Obadele Thompson

Obadele Thompson

Obadele Thompson at the Sydney 2000 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	Barbadian
Born	March 30, 1976 (1976-03-30) (age 35)
Sport
Sport	Sprint
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
Medal record Men’s Athletics Competitor for  Barbados Olympic Games Bronze 2000 Sydney 100 m World Indoor Championships Silver 1999 Maebashi 200 m Central American and Caribbean Games Gold 1998 Maracaibo 100 m CAC Championships Gold 2001 Guatemala City 4×100 m relay Gold 1999 Bridgetown 100 m Gold 1999 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay Gold 1995 Guatemala City 100 m Gold 1995 Guatemala City 200 m Gold 1993 Cali 100 m Silver 1995 Guatemala City 4×100 m relay Commonwealth Games Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m

Obadele Thompson (born March 30, 1976) is a sprint athlete from Barbados;. In 2000, he became the first Olympic medalist from Barbados with a bronze medal in the 100m race.

Biography

Born in Saint Michael, Thompson attended Harrison College before earning a scholarship, and graduated with honors with a degree in marketing and economics from the University of Texas at El Paso, United States.

On February 21, 2007 Thompson announced his engagement to Marion Jones, then pregnant. The marriage took place in a private ceremony on February 24, 2007 in North Carolina with close friends and family in attendance.^[1] Their first child together, son Amir, was born in July 2007. A daughter, Eva-Marie, was born in June 2009.^[2][3]

Career

A junior world record holder in 1994, he came close to winning an Olympic medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, when he finished 4th in the 200 m final, which was won by Michael Johnson in a new World Record time.

Competing with the top sprinters in the late 1990s, Thompson came close to major wins at the 1999 World Championships. He finished fourth in both the 100 m and 200 m.

He won a medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, finishing third behind Maurice Greene and Trinidad and Tobago's Ato Boldon. Thompson came in fourth place in the 200 m race.

In April 1996 in El Paso, Texas, Thompson ran the then-fastest 100 m race ever. He was clocked at the time of 9.69 s.^[4] However, it was achieved with a 5.0 m/s tail wind, well over the IAAF legal limit of 2.0 m/s, and the mark was not officially recognized. His time was bettered by Tyson Gay 12 years later who ran a 9.68s 100m aided by a 4.1 m/s tail wind at the 2008 US trials. Thompson's 9.69 time was later matched legally by Usain Bolt at the 2008 Olympic Games, who recorded the same time but with a 0.0 m/s tail wind. In 2009 World Championships in Athletics Bolt bettered his world record to 9.58s, with a tailwind of +0.9 m/s.

His fastest legal time in the 100 m is 9.87, and he ran his personal best in the 200 m at 19.97 in 2000.

After the 2000 Olympics, Thompson was made "Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Youth" by former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur.

Personal bests

Event	Venue	Time	Date
55 m	U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs	5.99	February 22, 1997
60m	Fairfax, Virginia	6.56	February 19, 1999
100 m	Johannesburg, South Africa	9.87	September 11, 1998
200 m	Yokohama, Japan	19.97	September 9, 2000
400 m	El Paso, Texas	45.38	March 30, 1996

Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Event
1993	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Cali, Colombia	1st	100 m
1993	Pan Am Junior Championships	Winnipeg, Canada	3rd	100m
1993	Pan Am Junior Championships	Winnipeg, Canada	2nd	200m
1994	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships	Port of Spain, Trinidad	1st	100m
1994	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships	Port of Spain, Trinidad	1st	200m
1994	IAAF World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	4th	100m
1995	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Guatemala City, Guatemala	1st	100 m
1995	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Guatemala City, Guatemala	1st	200 m
1995	1995 Summer Universiade	Fukuoka, Japan	2nd	100 m
1996	NCAA Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, Indiana	1st	200m
1996	1996 Summer Olympics	Atlanta, Georgia	4th	200m
1997	NCAA Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, Indiana	1st	200m
1997	NCAA Outdoor Championships	Bloomington, Indiana	1st	100 m
1997	NCAA Outdoor Championships	Bloomington, Indiana	1st	200 m
1997	IAAF World Championships	Athens, Greece	6th	200m
1997	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Fukuoka, Japan	2nd	200 m
1998	1998 Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	3rd	100m
1998	IAAF World Cup	Johannesburg, South Africa	1st	100 m
1998	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Moskow, Russia	2nd	100 m
1998	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	100 m
1999	IAAF World Championships	Sevilla, Spain	4th	100 m
1999	IAAF World Championships	Sevilla, Spain	4th	200 m
1999	IAAF World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	2nd	200 m
1999	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	100 m
1999	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Munich, Germany	4th	200 m
2000	2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	3rd	100 m
2000	2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	4th	200 m
2004	2004 Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece	7th	100 m
2005	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Nassau, Bahamas	4th	200m

References

1. ^ Cherry, Gene (March 7, 2007). "Sprinters Jones and Thompson married, says minister". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSL0725699120070307. 
2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02jones-t.html
3. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/wnba/shock/2010-05-16-marion-jones-cover_N.htm
4. ^ IAAF (Thompson, 9.69w)

External links

• IAAF profile for Obadele Thompson
• Obadele Thompson photos & statistics at sporting-heroes.net

Records
Preceded by Stanley Floyd	Men's World Junior Record Holder, 100 metres 16 April 1994 – 25 July 1997	Succeeded by Dwain Chambers

Persondata
Name	Thompson, Obadele
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 30, 1976
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death