By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER missing the trip to the Olympic Games last year in Paris, France, Bahamian triple jumper Kaiwan Culmer said he was devastated, but he didn’t allow the disappointment to deprive him of a spot at the World Championships this year.

At the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Championships at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium last month,  Culmer popped a winning jump of 17.29 metres on his first attempt to book his ticket to Tokyo.

Culmer surpassed the qualifying standard of 17.22m and his previous lifetime best of 16.79m as he became the seventh jumper in Bahamian history to clear 17m.

“Missing the Paris Olympic Games was painful. It was kind of disappointing,” he said. “When you miss such a major event that comes every four years, that’s hard on you.

“It was hard, but I didn’t complain or cry over it. I just went back to work to make this World Championship team. So I think it’s a blessing to be able to make it, especially with this being the first one. I was one who was counted out and people felt I should quit, but I didn’t give up.”

Instead, he went back to the training mill in Tallahassee, Florida with one of his role models, coach Leevan “Superman” Sands, the Bahamian national record holder.

“I’m proud of what we did to get me here, so I can’t complain,” Culmer said. “Everything was good. I got to beat some people who I looked up to as competitors, so I have to be proud of that.”

Culmer was referring to his trip to Grand Bahama last month for the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships where he won with a leap of 54-4 (16.56m) for his first international title since he got the gold at the Caribbean Union of Teachers Track and Field Championships (CUT ) in the shot put as a youth competitor.

His win came over Cuban Andy Salazar, who got the silver with 53-11 3/4 (16.45m) and American Will Claye, who had to settle for the bronze with 53-8 1/4 (16.36m).

With little time left before the start of the championships, Culmer was making good use of his hands in the construction field, while at the same time trying to earn some funds to take care of his monthly rent in his absence. “I want to be able to just go to Tokyo, relax and just focus on the championships,” Culmer said. “That’s all I’m doing in preparation for the championships, although I was still training to maximise my performance.”

As for the championships, Culmer said if he and coach Sands can perfect his run through the board, he should be a real contender for the final and possibly a medal. “It’s kind of a mental thing. I have a bad habit of slowing down on the runway just before I get to the board,” Culmer pointed out. “Once I can work on that and just get sharper, I will be fine.”

At the championships, Culmer said his main goal is just to line up and compete against the best in the world. 

“That’s something I’m really looking forward to,” he insisted. “Last year, I had to sit home and watch them from the TV. So it’s just a blessing that I don’t have to get up at three or four in the morning to watch them. “I will actually be there competing with them, so to me, that is a blessing.”

As for Team Bahamas, having served in a dual role as the athletes’ representative for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, Culmer feels it’s a group of diverse athletes carrying the banner for The Bahamas at the championships. 

“I’m proud of each and everyone of the individuals on the team. I personally know their journey because I also follow them,” he stressed.

“But I’m proud of them. I know we will go out there and do our best. We are a diverse group of athletes whom God has chosen to represent the country, so I hope we go out there and do our best.”

For himself, already in an elite field of jumpers, sitting third on the all-time Bahamian list led by Sands, the national record holder at (17.59m) at the Beijing Olympics on August 21, 2018 and former national record holder Frank Rutherford, who did (17.41m) in São Paulo, Brazil, on May 17, 1992, Culmer said there’s no more expectations for him than to continue to improve.

“I’m trying to put a distance out there, but jumping my best would be great for me,” Culmer proclaimed. 

“I’ve had a dynamic year going from 16.79 to 17.29 is a big jump. “So, at this point, I believe that I’ve already succeeded in my expectations, so I’m just leaving that window open to allow God to just let me do whatever he wants me to do at the championships. I’m not going to put a barrier on what God has in store for me.”

Whatever transpires in Tokyo, Culmer said he will definitely take some time off to recuperate from track and concentrate a little more on his construction work.

“As a top 10 competitor in the world, I still don’t have a major sponsor like some of the other athletes, so I’m just praying to God that something will come through,” said Culmer, now a professional athlete after completing his collegiate eligibility at the University of Nebraska.

“Once I’m able to get a major sponsor or some funding, I will be able to move down to Lexington to train with Leevan Sands at the University of Kentucky. So I’m just excited for that and just allowing God to give me whatever he has in store for me when the time comes.”

It’s been just about two years that he’s been training with Sands and to see how he has excelled from just an average jumper to an elite competitor is another blessing from God.

“Other than my coach, he’s been a mentor,” Culmer said of Sands. “He’s one that motivates me. That’s what I needed in my life because after the Olympics, I almost quit. 

“But having him say ‘hi, just see it through,’ that meant the world to me. Other coaches might have said ‘hi, just quit and go home.’ But he was very impactful in my life. I don’t see myself trading coaches. I probably will retire before I trade him as a coach.”

The duo hope to continue to turn heads in Tokyo.