Stephen Newbold strikes 200m gold for The Bahamas (© Getty Images)
With a powerful homestretch performance, Stephen Newbold continued The Bahamas strong late Championships medal run with a convincing victory in the 200m.
Newbold, who turns 17 on 5 August, arrived in Lille with a 21.23 best, but dropped that significantly over the course of the Championships, first to 21.08 in the semi-finals, and now to 20.89 to foil the double ambitions of Jamaican O’Dail Todd who won the 100m earlier in the week.
“I did my best, it was an amazing moment for me,” said Newbold, who captured the island nation’s third gold medal of the Championships.
But Todd won’t be leaving northern France too disappointed, taking his second medal, this time silver, after his 21.00 clocking, also a personal best after his 21.02 in the semis.
Seventeen year-old Ronald Darby, who finished fourth in the 100m just 0.04 behind bronze medallist Michael-Meba Zeze of France, won’t go home disappointed, either, collecting the bronze in 21.08, just shy of his 21.05 best set in June.
The medallists were clearly the class of the field in the final, with Japan;’ Akiyuki Hashimoto a distant fourth in 21.21.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
