Steven Gardiner powers to the 400m title at the World Championships in Doha in 2019 (© Getty Images)
As he prepares to come home for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, a flood of happy memories wash over 28-year-old Steven Gardiner. The last time the event was held in Nassau, his mixed 4x400m relay team won first prize.
Gardiner can already feel the joy of his fellow Bahamians who will pack the stands on 4-5 May, as well as the love of his extended family and his four-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Blue.
“I’m everybody’s favorite uncle, brother and cousin,” he says with a smile. “Everyone else is living through me right now. My brother used to run, but he got sidetracked. Now he’s so proud. When I win, he wins.”
Despite a late start in track and field, Gardiner has become one of the most accomplished Bahamian athletes of all time. He became the first man from The Bahamas to win an individual Olympic gold in any sport with his 400m triumph in Tokyo, and he also claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 4x400m.
He won world 400m gold in 2019 and silver in 2017, and the 43.85 that he ran in Tokyo made him joint world leader for the men’s 400m sprint that year.
Golden track record
Gardiner has made history on numerous occasions, including when he set a world indoor 300m best of 31.56 in 2022. He is the Bahamian record-holder for the 200m and 400m, as well as the 4x400m relay.
His national 400m record of 43.48 was set at the 2019 World Championships and it makes him the sixth-fastest man in the history of the event. His feat in Doha was particularly meaningful and unexpected given the turmoil just one month prior, when Category 5 hurricane Dorian made a direct hit to his family home on Abaco. Thoughts of the devastation and loss of life naturally affected Gardiner at the time, but he displayed remarkable emotional control, telling reporters: "It was going through my head before the race but not during it as I was focused only on winning the title and bringing some joy to the people."
Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner in the mixed 4x400m at the 2017 World Relays (© Getty Images)
His favorite competition so far was the Tokyo Olympic Games. “Tokyo was unforgettable. I did exactly what I wanted. Winning the gold felt amazing!”
But chasing the sun hasn’t been easy. He’s had to overcome many challenges to attain peak performance, like learning how to master his 6ft 5in frame. “I remember when I first started running, it was tough. The biggest thing for me is sleep. I can fall asleep anywhere – even in a crowd,” he says. “When you train this hard, injuries occur. I want to run fast when it matters. It can be intense. But I have matured, and my body has matured. I trust Gary Evans and his programme.”
Raised in paradise
Gardiner was born on the outskirts of March Harbour, the sleepy heart of Abaco with around 6000 inhabitants. He’s called the island home for most of his life and sticks close to his roots despite his global success.
Today he lives in Florida, where he trains under US coach Evans, but he returns to Abaco to visit his family about three times a year.
Asked what he misses most about The Bahamas, Gardiner can’t pinpoint only one thing. “Bahamian food – conch or something… I ask my mom to bring her cooking to Florida,” he says. “Also, the weather. It’s colder in Florida and the beaches are much better in The Bahamas.”
Gardiner was naturally athletic as a child, but he didn’t start racing until aged 17 – much later than average for his peer group. “For me, it was hard. I didn’t understand the sport. My body was unprepared. Most of my peers have been racing since age six. There was so much I had to catch up on,” he says.
However, he made significant progress during his early 20s, maturing both mentally and physically. “I started to think to myself – ‘I can be great at this,’” he says.
As he grew faster and found his rhythm, Gardiner relied on guidance from high-calibre Bahamian athletes, like fellow sprinter Shanuae Miller-Uibo and ‘Golden Girl’ Eldece Clarke.
Now that he’s a top sports role model himself, he offers his own advice to young, up-and-coming Bahamian athletes chasing their dreams. “Never give up, no matter what people say,” he says. “People will try to discourage you. Once you get there, the same people who tried to discourage you will be at your feet. It’s up to you the life that you choose and not anybody else.”
Today, Gardiner looks ahead to the World Relays as another chance to make his country proud. The two-time Olympic medallist is determined to qualify for the Paris Games at the event this May and “bring another gold medal home for the country.”
“It’s very special to have the World Relays at home,” he adds. “I’m training as much as I can to show my Bahamian pride so everyone can celebrate with joy.”
