TOKYO, Japan – Invited to the Games of the 32nd Olympiad by the global bodies of the sports they serve in, Bahamians Mike Sands and Algernon Cargill were on center stage during the world’s greatest sports spectacle.
They assisted in the medal and flowers presentation for separate events over the weekend, earning the distinctions from the invaluable contributions they made to athletics and swimming over the years.
Sands, who serves as the president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC), was invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through World Athletics to present the flowers to the winners of the women’s 100 meters (m) on Sunday.
Former World Athletics Council members Alpheus “Hawk” Finlayson and Pauline Davis-Thompson have served in this capacity before.
The event on Sunday was organized by World Athletics Head of Protocol Jee Isram.
It was a Jamaican 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s 100m final as Elaine Thompson-Herah won in an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds, 12-time global champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was second in a time of 10.74 seconds and Shericka Jackson won the bronze medal in a personal best time of 10.76 seconds.
It was the second time in history that Jamaica swept the medals in the women’s 100m at the Olympics, the other being in 2008 in Beijing, China, when Fraser-Pryce won the gold and Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart tied for silver.
Sands said he was honored to serve in that capacity and spoke about what the accomplishment by Jamaica meant for the NCAC region. Jamaica is one of the stronger nations in athletics in the NACAC family – one of six area associations under World Athletics.
“I’m humbled and honored to be a part of this historic awards presentation,” said Sands. “When you look at the fact that Jamaica has gone 1-2-3 again and it also being a NACAC sweep, it is a tremendous accomplishment. This could arguably be the highlight of the Olympics, so I’m honored to be representing NACAC in this capacity.
“This is a testament to what the entire NACAC region is doing. NACAC has consistently been one of the strongest areas in the World Athletics family and that is being shown by the performances of our athletes. They are performing extremely well once again and are representing the area with distinction.”
Sands, who became NACAC president in July of 2019, witnessed as NACAC emerged as the strongest area in World Athletics during the 17th World Championships in Athletics in Doha. Qatar, in 2019. NACAC dominated the medal standings at that event, winning 20 of the 49 gold medals and more than a third of the total medals.
“I’m very honored to be a part of this organization and to be given an opportunity to be a part of the awards ceremony for the women’s 100 meters. This bodes well for the NACAC region and it could only get better from here,” said Sands.
Sands’ first term in office as NACAC president is set to end in 2023. His position as NACAC president gives him an automatic spot on the World Athletics Council.
Cargill has served on the FINA Bureau for the past five years. FINA (International Swimming Federation) is the world’s governing body for aquatic spots and the FINA Bureau is the executive body which runs it.
Cargill is currently in his second term as FINA Bureau executive member. He along with Kirsty Coventry, an IOC Executive Board member, and the minister of sport for Zimbabwe, were the presenters for the winners of the women’s 200m backstroke. Coventry is a seven-time individual medalist in swimming at the Olympics for Zimbabwe. She swam with legendary Bahamian swimmer Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace at Auburn University.
“It was certainly an honor to represent The Bahamas in this capacity, and to do it alongside Kirsty Coventry who is a legend in swimming,” said Cargill. “This was a great experience, not only for me but for The Bahamas on the whole. The entire event was extremely well organized, everything was scripted. Representing The Bahamas at this global level speaks wonders for how far we’ve come in swimming and how far we’ve come in the administration of the sport. I got many calls and messages with people telling me how proud they were to have a Bahamian on the world stage as a part of the medal presentation. It was indeed an honor.”
It was the first time in history that a Bahamian was a part of the medal presentation for a swimming event at the Olympics.
The medal winners were Australians Kaylee McKeown and Emily Seebohm, and Kylie Masse of Canada – all three representing Commonwealth countries.
McKeown won in 2:04.68, Masse was second in 2:05.42 and Seebohm won the bronze medal in 2:06.17. The medal presentation for the women’s 200m backstroke event took place on Saturday evening at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, the penultimate day of the conclusion of the swimming portion of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games will wrap up on Sunday.
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