Michael Mathieu (born 24 June 1984) is a retired Bahamian sprinter from Freeport, Grand Bahama who specialized in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and 400 metres. He was part of the Bahamian silver medal-winning team in the men's

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, running second leg and recording a 44.0 split, and the gold medal-winning team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was also a part of second place relay team at the 2007 World Championships. He won the bronze medal in the 4x400 metres relay in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Individually, he has won medals at the

Central American and Caribbean Championships The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships is an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC). Only athletes representing a member nation of the confede ...

, taking the 400 m silver medal in 2008 and the 200 m gold in 2011. His personal bests are 20.16 seconds for the 200 m and 45.06 for the 400 m (the former being the Bahamian record mark).

Career

Mathieu attended St George's High School in the Bahamas, graduating in 2001 as their "Most Outstanding Athlete". He gained a

sports scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Sta ...

to attend

Southwestern Christian College Southwestern Christian College (SwCC) is a private historically black Christian college in Terrell, Texas. History SwCC was founded in 1948 by the educator and minister G. P. Bowser under the name Southern Bible Institute in Fort Worth, Texa ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States. Michael Mathieu
. Texas Tech. Retrieved on 17 May 2012. As a junior athlete, he won two relay medals in the under-20 section of the 2002 CAC Junior Championships. The following year he took the 400 m bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. Moving up the age categories, he won a 400 m relay bronze medal at the 2006 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics. In 2004 he began studying economics at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

and started competing for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

under coach

Wes Kittley Wes Kittley is the current head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field team. He has produced several national champions and Olympians in Sally Kipyego and Kennedy Kithuka. Career Abilene Christian, 1983-1999 Kittley was the women's t ...

. In the 2005 indoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

season he was runner-up at the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

meet in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay. He earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honours by reaching the NCAA indoor relay final, then achieved the same feat in the outdoor season. The 2006 indoor season was his last at Texas Tech: he set a 200 m personal best of 21.34 seconds and again reached the NCAA relay final. He reached the senior international level at the 2007 World Championships and became a fixture in the Bahamian national team from then onwards. He ran in the heats, both individually and in the relay, at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships,Mathieu Michael
IAAF. Retrieved on 17 May 2012. then won two silver medals in the events at the

2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships The 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia between 4–6 July 2008 in athletics (track and field), 2008. A total of 44 events we ...

. At the 2008 Summer Olympics he reached the semi-finals of the 400 m and took the relay silver medal with a time of 2:58.03 minutes. At the 2009 CAC Championships he came sixth in the 400 m final. He was selected for the national team at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

, but disqualifications meant he was out of the first round of both events. He performed better at the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation ...

, reaching the semi-finals, but the team failed to finish the relay. Outdoors, he was a silver medalist in the relay at the 2010 CAC Games and fourth in the relay at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

. In 2011, a switch to focus on the 200 m event saw him have a career breakthrough. He ran a personal best of 20.38 seconds to win at the national championships then claimed the gold medal in the event at the

2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011. It was the fourth time P ...

. He also won the relay, running with

Avard Moncur Avard Moncur (born November 2, 1978) is a Bahamian track and field athlete competing in the 400 metres. He was born in Nassau. Career Under the guidance of coach Henry Rolle, Moncur's most successful year came in 2001 when he won the gold m ...

and Ramon Miller. He represented Bahamas in the 200 m at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

, but failed to finish in his semi-final due to injury. He came close to medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, where he was fourth behind Brazil's

Bruno de Barros Bruno Lins Tenório de Barros (born 7 January 1987) is a Brazilian sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres. Biography Barros was born in Maceió and resides in São Bernardo. He represented Brazil at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He ...

. He opened his 2012 season in strong form. Competing on the Brazilian Athletics Tour, he ran a Bahamian record of 20.16 seconds for the 200 m and set a personal best in the 400 m with a run 45.06 seconds. He also equalled his

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

best with a time of 10.30 seconds. He also won gold at the 2012 London Olympics with the Bahamas 4 × 400 m team beating medal favorites USA with a national record. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won a silver medal as part of the men's 4 × 400 m team. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Mathieu and the Bahamian team would win the bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. Another former Texas Tech athlete,

Gil Roberts Gil Roberts (born March 15, 1989) is an American athlete who specializes in the 200 m and 400 m. He competed for Texas Tech under coach Wes Kittley at the NCAA level. He was a member of the USA team that won the gold medal in the Men's 4×400 m ...

, was a member of the gold medal-winning USA team.

Retirement

Mathieu retired after the 2021 Outdoor season with his last race being run on June 5, 2021 at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) New Life Invitational Track and Field Meet in Miramar, Florida.. He ran on a leg of the Bahamian 4x400 Metres Relay in a time of 3:03.51. The team was attempting to qualify for the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. Mathieu now lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife and two sons. He coaches youth basketball for the Jr. Magic Warriors, along with owning a speed training camp company to help build speed for different sports.

References

External links