Grenada’s quarter-mile world-leader Rondell Bartholomew was locked in a close battle going to the line in the men’s 400m at the New York adidas Grand Prix last Saturday, June 11, before he eventually took third place in 45.17secs, behind winner USA’s Jeremy Wariner (45.13) and Jamaica’s Jermaine Gonzales (45.16).
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Batholomew, 2nd right, matches strides with Wariner beside him and Gonzales at left. Behind them at right is Trinidad's Renny Quow.
DPalmer-TrackLife photo
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The 21-year-old Spice-Islander has just completed his second year at South Plains College, where he was an All-American and captured several individual NJCAA titles. Weeks after leaving South Plains and going pro, the former Carifta 400m champion who has a world-leading time of 44.65 on his resume was lined-up against Wariner, an Olympic champion, at the Diamond League meet in New York.
Commenting on his performance Saturday, an elated Bartholomew said: “I feel good right now. My body feels good. I just have to put in the work,” further stating that he was not disappointed with his performance because he had been off training for a while. “Actually I just starting training again last week and my body feels good. I have some more speed work to do and I will be ready in the next two weeks.”
Bartholomew, one of the rising stars from the Caribbean in the one-lap event, has already qualified to compete in the 400m at the upcoming World Championships, surpassing the ‘A’ standard of 45.25 with his world-leading 44.65secs. On his going pro, Bartholomew said it felt good and that he embraced the opportunity to be a role model to younger athletes. Outlining his goal for the World Championships, Bartholomew said: “I am going to the World Championships to get a medal. I just want to be on the podium.”
Will Run The 200m Also
“My next event will be the 200m. I have a personal best 20.40, I just have to put in the work to get things going in the 200m,” said Bartholomew who is looking to run the double – 200m and 400m – in Daegu. Grenada does not have national trials, but his time of 20.40 in the 200m meets the qualifying ‘A’ standard of 20.60.
When asked about the impact of the Grenadian men’s 4x4 relay team (Kirani James, Joel Redhead and Kenion Herry and Bartholomew), he said: “we just need to come together and put in the work, and I think we will have a pretty decent team. Grenada is a small island and I think what we are doing provides good exposure for our country.”
The laid-back Bartholomew is one of six maternal siblings, and he got into the sport at a very young age. “My brother Rondee was actually the best athlete in the family, so I was a bit jealous of him [getting all the attention and gifts from our uncles] so I decided that I wanted to do track also.”
He plays cricket and football, but his track coach asked him not to play football.” To relax, Bartholomew watches movies and plays dominoes with his friends. He is also a big fan of the contemporary gospel group “Forever Jones.”