Ryan Brathwaite (born June 6, 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 events ...

athlete from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

who won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

in Berlin. In recognition of his achievements, on September 17, 2009 Brathwaite was given the honour of being an ambassador while formally receiving the title Ambassador His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite. He is from the Hillaby district in the parish of St. Andrew. Although he shares a birthplace, surname and speciality with

Shane Brathwaite Shane Rashad Brathwaite (born 8 February 1990 in Bridgetown) is a hurdler from Barbados who competed in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics but did not finish the race in the qualifying heats. His gold medal in the octathlon at th ...

, the two are not related.Arcoleo, Laura (2007-07-13)
Brathwaite is Barbados first World champion
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-07-11.

Career

He first ran on the world stage at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics, taking the silver medal in the

110 meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

. More success came in regional competition when he won the 2006 CAC Junior Championships. He competed as a senior athlete at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

and he reached the sprint hurdles semi-finals. He also represented Barbados at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

where he finished in fourth place. Brathwaite set a national record at the

2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia between 4–6 July 2008. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 by male and 22 by female athletes. During the ...

, winning his heat in a time of 13.49 seconds and finishing fourth in the final. He improved this further at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, running 13.38 seconds in the heats. He made it through to the Olympic semi-finals before being knocked out. He broke a championship record the following year at the 2009 CAC Championships, which he achieved in the semi-finals. However, he was beaten in the final by the reigning Olympic champion

Dayron Robles Dayron Robles (born 19 November 1986) is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metre hurdles. He won his first major medal (a silver) in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. He finished the 2006 se ...

. At the

, neither Robles nor the defending world champion Liu Xiang were present for

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

as they withdrew due to injury. Brathwaite took advantage of this, setting a new best of 13.18 in the semi-finals, and he improved to 13.14 to win the gold and become the 2009 world champion. At 21 years old, he was the youngest ever champion for the event.Arcoleo, Laura (2009-08-20)
‘More to come’ from hurdles surprise Brathwaite
.

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-03-09. After the gold medal, he won at the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond L ...

meeting and closed a successful year with another gold at the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

Personal bests

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brathwaite, Ryan Sportspeople from Bridgetown 1988 births Living people Barbadian male hurdlers Olympic athletes of Barbados Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Barton Cougars men's track and field athletes Junior college men's track and field athletes in the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Barbados Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Barbados Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games World Athletics Championships winners IAAF World Athletics Final winners Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Barbados

Career

Personal bests

Achievements

See also

References

External links