Obadele Thompson - Career

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 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. 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.