Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the 200 meters in the Weltklasse ZH tonight in exciting fashion and a national record. Here is the story behind the race, and what lead up to this fine race of many of the finest sprinters in our sport!
Shaunae Miller-Uibo, photo by PhotoRun.net
Shaunae Miller -Uibo won the 400 meters at the Olympics in 2016 in a fast and amazingly close finish with Allyson Felix. In 2017, Shaunae Miller-Uibo and her coach, Lance Brauman decide to run 400 meter/200 meter double.
It did not go as expected. With fifty meters to go, Shaunae Miller-Uibo had it won. But the race was not over. Shaunae looked up at the big screen in front of her, and caught her toes on the track and went from first to fourth in the blink of an eye. Distraught, Shaunae Miller-Uibo came back, and took the bronze in the 200 meters in an amazing finish.
In Birmingham, Shaunae Miller-Uibo ran the 100 meters. She makes the final, and then, she PBs! Coach Brauman is pretty psyched.
Later that week, Coach Brauman tells me, that I can quote him, “Shaunae is going to run really fast at Zurich.” Brauman is not one to exaggerate. Coach Brauman, I might say, is not one to repeat himself. Well, he tells me this not two, but three times.
Torie Bowie, Coach Brauman, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, adidas Boost Boston meeting, photo courtesy of Coach Brauman
So I write a piece on it, post it on August 22 and August 24.
In the 200 meter Diamond League final, all the playes are there. Dafne Schippers, Elaine Thompson, Marie Josee Ta Lou, and yes, the aforementioned Bahamian.
In the race, Dafne Schippers is blasting the curve, but so is Elaine Thompson, who also had a tough go at the Worlds, but is over it.
As Elaine Thompson is flying, her run would have run the race.
Except that, on the outside is Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who has gone past Marie Jose Ta Lou, Schippers and now, Thompson.
Shaunae Miller Uibo runs 21.88! A Bahamian national record, and the win!
I send the coach a note of congratulations.
He’s tickled that his athlete has done so well.
But here’s the thing. It is the champion athletes who overcome bad races and bad years. It is the finest coaches, who help them, nurture them, support them, and let them get strong so that they can challenge themselves.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo is a fine example of a great athlete and a great coach.
