Veteran sports advocate, broadcaster and former BAAA (Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations) president Alpheus Finlayson has died, aged 76, just weeks after the death of his wife, Dawn.

Finlayson served as co-captain of the St John’s University Track Team, President of the Pioneer’s Sporting Club, and of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association from 1989 to 1997.

He was also elected Vice President of the Central American Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation as well as Vice President of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Area Athletic Associations.

It was during Finlayson’s administration of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association in 1992 that the first Bahamian Olympic medal in Track & Field was won, and in 1995 and 1997 the first three World Championship medals were won.

Finlayson, affectionately nicknamed “Hawk,” made history when he became the first Bahamian elected to the 27-member Council of the IAAF, the World governing body of Track & Field.

He also held the distinction of being the only Bahamian to attend every IAAF World Championships, from Helsinki in 1983 to London in 2017.

His book From Vancouver to Athens: Finlayson Fifty Years of Bahamian International Track & Field Competition is a best-seller.

He also authored weekly columns on “Track World” from 1980 to 1986 in The Tribune and produced a television show on ZNS called Track World with Alpheus Finlayson. Finlayson also wrote international newsletters with the same name.

He also hosted the weekly radio show called Track World with Alpheus Finlayson on Guardian Radio 96.9 FM.