Bahamian Olympic sprinter killed trying to break up fight

(CMR) Bahamian Olympic sprinter Shavez Hart was shot dead just four days before his 30th birthday after trying to break up a fight outside a nightclub early Saturday morning.

Reports are that Hart (29) tried to stop a group of men from fighting in the car park of a nightclub in Mount Hope on the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas at about 2 am. One of the men involved in the altercation reportedly left the parking lot and got a gun out of his car before shooting Hart in the chest.

Hart, who ran collegiately for South Plains College and Texas A&M, won the 100 and the 200 meters for South Plains at the 2012 NJCAA outdoor track and field championships and finished third and second in the same events the following year. He achieved all-America status 10 times for Texas A&M.

He ran personal bests of 10.10 seconds in the 100 meters, the third fastest all-time by a Bahamian, and 20.23 in the 200. He was a four-time national champion in the 100 between 2014 and 2019, and a four-time national champion in the 200 between 2014 and 2018. He competed in both events at the 2016 Olympics.

Hart ran the third leg on the men’s 4 x 400m relay team of Michael Mathieu, Alonzo Russell, and veteran Chris “Fireman” Brown that secured a silver at the World Indoor Championships in Oregon, Portland, on March 20, 2016.

Several people have expressed sadness at his tragic passing, with many noting he had an admirable personality.

Sandra Laing, a BAAA’s executive out of Grand Bahama, noted: “He was such an awesome young man, a mannerly and respectful young man. Truly heart-wrenching.”

Coach Vogal Williams, who played an integral role in Hart’s early development, said: “It was sad news for me this morning when I heard about Shavaz being shot. I taught him in primary school at Treasure Cay Primary School.”

“He’s a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He shows minimal emotions. He’s very tender-hearted, very soft-hearted and I’m still a little shocked by it. I don’t believe it so much. It was like, wow. This was a blow to me,” said Anthonique Strachan, the Athletes Rep for the BAAA.