Carl Oliver Jr. (born 30 January 1969) is a Bahamian former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter who specialised in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He is the current secretary of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations. His greatest achievements on the track came with the Bahamian

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

team. He was a bronze medallist in the relay at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and was also a finalist at the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, between the Augus ...

. He helped set a national record of 3:02.85 minutes at the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi, Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from ...

. After 2000 he was mainly the country's back-up runner for the heats. He qualified the Bahamas for the finals at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 and 12 August 2001 and was the first time the event ...

where they became world champions and assisted the team to the finals at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

and the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...

, where his compatriots took bronze in his absence. He was a one-time Bahamian champion in the 400 m and had a personal best of 45.69 seconds.

Career

Sprinting

Born in

Andros, Bahamas Andros is an archipelago in The Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hun ...

,Carl Oliver
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-11-29. he had his first success in 1995 when he won the 400 m national title at the Bahamian Championships. That same year he made his first major appearance on the world stage, running in the

at the

. Although the team including Troy McIntosh, Dennis Darling and Timothy Munnings did not make the final, their time of 3:02.85 minutes in the heats was a Bahamian national record. The following year he ran his lifetime best of 45.69 seconds for the individual event in the altitude of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

.Carl Oliver
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-11-29. This earned him selection for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, where he ran in the 400 metres heats and placed seventh in the 4 × 400 metres relay final. His next international appearances came three years later. He finished fifth in the 400 m at the 1999 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics and won gold with the relay team. At the

, he formed a team with McIntosh, Munnings and the emerging

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and reached the final. They finished seventh but were retrospectively upgraded to sixth upon the disqualification of the American team due to

Antonio Pettigrew Antonio Pettigrew (November 3, 1967 – August 10, 2010) was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. Early life and career Pettigrew was born in Macon, Georgia. While attending St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North C ...

admission of doping. That same disqualification eventually resulted in Oliver winning his first Olympic medal: at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

the Bahamas team of

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 ...

, McIntosh and Brown were the original fourth placers in the 4 × 400 metres relay final but the American team was retrospectively disqualified in 2008 and Oliver and the team gained a bronze medal as a result.Athletics at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games: Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-11-29. Oliver was one of the relay runners in the heats of the

, where he helped Bahamas to the final in which they took the gold medal in a national record of 2:58.19 minutes. He performed a similar role at the

and Bahamas won the bronze in his absence in the final. The team were disqualified in the heats of the

2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom from 14 to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK. There were a total number of 5 ...

, but they topped the podium at the

2003 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2003 Central American and Caribbean Championships in athletics were held in St George's, Grenada, between 4–6 July 2003. It was the first time that the country had hosted the competition.Clavelo Robinson, Javier (2003-07-04) CAC Champions ...

, as Moncur, Oliver, Nathaniel McKinney and Brown took the gold medals. At the major event, he was again relegated to a heat runner and he took the Bahamas to the top of their heat and the nation won bronze in the final of the

. These were the last international performances of his career.

Administrator

He wound down his career after 2003, running a best of 47.03 seconds in 2004 and 47.81 in 2006 before retiring from the sport. Following the end of his active career, he moved into

sports administration The Sports Administration (SA; ) is a sub-agency of the Taiwanese Ministry of Education. History The Sport Administration was initially established in 1932 as the Sports Council (體育委員會). On 12 January 1998, the Sports Affairs Council ...

. He was elected as secretary general of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) in 2012. His appointment came at a time of much political in-fighting at the organisation, between the president Mike Sands and other members of the board. Oliver found himself excluded from the 2013 CARIFTA Games organising committee, alongside fellow BAAA executives Iram Lewis and Harrison Petty. The decision to host the

2014 IAAF World Relays The 2014 IAAF World Relays were held in May 2014 in Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau, the Bahamas, Bahamas. The event was the first edition of the IAAF World Relays. There were five events for each gender. In men's and women's 4 × 100 metres and 4 × 400 ...

event was also made without their input. Oliver agreed to a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

at a BAAA general meeting in response.Sturrup, Fred (2013-11-12)
Oliver: Motion of vote of no-confidence will not stand
''

The Nassau Guardian ''The Nassau Guardian'' is a newspaper in The Bahamas, based in Nassau. Its first issue was published November 23, 1844. It is the largest newspaper in the Bahamas. The paper is one of the oldest continually published newspapers in the world and ...

''. Retrieved on 2013-11-29.

Personal bests

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 slight ...

– 21.30 seconds (2000) *

– 45.69 seconds (1996)

Notes

* Bahamas were elevated to the bronze medal from fourth place after the disqualification of the American team due to doping by

and Jerome Young * Medals achieved in the final – Oliver served as a runner in the heats only.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Carl Living people 1969 births Bahamian male sprinters People from Andros, Bahamas Olympic athletes for the Bahamas Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the Bahamas Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games athletes for the Bahamas Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for the Bahamas Commonwealth Games athletes for the Bahamas Athletics (track and field) administrators Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics