August 25, 2004
Bahamas Wins Gold
There's a new Golden Girl in The Bahamas, Tonique Williams-Darling.
It took her less than a minute to etch her name in the annals of Bahamian history - 49.41 seconds, actually.
That was the time it took her to cross the finish line, ahead of Mexico's Ana Guevara, to win the Gold Medal in the women's 400 metre race at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, at precisely 11:05pm last night.
Although she was challenged all the way to the finish line, Williams-Darling mustered the energy she needed to stay in front and command the lead.
Guevara had to run her season's best time just to keep up with Tonique.
"I thank God for bestowing this great honour on me," Tonique said after the race.
Williams-Darling, 28, becomes the third Bahamian in history to win an individual Gold Medal in Olympic competition.
At the awards ceremony Tonique fought back tears of joy, flowers in her hand and medal hanging around her neck, as the Bahamian national anthem played and the country's flag waved proudly on the centre mast.
With the Bahamas flag draped around her shoulders, she took her victory lap, stopping for congratulations from the Bahamian delegation that attended the Olympics.
"She is a true champion and a wonderful ambassador for the country," said Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Neville Wisdom, who was on hand to witness the historic event.
We couldn't agree more!
A New Golden Girl - The Nassau Guardian
Bahamian rebellion thwarts Aztec queen - The Australian
Gold! Gold! Gold! - The Bahama Journal
Posted by admin at August 25, 2004 12:23 PM