Frank Rutherford

Frank Garfield Rutherford, Jr. MBE (born November 23, 1964) is a retired triple jumper from the Bahamas. He competed in three Olympic Games, and won a bronze medal in 1992, becoming the first Bahamian Track and Field Olympic medalist. He now runs a program which prepares young Bahamian athletes to play college basketball and American football in the United States.

He attended the University of Houston, where he received Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics and Computer Science. He became the first Bahamian to win more than three NCAA triple jump championships.

Rutherford won the Bahamas its first World Championship medal with a bronze in the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He followed that with winning a silver medal at the 1992 World Cup in Havana, Cuba. His personal best was 17.41 metres, a Bahamian record that has later been beaten by Leevan Sands. Rutherford is considered the Olympic pioneer in the Bahamas because he was the first to win medals at the Olympic and World Championship levels. He is considered the Father of Track and Field in the Bahamas.

The Frank Rutherford Foundation was started to give young Bahamian athletes the opportunity to get a college education through sports much like how Rutherford was able to receive his college education. The Foundation is responsible for the development of these young athletes who have never played the game of basketball or American football. They are brought to Houston, Texas where Rutherford, with the help of many of his retired professional athlete friends, trains and develops them to become NCAA Division I football and basketball players. His goal for the athletes in the program is for them to receive a scholarship so they can obtain a college education.

Several people in the program have gone on to collegiate success. Two of his former athletes in the program are Devard and Devaughn Darling, who both received football scholarships from Florida State University. Devard went on to play in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens. The program has also put out Jeremy Barr, a power forward who attends the University of Nebraska on a basketball scholarship, and Ian Symmonette, a left tackle who attends the University of Miami on football scholarship. More than 60 Bahamian young people have been helped by Rutherford and his foundation and all of them have graduated from college. The following athletes are currently in the program: Dwight Miller, Alex Cooper, Probese Leo, Rico Forbes, Winslo Barry, Mikhail Mclean, Waltia Rolle,and Felicia Kelly.

Rutherford has been described as hardworking and very intelligent. His wife, Tilford, runs the family businesses and, along with his mother, administrates the Frank Rutherford Foundation. In May 2003, Rutherford was appointed a Member in the Order of the British Empire for excellence in athletics.

Achievements

External links

*iaaf name|id=2483|name=Frank Rutherford
* [http://www.bahamastrack.com/Members/Frank_Rutherford/frank_rutherford.html Bahamas Track]