Obadele Thompson

Obadele Thompson

Obadele Thompson, 1993
Personal information
Birth name	Obadele Olutoson Thompson
Nationality	Barbadian
Born	(1976-03-30) 30 March 1976
Sport
Sport	Sprint
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
Medal record Men’s Athletics Representing Barbados Olympic Games 2000 Sydney 100 m World Indoor Championships 1999 Maebashi 200 m Central American and Caribbean Games 1998 Maracaibo 100 m CAC Championships 1993 Cali 100 m 1995 Guatemala City 100 m 1995 Guatemala City 200 m 1999 Bridgetown 100 m 1999 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay 2001 Guatemala City 4×100 m relay 1995 Guatemala City 4×100 m relay Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m CAC Junior Championships (U20) 1994 Port of Spain 100 m 1994 Port of Spain 200 m CARIFTA Games Junior (U20) 1993 Fort-de-France 100m 1994 Bridgetown 100m 1994 Bridgetown 200m 1992 Nassau 4x100 m relay 1993 Fort-de-France 200m 1993 Fort-de-France 4x100m relay CARIFTA Games Youth (U17) 1991 Port of Spain 100m 1992 Nassau 100m 1992 Nassau 200m 1991 Port of Spain 200m

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

Biography

Thompson after winning the bronze medal in Sydney, 2000

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

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

Career

Starting his career, he competed very successfully at the CARIFTA Games and the Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships. In 1994, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1994 CARIFTA Games.

A junior season's best performance 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. 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 life

On 24 February 2007, Obadele Thomspon married Marion Jones, former world champion track and field athlete, and former professional basketball player for Tulsa Shock in the WNBA. Their first child together was born in July 2007. Their second child, Eva-Marie, was born on 28 June 2009.

Personal bests

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

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Barbados
1991	CARIFTA Games (U-17)	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	1st	100 m	10.5   (2.6 m/s) w
			3rd	200 m	22.26
1992	CARIFTA Games (U-17)	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	100 m	10.59 w
			2nd	200 m	21.61
	CARIFTA Games (U-20)		2nd	4x100 m relay	41.84
1993	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Fort-de-France, Martinique	1st	100 m	10.71   (-0.9 m/s)
			2nd	200 m	21.42   (-0.3 m/s)
			3rd	4x100 m relay	42.47
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Cali, Colombia	1st	100 m	10.30 w
	Pan American Junior Championships	Winnipeg, Canada	3rd	100m	10.76
			2nd	200m	21.18 w
1994	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	100 m	10.33
			1st	200 m	20.71
	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships	Port of Spain, Trinidad	1st	100m	10.0   (-0.3 m/s)
			1st	200m	21.1   (-0.2 m/s)
	World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	4th	100m	10.29 (wind: +1.2m/s)
			5th (sf)	200 m	21.28 (wind: +1.9m/s)
1995	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Guatemala City, Guatemala	1st	100 m	10.18 A
			1st	200 m	20.49 A CR
	Universiade	Fukuoka, Japan	2nd	100 m	10.34   (1.3 m/s)
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	5th (qf)	100 m	10.30   (-0.5 m/s)
			7th (sf)	200 m	20.66   (-0.9 m/s)
1996	NCAA Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, United States	1st	200m	20.36
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	6th (sf)	100m	10.16   (-0.5 m/s)
			4th	200m	20.14   (0.4 m/s)
1997	NCAA Indoor Championships	Indianapolis, United States	1st	200m	20.67
	NCAA Outdoor Championships	Bloomington, United States	1st	100 m	10.13
			1st	200 m	20.03
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	6th (sf)	100 m	10.30   (-0.8 m/s)
			6th	200m	20.37   (2.3 m/s) w
	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Fukuoka, Japan	2nd	200 m	20.19   (0.3 m/s)
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	3rd	100m	10.00
	IAAF World Cup	Johannesburg, South Africa	1st	100 m	9.87   (-0.2 m/s) NR
	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Moscow, Russia	2nd	100 m	10.11   (0.1 m/s)
	Central American and Caribbean Games	Maracaibo, Venezuela	1st	100 m	10.20
1999	IAAF World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	2nd	200 m	20.26
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	100 m	10.23
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	4th	100 m	10.00   (0.2 m/s)
			4th	200 m	20.23   (1.2 m/s)
	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Munich, Germany	4th	200 m	20.21   (-0.8 m/s)
2000	Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	3rd	100 m	10.04   (-0.3 m/s)
			4th	200 m	20.20   (-0.6 m/s)
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	5th (sf)	100 m	10.31   (-1.7 m/s)
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	—	100 m	DNS (qf)
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	4th (qf)	100 m	10.14   (0.6 m/s)
2004	Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece	7th	100 m	10.10   (0.6 m/s)
2005	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Nassau, Bahamas	4th	200m	20.53   (1.8 m/s)
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	6th (qf)	100 m	10.34   (-1.0 m/s)
			—	200 m	DNS (h)

External links

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

Records
Olympic Games
Preceded by Elvis Forde	Flagbearer for Barbados Atlanta 1996	Succeeded by Andrea Blackett