TOKYO, Japan – The Games of the 32nd Olympiad ended on Sunday night in Tokyo, Japan, with The Bahamas having one of its best-ever showings in the quadrennial event, the world’s greatest sports spectacle.
The Bahamas finished tied for 42nd in the medal standings with Kosovo, ending the fortnight with two gold medals, both in the 400 meters (m) as Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo earned the men’s and women’s titles, respectively.
Up until the final day of competition, there was an intense battle brewing for the overall title of the Tokyo Olympic Games, branded as Tokyo 2020, between the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America (USA). The overall finish is based on gold medal count.
The US overtook China on the final day, finishing with 39 gold medals. They added 41 silver and 33 bronze for 113 total medals. China finished second with 38 gold medals, 32 silver and 18 bronze for 88 total medals.
Gold medals in women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and cycling on the final day of competition propelled the US past China, lifting them to a third consecutive overall title at the Olympics. China was the last nation to defeat the US, winning at home, in Beijing, China, in 2008.
Host nation Japan finished a distant third in the medal standings with 27 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze for 58 total medals.
Cuba was the top Caribbean nation, finishing 14th overall with seven gold and adding three silver and five bronze for 15 total medals. Jamaica was the top English-speaking Caribbean nation, finishing 21st overall with four gold, one silver and four bronze for nine total medals.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in conjunction with the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOCOG) and the Government of Japan and Tokyo Metropolitan Government were able to successfully stage the 2020 Olympics despite the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surfacing of the new Delta variant, billions of dollars in lost revenue –particularly with the games being postponed by a year – and continuous protests by citizens, human rights action groups and other organizations in Tokyo, to cancel the games.
A total of 205 nations plus the IOC Refugee Olympic Team took part in this year’s Olympics. Only North Korea pulled out. A total of 15 athletes took part for The Bahamas, the country’s smallest team at the Olympics since the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain, when 14 athletes competed. High school athlete Lacarthea Cooper was named to the team for relay purposes and would have brought the number of participants up to 16, but could not travel, due to a positive COVID-19 test prior to the start of the games.
“For the Bahamas Olympic Committee and the athletes, these games has been exhilarating, challenging and exciting. The organizing committee of Tokyo 2020 should be congratulated for pulling off this tremendous and challenging feat with 11,000-plus athletes from all around the world competing. This is a monumental accomplishment,” said Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) President Romell Knowles.
For the first time since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and for just the second time ever, The Bahamas won two gold medals at a single Olympiad, but it’s the first time ever that two individual gold medals were won at the Olympics by The Bahamas.
Additionally, Miller-Uibo is the first Bahamian to win two individual medals and two individual gold medals at the Olympics, repeating as champion in the women’s 400m. With three gold medals in total, The Bahamas has now won more gold in the women’s 400m at the Olympics than any other event. Tonique Williams won the other one in Athens, Greece, in 2004. Miller-Uibo was spectacular, running in six races over five days and at one point, five races over three days, as she went after both the 200m and 400m titles. She would eventually have to settle for just the 400m title, as a hamstring discomfort hindered her in the 200m final.
Steven Gardiner won The Bahamas’ first-ever Olympic title in the men’s 400m and became the second Bahamian, along with Williams, to ever win World and Olympic individual titles back-to-back.
As mentioned, The Bahamas won two gold medals at a single Olympics and they did it in the same place where the country won its first Olympic medal, a gold in Star class sailing by the late Sir Durward Knowles and the late Cecil Cooke, in 1964.
This year also represented the first time that two Bahamians competed in a single hurdles event at any Olympics, and for the second straight Olympics, a hurdler made the final and finished sixth. Devynne Charlton was able to achieve that honor in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Tynia Gaither moved on to the semifinals of the women’s 100m, Anthonique Strachan did so in the women’s 200m, Alonzo Russell in the men’s 400m and Pedrya Seymour was a semifinalist in the women’s 100m hurdles.
For the sixth straight Olympics, The Bahamas was represented in a relay event as the women’s 4x400m relay squad qualified in the final spot from the 3:29.40 time the quartet of Doneisha Anderson, Miller-Uibo, Megan Moss and Strachan, in that order, posted at the Blue Marlin Last Chance Meet at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in The Bahamas at the end of June. Miller-Uibo was unavailable to run in the relay heats here in Tokyo, as she had the final of the women’s 400m the following day and the team of Anderson, Moss, Brianne Bethel and Strachan, in that order, failed to finish its race in Tokyo, as Strachan walked off the track of her anchor leg, citing knee discomfort.
The Bahamas’ two swimmers, Joanna Evans and Izaak Bastian, and high jumpers Donald Thomas and Jamal Wilson, along with male sprinter Samson Colebrooke, also gave spirited efforts. Evans, in particular, was 13th in the women’s 400m free for the second straight Olympics. She was also 18th in the 200m free, narrowly missing out on advancing in both events.
Bastian, just 20, swam in two individual events – the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
“We saw our athletes give it their best,” said BOC President Knowles. “We saw new stars on the rise in Devynne Charlton and Pedrya Seymour and we saw established stars like Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner do their thing. Anthonique Strachan is back, Tynia Gaither advanced to the semifinals in the women’s 100m and so did Alonzo Russell in the men’s 400m.
“Joanna Evans continues to lead the way in swimming and there are young athletes who were a part of this team who are the future such as Izaak Bastian in swimming and Brianne Bethel, Doneisha Anderson, Megan Moss and others in athletics. They all performed miraculously well.
“Something tells me that Steven and Shaunae are not done yet. In fact, they have only just begun. Steven should be noted for the hard work that he puts into his craft. He is focused and very mannerly. He is an ambassador for The Bahamas and for World Athletics.
“What more could be said of Shaunae? She ran all the rounds of the 200m and 400m and was just short of pulling off one of the more difficult doubles in athletics. Without a schedule change, that would have greatly assisted her. She persevered and made it all the way through. Like Stevie, she is dedicated to her craft, disciplined and she worked hard. She is a great ambassador for The Bahamas and World Athletics as well.”
Knowles said he wishes to thank all of the athletes, the coaches and the team officials of Team Bahamas and particularly the medical team for the work they did in keeping Team Bahamas healthy and COVID-free.
“The medical team did a stellar job in these challenging times, having to deal with COVID,” said Knowles. “I’m happy to report that the team arrived in Tokyo and they are now departing without one singular COVID-positive test, which is a testament to the team, their discipline and to the hard work of the medical staff.”
Knowles said celebration plans will be announced in the coming weeks, as soon as an itinerary is arranged that best suits the athletes’ interest, as they will be headed to different locations.
Knowles implored anyone wishing to be a part of the celebrations or festivities, or who wishes to make donations, to contact the BOC’s office at telephone number (242) 394-8143 or nocbah@coralwave.com. They can also contact Knowles himself at rknowles@bahamasolympic.com, BOC Secretary General Derron Donaldson at ddonaldson@lyfordcay.com, or Team Bahamas Chef de Mission at these Olympics Cora Hepburn at h-cora@hotmail.com.
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