pocket $60,000 for his tremendous feat at the Japan National Stadium on Thursday.

“Congratulations to Steven Gardiner on the gold medal win at the Olympics,” said Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis in a press statement. “The country is elated after his gold medal win at the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Steven held off a world-class field to bring the gold medal home for The Bahamas. Having won gold at the World Championships and then at the Olympics, Steven has demonstrated that he is without question the best in the world at the 400 meters.

“His accomplishments are making him at a young age already one of the great athletes in our country’s history. The Bahamas is proud of Steven Gardiner. He gave Bahamians across our island chain a moment of joy today during this difficult time, due to the pandemic.

“On behalf of the government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, I congratulate Steven, his family and coaches for this historic win. I look forward to visiting with him when he returns to The Bahamas.”

Gardiner said he got a message from his sister right before he was set to compete, telling him that no matter what happens, he had their love and support and that they were cheering for him from afar.

The towering Bahamian World and now Olympic champion hails from Murphy Town, Abaco, which was ravaged by Hurricane Dorian in September of 2019. He said given everything that has transpired in the past two years with the hurricane and COVID-19, he’s just glad that he was able to bring some semblance of joy to the Bahamian people.

“I know that everyone is happy,” he said. “With everything that happened on the island with the hurricane, I just wanted to bring joy back to the people of Abaco because when I go home, everyone will be happy. I did it at the world champs and I did it here at the Olympics. I know that everyone is so excited right now and I’m looking forward to coming home.”

It’s not over for Gardiner. He is still young at just 25 years old and is looking 

forward to the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, next year, looking to repeat as world champion in the men’s 400m.

“Everyone goes after who is on top, but I don’t let it get to me,” he said. “I just work hard every day and do what I have to do. It’s always sweet when you could do it again. I want to be consistent at this and I’ll keep fighting.”

Gardiner said he’ll return to the track on Friday, not only to receive his gold medal, but also to cheer on close friend, teammate and fellow Bahamian quarter-miler Shaunae Miller-Uibo as she goes after her second consecutive Olympic title in the women’s 400m.

Miller-Uibo will run out of lane seven in the Olympic final tonight, which will take place at 9:35 p.m. in Tokyo, 8:35 a.m. Friday in The Bahamas.

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