Two revered personalities on the local track and field scene have spoken with pride about Miles Outerbridge’s participation at the World Athletics Under-20 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last week.

Donna Raynor, the former Bermuda National Athletics Association president, and national coach DeVon Bean shared their thoughts on the youngster’s display on the global stage.

Raynor, a World Athletics council member, witnessed Outerbridge live at Hayward Field. The 18-year-old missed out on the semi-finals of the 100 metres and reached the penultimate stage in the 200.

“It was great at this level to watch a Bermudian compete, I wish we could have more, especially some relay teams,” Raynor told The Royal Gazette.

“This has been a very long season for Miles, which I have no doubt he will begin to get used to.

“It is not easy to peak in March and then have to come back again in August. If he stays with it he will be fine as he has the talent.”

Bean, whose 100 record of 10.27 was broken by the teenager when he ran 10.21 to win gold in the under-20 boys at the Carifta Games in April, feels that the young athlete has dealt with a lot this year.

“Miles has experienced quite a bit of an emotional ride this season,” Bean said.

“Having peaked early this year, breaking two Bermuda records at the Carifta Games and winning two medals, something that hasn’t been done in over 40 years for Bermuda.”

Bean also pointed out the rising star was not at his best fitness-wise when he went to Oregon.

“Not making any excuses, Miles picked up a bit of an injury at the New Balance Outdoor Championships in Philadelphia,” the coach said.

“He didn’t think [there] was much to it but it ended up flaring up when we went to Barbados to run a 4x100 relay. So we came back, managed to get some treatment on it.

“Our goal with coach Norbert Simons was to try to get Miles to the line in Oregon as healthy as he could.

“Obviously, he wasn’t able to compete in many competitions since late June, early July, which is a long lay-off for a sprinter.

“Going into a World Championships, you want to be sharp and get in those workouts and those competitions that you’re going to need in order to run fast in Oregon.

“One day we were doing some block starts, he ended up stumbling and stifled his big toe. That put a damper on things leading up to Oregon.”

Outerbridge took on some of the best junior talent in the world. The Bermudian twice went up against American Tate Taylor, who went on to achieve the sprint double.

“Nevertheless, he went out there and competed well,” Bean added.

“That was the best in the world as you can see from some of the results. He didn’t run particularly well according to his personal best, he ran 10.52 but didn’t make it out of the heats in the 100, then ran a pretty good quarter-final in the 200 where he had a best of 20.98.

“He would have had to be at his all-time best to make it to the finals and then run the all-time PB to get on the podium in Oregon.

“That’s the type of level of competition that you can see that he is up against. The young guy Tate Taylor ran 9.94 in the 100 and got his double by running 19.83 in the 200, a championship record.

“Miles is among the top in the world in both the 100 and 200 according to his personal best times.

“It’s something to be proud of and it’s something to look forward to going into his freshman year at the University of Houston being coached by the great Carl Lewis.”