Career
He won the bronze medal at the IAAF World Junior Championships in 1998 at the 100 m and gold medal in the 4 x 100 m relay, competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics and finished 5th at the 2005 World Championships. Later in 2005 he won a bronze medal at the 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final and rank number 3 in the world.
Thomas represented Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4 x 100 m relay together with Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Asafa Powell. In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Canada, Germany and China. Their time of 38.31 was the second out of sixteen participating nations in the first round and they qualified for the final. Thomas was replaced by Usain Bolt for the final race and they sprinted to a new world record time of 37.10 seconds, claiming the gold medal.
Dwight started athletics at an early age competing for Calabar High school in Kingston Jamaica winning the 100 m and the 200 m and set two records at the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association National Boys & Girls Athletic Championship held at the National Stadium, Kingston. On March 22, he won the Class 2 100 m in 10.80sec and the Class 2 110 m hurdles in 14.08.
Thomas won the 100 m at CARIFTA Games, winning the Under-20 100 m in 10.42second.
At the 1998 World junior Championship in Annecy, France, Thomas competed for Jamaica winning a bronze medal in the 100 m, the first in his country's history in the event at the time. Three days later winning the 4 x 100 m relay.
In 1999 Thomas Competed at the Junior Pan American Games in Tampa Bay, Florida, winning the 100 m in 10.37sec and the 200 m in 20.65sec and was a part of the winning 4 x 400 m relay team, running the second leg in the finals.
While Thomas attended Clemson University he was the ACC Athlete of the year winning the 60 m and the 60 m hurdles indoor, 100 m and the 200 m outdoor at the ACC Championship and a All American at the NCCA indoor Championship 2002.
Thomas was the second place runner up the NCAA Championship in the 100 m and the 200 m outdoor, held at LSU in Baton Rouge, to Justin Gatlin, who two years later would become the Olympic Champion in the 100 m.
Thomas transferred to the University of Florida in the fall of 2002 to continue his studies and coached by Mick Holloway, the Head Track & Field coach of the Gators. Thomas opted to go pro instead after finding out, he had to sit out his first year after arriving at Florida under a partial release from Clemson University. He would continue his studies at Florida, while being coached and mentored by Coach Holloway.
Read more about this topic: Dwight Thomas
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)