The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and 88% of its population. The archipelagic country consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes the Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is a former Bahamian sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics.
Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest part of The Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted 20,000 hectares of pineyard with substantial areas of swamp and scrubland by the Bahamian government with a mandate to economically develop the area. Freeport has grown to become the second most populous city in The Bahamas.
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the 100-meter (109.36 yd) dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1928 for women. The inaugural World Championships were in 1983.
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks. When the sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster.
Derrick Atkins is a Bahamian sprinter. Atkins specializes in the 100 metres event and also holds the national record, with a time of 9.91 seconds. He is the second cousin of former world record holder Asafa Powell.
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.
The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less important since the late 1990s, as an increasing number of runners have surpassed the ten seconds mark. The current men's world record holder is Usain Bolt, who ran a 9.58 at the 2009 IAAF World Championship competition.
Demetrius Pinder is a Bahamian male track and field sprint athlete who competes in the 400 metres. His personal best for the event is 44.63 seconds. At the 2012 London Olympics he was a 400 m finalist and relay gold medallist.
Elaine Sandra-Lee Thompson-Herah is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and the third fastest ever in the 200 m.
Iram Dewitt Lewis is a Bahamian Free National Movement politician and former sprinter who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Grand Bahama since 2017. He became the president of the Grand Bahama Amateur Athletic Association in 2015. He was appointed Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture in March 2021.
Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American track and field sprinter. He was the Olympic silver medalist over 100 m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in the same event. Kerley has earned an additional six medals at the World Championships, most notably 100m gold at the 2022 edition. He has also medalled in the 400m, 4 x 100m relay, and 4 × 400 m relay and won eleven Diamond League races, including two Diamond League finals - the 400m in 2018 and the 100m in 2021.
Geno Jones Jr is a Bahamian sprinter from Grand Bahama who mainly competes in the 100m. He attended Bishop Michael Eldon School before competing for the LSU Tigers track and field and later played American football at Holland College in Canada as a running back.
Jonathan Farquharson is a Bahamian sprinter from Grand Bahama who mainly competes in the 100m. He attended Bishop Michael Eldon School and Orlando Christian Prep before competing for the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
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.
Samson Colebrooke is a Bahamian sprinter. He is the fastest born-Bahamian athlete over 100m as Derrick Atkins, the national record holder, was born in Jamaica.
Letsile Tebogo is a sprinter from Botswana. He won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 200 metres event, with his win earning the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. He also won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in the 100 m and followed it up with a bronze medal in the 200 m five days later.
The most popular sports in the Bahamas are those of colonial British origin as well as those adopted from neighbouring United States. They include athletics, basketball, baseball, American football, swimming, softball, tennis, boxing, and volleyball track.
This article is about the Athletics in the Bahamas from the early 20th century to onward
Ryan Penn is a Bahamian sprinter from Freeport, Bahamas who competed in the 100m and 200. He attended Grand Bahama Catholic High School in Freeport, Bahamas, before going on to compete for Southwestern Christian College and Louisiana State University.
