Chris Brown, of the Bahamas, crosses the line in third place behind Jamaica’s Javon Francis and just ahead of Belgium’s Kevin Borlee in the men’s 4 x 400m relay final on Saturday night (AP)
#By RENALDO DORSETT
#Sports Reporter
#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
#AFTER successfully leading the Bahamas’ men’s 4x400m relay team back to the medal podium at the Olympic Games, veteran quarter-miler Chris Brown said he looks forward to making an impact in the next phase of his career.
#Brown, 37, produced a split of 44.20 seconds on the anchor leg to lead the Bahamas to a bronze medal last week in a season’s best time of 2:58.49 alongside Alonzo Russell, Michael Mathieu and Steven Gardiner.
#“This is definitely the last time the Bahamas will see me run at the Olympic level,” he said. “I’m looking forward to starting a training camp, I’m looking forward to continuing putting on events in the Bahamas, I’m looking forward to coaching and just giving back to the Bahamas in a different chapter of my career.
#“I’m looking forward to it and just allowing God to do his work with me. For now, I’m going to take the rest of the season off, take time with my family and just relax.”
#The bronze medal in Rio was the fourth Olympic relay medal for the Bahamas men’s 4x400m team.Three of those teams featured Brown as the anchor. In Rio as the men’s team captain, he made his fifth Olympic appearance in a much different role from the team’s 2012 gold medal triumph in London with Mathieu, Demetrius Pinder and Ramon Miller when he ran the first leg of the race.
#In addition to leading off on the gold medal team in London, he also anchored the silver medal performance with Andretti Bain, Mathieu and Andrae Williams in Beijing, China in 2008 and anchored as well in Sydney, Australia in 2000 when he and Avard Moncur, Troy McIntosh and Carl Oliver clinched the first relay medal with the bronze.
#“To be able to take on any role is important because as the leader you have to be flexible with your space and time and also you have to be able to be comfortable with what you’re doing,” he said. “This year, just to be able to step up and bring the Bahamas a bronze medal was an accomplishment and I enjoyed running with my teammates and getting the job done.”
#Brown, the elder statesman of the team, rebounded after dropping to fourth on the back stretch on his last leg as he was passed by Jamaica’s Javon Francis as they trailed LaShawn Merritt from the United States and Gaone Leaname Maotoanono from Botswana.
#But as they came off the final curve and into the home stretch, Maotoanono stumbled with the pressure behind him as Francis reeled him in. Brown passed him as well and just as he got closer to the finish line, he managed to dip to avoid Kevin Borlee and Belgium denying the Bahamas the bronze.
#The medal, according to Brown, was dedicated to Demetrius Pinder, the only member in the relay pool who didn’t get to compete.
#Brown began his transition to meet promoter several years ago when he hosted the inaugural edition of the Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational.
#After logistics problems forced cancellation and a two-year hiatus, the meet returned to the Thomas A Robinson stadium last April.
#“The first year, we had about six individual medallists from the Olympics and the World Championship,” Brown said. “This year, we had about 27 current and former champions,” Brown said at the time of the event.
#This year’s meet included Kirani James from Grenada and American Jeremy Wariner along with American sprinters Justin Gatlin, Wallace Spearmon, Natasha Hastings and Tori Bowie, hurdler David Oliver, Jamaicans Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sherone Simpson and triple jumpers Christian Taylor and Will Claye.
#Bahamian athletes included Shaunae Miller and Steven Gardiner, triple jumper Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands, long jumper Bianca Stuart and high jumpers Donald Thomas, Trevor Barry, Ryan Ingraham and Jamal Wilson.