Sports in Barbados: Olympic Diamond in the Caribbean!
From hockey and track to swimming!
Ryan brathwaite
Did you know- Ryan Brathwaite has become a national hero since 2009, when, inspired by Obadele Thompson, he won a gold medal for taking first place in the Men’s 110 Hurdles at the IAAF World Championships. He became the first athlete from Barbados to win a world title. He was practically unknown before the 2009 World Championships. Brathwaite should compete for gold at the Games of the 30th Olympiad in the UK in 2012.
Grass hockey
Did you know- At the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games, the Barbados men’s hockey team took the bronze medal. In the bronze medal game, they beat Trinidad and Tobago. The members of that team were: Rawiston Nichols, Peter Norville, Ronald Chandler, Audraj Warner, Peter Clarice, Bejamin Maynard, Harcourt Wason, Michael Marshall, Franklyn Mapp, Ricardo Holder, Sinclair Haynes, Dennis Davis, Rene Bourne, Anderson Phillips, Ralph Watson and Valence Lynch. Behind cricket and soccer, hockey is one of the most popular sports on the island.
Leah Martindale
Did you know- With a time of 25.49 seconds, island swimmer Leah Martindale finished fifth, beating Shan Ying (China) and Natalya Meshcheryakova (Russia), in the women’s 50m freestyle, at the XXVI Olympiad in the United States in July and August 1996. A year ago, he placed seventh in the 50 meters at the Pan American Games in Argentina.
Lorna forde
Did you know- In the 1970s, Lorna Forde became the best-known Olympian by finishing third in the women’s 400m, behind Joyce Yakubowicz (Canada) and Debra Sapenter (America), in the VII Pan American Games in the United Mexican States. Later, at the XXI Olympiad, held in Montreal (Canada) in July 1976, Miss Forde failed to qualify for the semifinals.
Obadele Thompson
Did you know- 2000 was one of the best years for sports on the Island, one of the most respected democracies in the developing countries of the world. Why? On September 23, 2000, Island sprinter Obadele Thompson made national history when he finished third in the men’s 100 meters at the 27th Summer Olympics in Australia; the island’s first Olympic medal. Obadele Thompson was one of the surprise athletes at the Sydney Olympics. Interestingly, Thompson ranked fourth in the men’s 200 meters at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Historically, Thompson is the most famous Olympian from Barbados, an English-speaking nation in the Caribbean.