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

. 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 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, running second leg and recording a 44.0 split, and the gold medal-winning team at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. Individually, he has won medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championships, 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 to attend Southwestern Christian College in Texas, 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 A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

2003 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 12th Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held in Bridgetown, Barbados at the National Stadium on 18–20 July 2003. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt had the outstanding performance equalling the 200m World Junior record, while the te ...

. Moving up the age categories, he won a 400 m relay bronze medal at the

2006 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 4th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on July 7–9, 2006. A detailed report on the results was given. Medal summary Medal winners are published. Complete results can be found on t ...

. In 2004 he began studying economics at Texas Tech University and started competing for the Texas Tech Red Raiders under coach Wes Kittley. In the 2005 indoor track and field season he was runner-up at the Big 12 Conference meet in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay. He earned All-American 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 The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, R ...

,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 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia between 4–6 July 2008. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 22 by female athletes. During the ...

. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

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 Th ...

, 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, f ...

. 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 A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

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 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. He opened his 2012 season in strong form. Competing on the

Brazilian Athletics Tour Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may al ...

, 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 The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, he won a silver medal as part of the men's 4 × 400 m team. At the

, Mathieu and the Bahamian team would win the bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. Another former Texas Tech athlete, Gil Roberts, 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 Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people. History Miramar wa ...

.. 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 Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

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