Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Nassau, Bahamas | 9 July 1966
Medal record |
Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics, [1] a rarity for a track and field athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Olympics (Sydney 2000) at age 34 in the 4 × 100 m Relay and, after Marion Jones' belated disqualification nine years later, in the 200m.
In 2022, Davis released her memoirs through Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History has won two international book awards.
Winner, Autobiography/Memoir, International Book Awards, 2023
Winner, Biography/Autobiography, Track and Field Writers of America (TAFWA) Book Award, 2022
In 2024, Davis signed a publishing deal to have Running Sideways translated and published within China.
In 1984, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1984 CARIFTA Games. [2] [3]
Her first high-profile success came in 1989 when she became the NCAA National Champion in the 200-meter dash while setting a collegiate national record as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide team at the University of Alabama. Then in 1995, she won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and won another silver, this time in the 400 metres, at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.[ citation needed ]
She ran at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics the following year and although she narrowly missed out on a medal in the 400 m, she helped the Bahamian team to a silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay. In 1997 she made both the 400 m and 100 m relay finals but failed to win a medal in either event. She received her first World Championships gold medal two years later, in 1999, aiding the Bahamian relay team to victory.[ citation needed ]
She won a gold medal in both the 200 metres and the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She originally finished in second place in the women's 200 m behind Marion Jones, but on 5 October 2007, Jones admitted to taking performance-enhancing steroids and was stripped of the title. On 9 December 2009, Davis-Thompson was awarded the gold medal. [4]
After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the IAAF council in 2007. [5]
She was married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992) Mark Thompson. [6]
As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time. [7]
Event | Time | Date | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
100 m | 10.97 | 21 July 2000 | Nassau, Bahamas |
200 m | 22.27 | 28 September 2000 | Sydney, Australia |
400 m | 49.28 | 29 July 1996 | Atlanta, United States |
Obadele "Oba" Thompson BSS is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He is a three-time Olympian, and a finalist at each Olympics. His personal best performances are 9.87 seconds for the 100 m, 19.97 seconds for the 200 metres, and 45.38 seconds for the 400 metres. He has held the indoor 55 metres world record since 1997.
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is a former Bahamian sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics.
Veronica Campbell Brown CD, OLY is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. An eight-time Olympic medalist, she is the second of three women in history to win two consecutive Olympic 200 m events, after Bärbel Wöckel of Germany at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and before fellow countrywoman Elaine Thompson-Herah at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Campbell-Brown is one of only eleven athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.
Cydonie Camille Mothersille is a female former track and field sprinter from the Cayman Islands. Her speciality at the beginning of her career was the 100 metres, while the 200 metres gradually became her main event. She represented her country at four Olympic Games from 1996 to 2008, six World Championships in Athletics, and three Commonwealth Games. Her greatest achievements were in the 200 m, including a bronze at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, Commonwealth gold in 2010 and a silver at the 2003 Pan American Games. Her World Championship medal was the first ever for her nation.
Yemen sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was their third appearance at a Summer Olympic Games as a unified country. The Yemeni delegation consisted of two track and field athletes, Basheer Al-Khewani and Hana Ali Saleh. Neither advanced beyond the first round of their respective events.
Kerron Stewart is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is the 2008 Jamaican national champion in the 100 m clocking 10.80s. She defeated World Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the process and now is the 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist after she tied with Sherone Simpson in a time of 10.98s. She also earned a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a time of 22.00s. She was born in Kingston and retired after the 2018 season.
The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The games were first held in 1972 and consist of track and field events including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track events, jumping and throwing events, and relays. The Games has two age categories: under-17 and under-20. Only countries associated with CARIFTA may compete in the competition.
Michael Walter Mathieu is a retired Bahamian sprinter hailing from Freeport, Grand Bahama who specialized in the 200 metres and 400 metres. He was part of the Bahamian silver medal-winning team in the men's 4×400 metres relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, running second leg and recording a 44.0 split, and the gold medal-winning team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was also a part of second place relay team at the 2007 World Championships. He won the bronze medal in the 4x400 metres relay in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Colin Bradford is a Jamaican former track and field athlete who specialised in sprinting events. He represented Jamaica at the Olympic Games in 1976 and 1980.
Demetrius Pinder is a Bahamian male track and field sprint athlete who competes in the 400 metres. His personal best for the event is 44.77 seconds. At the 2012 London Olympics he was a 400 m finalist and relay gold medallist.
Anthonique Strachan is a Bahamian sprinter, she is the 2012 100m and 200m World Junior Champion. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 200 m. and 4 × 400 m relay
Shaunae Miller-Uibo is a Bahamian track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. She is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the women's 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Carl Oliver Jr. is a Bahamian former track and field sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He is the current secretary of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations. His greatest achievements on the track came with the Bahamian 4×400 metres relay team. He was a bronze medallist in the relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics and was also a finalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. He helped set a national record of 3:02.85 minutes at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.
The 4 × 400 metres relay at the Summer Olympics is the longest track relay event held at the multi-sport event. The men's relay has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912 and the women's event has been continuously held since the 1972 Olympics. The inaugural mixed 4 × 400 metres relay was held at the 2020 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 4×400 m relay race at the elite level. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a precursor to this event was held – the 1600 m medley relay. This event, with two legs of 200 m, one of 400 m, and a final leg of 800 m, was the first track relay in Olympic history.
Janieve Russell is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes mainly in the 400 metres hurdles and the 400 metres sprint. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in Tokyo 2021, where she also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles final in a personal best of 53.08 secs. She is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the 400m hurdles title in 2018 and 2022, and the 4 × 400 m relay in 2014 and 2018. She has also won two relay silvers at the World Championships and a relay gold at the World Indoor Championships.
Steven Gardiner is a Bahamian track and field sprinter competing in the 400 metres and 200 metres. He is the 2020 Olympic and 2019 world champion in the 400 m, and also won the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in that event. His winning time of 43.48 s from the 2019 World Championships is the Bahamian record and makes him the eighth‑fastest man in the history of the event. Gardiner also owns the Bahamian records in the outdoor 300 m and 200 m, with times of 31.83 s and 19.75 s respectively, and the world best in the indoor 300 m at 31.56 s.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Pusey is a Jamaican former track and field sprinter. She competed over distances from 100 metres to 400 metres. She represented Jamaica at the 1976 Summer Olympics and competed a second time at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Suziann Reid is an American-Jamaican former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 400-meter dash. She set a personal record of 50.74 seconds for the distance in 1999. She was a silver medalist with the American women's 4 × 400-meter relay team at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. She was part of the World Championship team twice more, in 2001 and 2005, and helped the United States to silver at the 2002 IAAF World Cup and gold at the 2001 Goodwill Games.
Briana Nichole Williams is an American-born sprinter competing for Jamaica in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She became the youngest athlete to win the women's 100 metres and 200 metres double at the 2018 World Under-20 Championships in Tampere at age 16.
This article is about the Athletics in the Bahamas from the early 20th century to onward