Obadele Thompson

Barbadian track and field sprinter

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

Obadele Thompson

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

Biography change

Born in Saint Michael, Thompson attended Harrison College. He then went to 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 on February 24, 2007 in North Carolina.[1] Their first child together, son Amir, was born in July 2007. A daughter, Eva-Marie, was born in June 2009.[2][3]


Personal bests change

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 change

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   (1.2 m/s)
5th (sf) 200 m 21.28   (1.9 m/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, Indiana 1st 200m
Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia 6th (sf) 100 10.16   (-0.5 m/s)
4th 200m 20.14   (0.4 m/s)
1997 NCAA Indoor Championships Indianapolis, Indiana 1st 200m
NCAA Outdoor Championships Bloomington, Indiana 1st 100 m
1st 200 m
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 DNS (qf) 100 m
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)
DNS (h) 200 m


References change

  1. Cherry, Gene (March 7, 2007). "Sprinters Jones and Thompson married, says minister". Reuters.
  2. Jones, Maggie (April 30, 2010). "What Makes Marion Jones Run?". The New York Times.
  3. Michaelis, Vicki (May 17, 2010). "Marion Jones hits ground running, starts fresh in WNBA". USA Today.