Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former
Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics, a rarity for 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 ...
athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Olympics (
Sydney 2000
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
) at age 34 in 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 ...
and, after
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...
' belated disqualification nine years later, in the
200m.
Career
In 1984, she was awarded the
Austin Sealy Trophy for the
most outstanding athlete of the
1984 CARIFTA Games
The 13th CARIFTA Games was held in Nassau, Bahamas on April 21–23, 1984.
Participation (unofficial)
For the 1984 CARIFTA Games only the medalists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the numb ...
.
[
]
Her first high-profile success came in 1989 when she became the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
National Champion in the 200-meter dash while setting a collegiate national record as a member of the
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...
team at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
. Then in 1995, she won the silver medal in the
200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
at the
IAAF World Indoor Championships
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...
and won another silver, this time in the
400 metres, at the
1995 World Championships in Athletics.
She ran at the
1996 Atlanta Olympics the following year and although she narrowly missed out on a medal in the 400 m, she helped the Bahamian team to a silver medal in the
4 x 100 metres relay. She suffered a dip in form in 1997 – she made both the 400 m and 100 m relay finals but failed to win a medal in either event. She received her first World Championships gold medal two years later, in 1999, aiding the Bahamian relay team to victory.
She won a gold medal in both the
200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
and the 4 × 100 m relay at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
in
Sydney. She originally finished in second place in the women's 200 m behind
Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...
, but on 5 October 2007, Jones admitted to taking performance-enhancing steroids and was stripped of the title. On 9 December 2009, Davis-Thompson was finally awarded the gold medal.
After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the
IAAF council in 2007.
Personal life
She is married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992)
Mark Thompson.
As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time.
Personal bests
Achievements
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis-Thompson, Pauline
1966 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Nassau, Bahamas
Bahamian female sprinters
Olympic female sprinters
Olympic athletes of the Bahamas
Olympic gold medalists for the Bahamas
Olympic silver medalists for the Bahamas
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for the Bahamas
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the Bahamas
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games
Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for the Bahamas
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
World Athletics Championships athletes for the Bahamas
World Athletics Championships winners
World Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
IAAF Continental Cup winners
Japan Championships in Athletics winners
Alabama Crimson Tide women's track and field athletes
Bahamian people of Jamaican descent
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics
Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games