Postcard from the Bahamas: Locals love Shaunae Miller’s Olympic dive

Editor’s note: Mark Anderson is covering the UNLV men’s basketball team’s trip to the Bahamas. Every day this week he is sharing his experiences away from the arena.

Bahamians woke up Tuesday morning to find #bahamiantwitter and Shaunae as the world’s top two Twitter trending topics.

The nation became big news after Shaunae Miller dived across the finish line Monday night to beat American Allyson Felix to win the 400-meter final at the Olympic Games. That dive sparked controversy, but it was celebrated in the Bahamas after Miller gave the country its first medal at these Olympics.

I was at a bar and grill watching the race with a handful of locals. Five men watched by the pool tables, three from a table in front of me and a few more around the establishment.

“Let’s stand up!” one man in a red tank top yelled just before the race began. “Let’s go!”

Miller led early before Felix caught her toward the end, and the bar began to get loud. When Miller made her (in)famous dive, cheers and arms went up. As I took photos of the celebration, one man fist-bumped me.

It was hard not to smile, but as a patriotic American who loves and appreciates the freedoms we have, I felt a little guilty. If I had been anywhere else, I would have been disappointed in the outcome, but our country has won a bazillion medals at these Olympics and has a Katie Ledecky-type lead in golds.

Even what appeared to be a group of Americans sitting at a table clapped for the Bahamians’ joy.

But now it’s time our U.S. team gets back to dominating.

Mark Anderson