Keston Bledman, HBM (born 8 March 1988) is a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprint athlete, who competes internationally for

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. On 7 July 2007, at the

2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 14th Pan American Junior Athletics Championships were held in São Paulo, Brazil at the Estádio Ícaro de Castro Melo on July 6 to July 8, 2007. A detailed report on the results was given. Participation (unofficial) Detailed result lis ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, he upset the Jamaican

Yohan Blake Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver me ...

in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

, finishing in 10.32 seconds (−1.1 m/s wind). Bledman represented

Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics Trinidad and Tobago sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Its participation in the Beijing games marked its eighteenth Olympic appearance and fifteenth Summer Olympic appearance since its debut at the 1948 Sum ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He competed at the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

together with

Marc Burns __NOTOC__ Marc Burns (born 7 January 1983) is an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago specializing in the 100 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay. Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified from his 100 metres heat due to a fals ...

Aaron Armstrong Aaron Nigel Armstrong (born 14 October 1977) is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. He is the 2008 Olympic champion in 4 × 100 metres relay. Armstrong attended the University of Florida in Ga ...

and Richard Thompson. He was the lead off man. In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Japan, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by

Emmanuel Callender Emmanuel Earl Callender (sometimes Callander; born 10 May 1984 in Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. Callender represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Sum ...

for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n team, winning the silver medal. In 2022, Bledman and his teammates received the gold medal due to Jamaica's

Nesta Carter Nesta Carter OD (born October 11, 1985) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres event. Carter was successful as part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 metres relay team, taking gold and setting successive world records at the 2 ...

testing positive for the prohibited substance

methylhexaneamine Methylhexanamine (also known as methylhexamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 1,3-DMAA, dimethylamylamine, and DMAA; trade names Forthane and Geranamine) is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed a ...

. He ran in the first round, but not the final of the men's 4 × 100 m at the 2009 World Championships where Trinidad and Tobago won silver. On 4 June 2011, Bledman ran 9.93 over 100 m in

Clermont, Florida Clermont is a city in Lake County in central Florida, United States, about west of Orlando and southeast of Leesburg. The population was 43,021 in 2020. The city is residential in character and its economy is centered in retail trade, lodging, ...

, to become the 78th athlete to cross the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...

. He won his first national title in June 2012 by beating Richard Thompson over 100 m and ran a personal best time of 9.86 seconds, which is currently tied for the 16th fastest ever. At the 2011 World Championships, he qualified for the 100 m final as one of the fastest losers in the semi-final. He was also a member of the relay team that won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team 4 × 100 m team that won the bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He ran in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early career

His mother lived in the US, and Bledman attributes his athletic success to wanting to do well enough to qualify for the national team and earn a visa. He was recruited by Gunness Persad, who became his coach, at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive sportsday. His first international competition was the 2005 World Youth Championships, where he won an individual bronze. His athletics idol is

Hasely Crawford Hasely Joachim Crawford TC (born 16 August 1950) is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became his country's first Olympic champion. A stadium was renamed in his honour in 2001. Early years Crawford was bor ...

who won the 100 m at the 1976 Olympics for Trinidad and Tobago.

Personal best

International competitions

¹Disqualified in the final

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bledman, Keston 1988 births Living people Trinidad and Tobago male sprinters Olympic athletes of Trinidad and Tobago Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Trinidad and Tobago Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Trinidad and Tobago Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Pan American Games bronze medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Olympic gold medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games