Steven Gardiner

For the English bishop, see Stephen Gardiner.

Steven Gardiner

Gardiner at the 2019 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Bahamian
Born	(1995-09-12) 12 September 1995 (age 29)[1] Central Abaco, Abaco Islands, Bahamas
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Weight	94 kg (207 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	Bahamas
Sport	Track and field
Event	Sprints
Coached by	Gary Evans
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	1 (weeks 36)
Personal bests	200 m: 19.75 NR (2018) 300 m: 31.52 NR (2022) 300 m (Indoor): 31.56 WB (2022) 400 m: 43.48 NR (2019)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Bahamas Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo 400 m 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×400 m relay World Championships 2019 Doha 400 m 2017 London 400 m World Relays 2017 Nassau 4×400 m relay mixed 2015 Nassau 4×400 m relay CARIFTA Games (Junior) 2014 Fort-de-France 4×100 m relay 2014 Fort-de-France 4×400 m relay

Steven Gardiner (born 12 September 1995) is a Bahamian track and field sprinter competing in the 400 metres and 200 metres. He is the 2020 Olympic and 2019 world champion in the 400 m, and also won the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in that event.^[3] His winning time of 43.48 s from the 2019 World Championships is the Bahamian record and makes him the eighth‑fastest man in the history of the event.^[4] Gardiner also owns the Bahamian records in the outdoor 300 m and 200 m, with times of 31.83 s and 19.75 s respectively, and the world best in the indoor 300 m at 31.56 s.

Early life

Gardiner was born in Murphy Town, Central Abaco, in the Bahamas.^[5] During his teenage years Gardiner was a competitive volleyball player, but also ran track and field. Gardiner wanted to transition to track and field in the shorter sprints, but his high school coach said he was too tall, so he became a 400 m runner.^[6] He went to Moores Island All-Age School, where he was a part of the Exterminators Track and Field Club, Coached by Pastor Anthony Williams. Moore's Island is a small island off the coast of mainland Abaco Islands.^[7][8]

Career

Gardiner competed in the sport in his teenage years and ran in the 400 m at the national championships in 2013. He entered three events at the 2014 CARIFTA Games: he only managed fourth in the individual 200 m but claimed a silver in the 4 × 100 m relay and a bronze in the 4 × 400 m relay.^[9] He marked himself as one of the Bahamas' top young athletes with a win at the Bahamian junior championships in June of that year.^[10] An appearance at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics resulted in a semi-final run in the 200 m and a sixth-place finish in the 4 × 400 m.^[11]

His first senior medal came at the 2015 IAAF World Relays, held on home turf, where he gave American competitor Jeremy Wariner a close run in the 4 × 400 m relay, helping the Bahamas to the silver medal alongside Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu and Chris Brown.^[12] He began to focus on the 400 m in the 2015 season, which proved a successful transition. He rapidly improved to become the youngest Bahamian ever, at 19 years old, to run the distance in under 45 seconds and moved up to fourth on the Bahamian all-time list with a best of 44.64 seconds. He set the time at the Bislett Games, which brought him victory on his debut on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, finishing ahead of Matthew Hudson-Smith and Pavel Maslák.^[13][14]

In 2019, he won the 400 m at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, finishing ahead of American favorite Fred Kerley in a national record of 43.48 s, which also made him the sixth fastest man in history after the race.^[3]

He won the 400m at the 2020 Olympic Games in a time of 43.85. This was the joint fastest time in the world for the 2021 season.^[15]

In January 2022, he ran the fastest indoor 300m of all time with a time of 31.56.^[16] He was unable to defend his World Championship 400m title due to injury.

Statistics

All information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.^[17]

Personal bests

Event	Time	Venue	Date	Notes
200 m	19.75	Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.	7 April 2018	(+0.3 m/s wind) NR
300 m	31.56	Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.	28 January 2022	WR
400 m	43.48	Doha, Qatar	4 October 2019	NR
4×400 m relay	2:57.72	Gainesville, Florida, U.S.	16 April 2022

International competitions

The two highlighted times are track records. Gardiner also holds the track record for Székesfehérvár in Hungary where he ran 43.74 seconds in July 2023.

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing the  Bahamas
2014	CARIFTA Games (U20)	Fort-de-France, Martinique	4th	200 m	20.87 (+1.3 m/s wind)
			2nd	4×100 m relay	40.35
			3rd	4×400 m relay	3:11.32
	World Junior Championships	Eugene, United States	12th (sf)	200 m	20.89 (+1.8 m/s wind)
			6th	4×400 m relay	3:08.08
2015	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	2nd	4×400 m relay	2:58.91
	World Championships	Beijing, China	16th (sf)	400 m	44.98
			DQ	4×400 m relay	Lane violation[18]
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	11th (sf)	400 m	44.72
			3rd	4×400 m relay	2:58.49
2017	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	9th (sf)	4×400 m relay	3:05.37
			1st	4×400 m relay mixed	3:14.42
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	2nd	400 m	44.41
2019	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	1st	400 m	43.48 NR
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	1st	400 m	43.85
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd (h)	400 m	44.65^1

¹Did not finish in the semifinals

400 m circuit wins

• Diamond League
  • Oslo: 2015
  • Doha: 2017, 2018, 2024
  • Stockholm: 2017
  • Shanghai: 2018
  • Monaco: 2019
  • Paris: 2022
  • Rabat: 2023

Track records

As of 10 September 2024, Gardiner holds the following track records for 200 metres and 400 metres.

200 metres

Location	Time	Windspeed m/s	Date
Coral Gables, FL	19.75 NR	+ 0.3	07/04/2018

400 metres

Location	Time	Date
Baton Rouge, LA.	44.45	20/04/2024
Devonshire Parish, Bermuda	44.42	21/05/2023
Doha	43.48 NR	04/10/2019
Nassau	44.27	27/06/2015
Paris	44.21	18/06/2022
Shanghai	43.99	12/05/2018
St. George's, Bermuda	44.26	08/04/2017
Székesfehérvár	43.74	18/07/2023
Tokyo	43.85	05/08/2021

References

1. "Steven Gardiner". Olympedia.org. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
2. "GARDINER Steven". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
3. Homewood, Brian (4 October 2019). "Gardiner powers away to win dramatic 400 meters". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
4. "Toplists - All time Top lists - Senior Outdoor - 400 Metres Men". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
5. Stubbs, Brent (20 April 2015). Steven Gardiner Clocks Personal Best In 400m To Qualify For Iaaf Worlds Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Tribune 242. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
6. "Getting to Know Steven Gardiner." Youtube, IAAF Diamond League, 11 May 2018, Getting to know Steven Gardiner Archived 9 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
7. "Quarter-Miler Steven Gardiner Was A Misap Member". The Tribune 242. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
8. "Coach Williams Celebrates 16 Years of Pastoral Ministry in Moore's Island". Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
9. Steven Gardiner Archived 19 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
10. Moss, Cheroyln (2 July 2014). Steven Gardiner – From Junior to Pro Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Bahamas Athletics. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
11. Steven Gardiner Honours Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
12. Minshull, Phil (4 May 2015). Men's 4x400m – IAAF/BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015 Archived 7 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
13. Stubbs, Brent (12 June 2015). Gardiner 'Boy Wonder' Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Tribune 242. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
14. Rowbottom, Mike (11 June 2015). Zhang upsets the high jump favourites in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League Archived 14 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 14 June 2015.
15. "Gold for Gardiner as Bahamian makes history in Olympic 400m". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
16. "Gardiner breaks world indoor 300m best in Columbia". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
17. "ATHLETE PROFILE Steven GARDINER". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
18. "男子4 x 400接力赛 / 4 x 400 Metres Relay Men - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 29 August 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

External links

• Steven Gardiner at World Athletics
• Steven Gardiner at Olympedia (archive)
• Steven Gardiner at Olympics.com
• Gold for Gardiner in the 400m | World Athletics Championships 2019 | Doha Moments by IAAF Athletics via YouTube

Olympic Games
Preceded by Joanna Evans Donald Thomas	Flag bearer for  Bahamas Paris 2024 with Devynne Charlton	Succeeded by Incumbent