Spikes20 May 2014


Welcome to the Bahamas

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breezy

From Breezy the mascot (above) to an exciting new event format, we're VERY intrigued by the Bahamas. As the collection of islands off the coast of Florida gears up to host the first ever World Relays this weekend, SPIKES asks evergreen 400m ace Chris ‘The Fireman’ Brown for the inside track on his homeland.

Tracknation

“I am excited by the fact that the Bahamas will be hosting a major senior event and for the Bahamian people to be exposed to seeing top athletes from around the world.

“The world will get to experience our culture, eat good food, and get to lie on the beach.

“Everyone has bought their tickets and are they all looking forward to seeing world-class athletes. They are waiting to see some great showdowns: especially the men’s 4x400m [the Bahamas are Olympic champions].

“People take track and field really seriously in the Bahamas. It’s our pride and joy. Now that we have a world-class IAAF event coming to our backyard, the country will be very proud to host the event. 

“The Bahamian people are going to bring Junkanoo music, they’ll bring their whistles, horns and flags. The country will be on high alert to welcome the international audience. It will be very energetic.”

 
Bahamas Relay Olympics

Golden Knights: Chris Brown, Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller collect their Olympic gold medals.

Where to go

“I would recommend to visit places like the Fish Fry, it is a good place to eat Bahamian cuisine, have a drink and listen to music. Another place would be Mario's Bowling Alley and Entertainment Centre. I like to play the motorcycle and car games. I'm into speed. 

“And of course definitely hang out by the beach. There are also plenty of other islands you can see by plane and boat and I would recommend my home island of Eleuthera – the local cooking there is the best!   

“Conch is a real seafood delicacy and I would recommend the conch salad served with peppers, tomatoes and fruits. The conch fritters are also good, as are the snapper, lobster and crawfish [also known as crayfish]. 

“Our desserts are also great – the guava duff is delicious although even looking at it you can put on about five pounds!”   

Bahamian Rhapsody

It's always difficult for visitors to keep up with local slangs, so we asked Brown to get us up to speed with some of the most common expressions.

“We have a couple of slang words. One is ‘buie’ which means boy. 

“The other term we use a lot is ‘ting em’ which means something like 'I can't remember the person, place, or thing's name, so we say 'ting em' until I or someone else calls the name or makes the identification. 

“Another one we use is ‘well muddos’ which means ‘I can’t believe this!’.”  

 
Chris Brown spikes 

Fireman Chris: Brown celebrates his 4x400m gold at London 2012 

What pressure?

Competing in front of a home crowd and being the reigning Olympic champions in the 4x400m brings a lot of pressure with it. However, Brown sees it as a motivation to perform even better.

“It is weird because the only time I usually compete at home is for national championships. I’m going to enjoy the competition because it is at home, and I look forward to putting on a great show.”

“I welcome pressure. A lot of people get scared of pressure, but I turn it into a positive. For me, it is just part of the game.”

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