Saint Kitts and Nevis competed in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

for the first time at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The country sent ten athletes to compete, all in the sport of athletics. None of the athletes received a medal.

Background

Saint Kitts and Nevis Amateur Athletics Association was formed in 1977 and joined the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

in 1993. Prior to the Olympics, Kim Collins earned a bronze medal at the CARIFTA Games in the men's under 20 category. During the 1995 IAAF World Championships, Ricardo Liddie and Kim Collins competed in the 4 x 100 relay, but did not advance past the first round.

Athletics

Saint Kitts and Nevis sent ten competitors to the 1996 Olympic Games, the most ever for the country.

Kim Collins Kim Collins (born 5 April 1976) is a former track and field sprinter from Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2003, he became the World Champion in the 100 metres. He represented his country at the Summer Olympics on five occasions, from 1996 to 2016, a ...

, the only man from St. Kitts and Nevis to compete in an individual event, competed in both the 100 m sprint and the 4 × 100 m relay at the age of 20. He finished the first heat of the 100 m sprint in third place with a time of 10.27, which was fast enough to qualify him for the quarterfinals. Collins ran a little slower in the second heat—finishing with a time of 10.34—which was not sufficient to qualify for the semifinals. The men's 4 × 100 m relay team consisted of

Ricardo Liddie Ricardo Liddie (born 5 February 1966) he is a retired athlete from Saint Kitts and Nevis. He was part of the first team to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis at the Olympic Games when he competed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in the 4 x 100 metre ...

Bertram Haynes Bertram Eric Haynes (born 4 July 1968) is a retired Saint Kitts and Nevis athlete. He was part of the first ever team to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis at the Olympic Games when he competed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in the 4 x 100 metres ...

, Kim Collins, and Alain Maxime Isiah. They finished the first heat with a time of 40.12, garnering fourth place in the heat. This was not fast enough to advance to the next round, and they were eliminated from competition.

Diane Francis Diane Marie Francis (born 1946) is an US-born British people, British-Canadian journalist, author and editor-at-large for the ''National Post'' newspaper since 1998. She is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D. ...

was the only woman to compete in an individual event, the 400 m. She finished the first heat with a time of 52.48, and placed fifth in the heat. With this time, she advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals her time improved to 52.24, which was not high enough to advance to the semifinals. Bernadeth Prentice, Bernice Morton, Elricia Francis, and

Valma Bass Valma Bass (born 12 March 1974) is a former sprinter from the United States Virgin Islands who specialized in the 100 and 200 metres. She changed nationality from Saint Kitts and Nevis in May 2003. For her old country she competed at the Olympic ...

competed in the 4 × 100 m relay. The team received a DNF (did not finish), and therefore did not advance to the next round of competition. St. Kitts and Nevis also participated in the 4 × 400 m relay. Bernadeth Prentice, Diane Francis, Valma Bass, and Tamara Wigley competed in the 4 × 400 m relay. Three of the four athletes on the team also competed in other events at these Games. The group finished with a time of 3:35.12, garnering a seventh-place finish in their heat. They did not advance to the next round and were eliminated. Also Ayne Allen was a part of the 4x400 metres relay but was unable to run. ;Men ;Women

References

{{Nations at the 1996 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1996 in Saint Kitts and Nevis