Bahamian quarter-miler Tonique Williams-Darling had to dig deep to hold off Mexicoﾴs Ana Guevara, the World Champion, to win gold in the womenﾴs 400 meters in Athens on Tuesday night.
Williams-Darling powered her way around the track in 49.41 seconds to take gold. In the first 100 meters of the race she had made up the stagger on the runners in front of her.
She was in control of the race with 110-meters to go when Guevara, who finished in 49.56, pulled next to her and actually took the lead for a few strides.
Williams-Darling and Guevara entered the home stretch just about even before Williams Darling literally put her head down and pulled away from Guevara and held on all the way to the finish line for gold.
Christine Amertil, the other Bahamian in the race, finished in seventh place in 50.37 seconds.
With the victory, Williams-Darling becomes the first Bahamian to win an individual Olympic gold medal in any event.
In a telephone interview moments after the race, Williams-Darling told the Bahama Journal that she has been thinking about this moment for a long time.
ﾓThis started long ago with so many other great Bahamian athletes and Iﾴm just so happy that this honour has been bestowed on me because without them and without the support of everyone, I donﾴt think I would be standing where I am today,ﾒ she said.
Williams-Darling said she has prepared for the this race all season and after running against Guevara twice this season she knew that the World Champion would try to attack her in the last hundred.
ﾓHowever,ﾒ she said, ﾓI simply contained myself because I was 100 percent sure that I was going to be able to run my race and if I did that I would be successful.ﾒ
Williams-Darling sad it is was a ﾓgreat feelingﾒ when she crossed the finish line knowing she had the victory and knowing that there were hundreds of Bahamians at the games supporting her all the way.
She said, ﾓI just felt like I was carrying the weight of the whole nation on my shoulder, and I know Anna has been carrying her country because for Mexico it would have been their first gold. However, you know what, itﾴs our first gold too and nobody deserves it more than we do. ﾠWe may be a small country, but we have great people and great athletes,ﾒ said the proud Olympic champion.
As a result of the cash incentive programme recently put in place by the government, Williams-Darling will receive $40,000 for winning an individual gold medal. ﾠAmertil will receive $5,000 for making it to the finals.
Moments after the big victory, Prime Minister Perry Christie went on national radio and said what was ﾓfascinatingﾒ about the victory is that Guevara had passed Williams-Darling, but Darling showed the ﾓreal test of a champion and summoned everything she hadﾒ to take back the race. ﾠﾠ
Additionally he said, ﾓWhat was so wonderful was to hear the rest of the Caribbean claiming her victory for the Caribbean.ﾒ ﾠ
Mr. Christie said Williams-Darling has taken the Bahamas to a ﾓnew levelﾒ in athletics.
ﾓAs Tonique crossed the finish-line and entered sporting immortality, we were all reminded that, small though we are, there is no greater country on this earth than ours,ﾒ the prime minister said in a written statement that was issued shortly after. ﾓThe feeling of national pride that swept across the land in that wonderful, magical, unforgettable moment when Tonique hoisted us all up to the pinnacle of the world reminded us of how truly blessed and great this nation of ours really is.ﾒ
He added, ﾓI also extend these congratulations to Christine Amertil for performing so splendidly in the same event. ﾠShe, too, has made us all so proud as have all our other Olympic athletes in Athens.ﾒ
Throughout the evening, congratulations continued to pour in to the gold medallist through local radio stations.
Williams-Darling was born on January 17, 1976. ﾠShe attended St. Johns College (high school). ﾠShe then moved on to attend the University of South Carolina. ﾠ
Last year she married quarter miler Dennis Darling who is the older brother of football player Devard Darling, who was recently picked by the Baltimore Ravens.
After the Olympics, Williams-Darling will have to win two more Golden League races to win a share or the entire million-dollar jackpot.
Gerrino Saunders, The Bahama Journal
