| As reported at: http://www.bermuda.bm/olympic/milestones.html
Clarence Hill has been the only
Olympian representing Bermuda who has ever won a medal - the bronze
for boxing in Montreal in 1976.
As reported at: http://www.bermuda.bm/olympic/montreal.html
In
Montreal, Bermuda would finally have its unalloyed moment of glory, however
tainted it would later become.
Heavyweight boxer Clarence Hill would
stand tallest of all, however, when he captured a bronze medal. But his
victory was spoiled when he lost a shot at a silver medal following a
defeat to Mircea Simeon of Romania. "I wanted to do good for
Bermuda but my left arm was useless," Hill said after the bout.
"I couldn't land a decent punch and I'm sorry for the performance
you saw." Hill's loss meant that he wouldn't have to face Teofilo
Stevenson and many felt that Hill was too afraid to fight the powerful
Cuban.
The rest of Bermuda's team in 1976
fell short of their goals. The 100 metres relay team of Mike Sharpe,
Dennis Trott, Cal Dill and Greg Simons narrowly missed an opportunity to
qualify for the final, but they still managed to stitch together a solid
performance in the semi-finals.
Dill made it to the semi-finals of the
200 metres, but that was as far as he would go. High jumper Clark Godwin
failed to meet the 2.10 metre mark and even more sadly Debbie Jones was
forced to withdraw in all three of her events as a result of an injury.
Jones pulled a leg muscle coming out of the block and eventually
collapsed in pain. "It's a sad blow for Debbie," said track
manager Earl Hart at the time. "We could not take the risk of her
damaging her leg muscle more seriously."
In the 100 metres Dennis Trott reached
the quarter-finals where he finished 26th while Sharpe and Simons failed
to get beyond the heats.
Following the Games BOA president
Reggie Cooper spoke of the crying need for proper facilities for young
people. Of Hill's bronze medal he said: "He proved we can produce
boxers with the meanest of facilities, but to inspire young people these
days you have got to make it possible for them to train and for this you
have to have a proper gym."
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