Editing Obadele Thompson (section)

==Athletics career==

===Junior athletics===
Obadele began his athletic career at about six years old in Barbados at the Charles F. Broomes Primary School before transferring to Wesley Hall Junior School. However, his talents blossomed at his secondary school, [[Harrison College (Barbados)|Harrison College]], under the tutelage of his physical education teacher, [[Orlando Greene]] (Barbados [[800 metres|800 m]] national record holder). He was also coached by respected Barbadian coaches Frank "Blackie" Blackman and the late Anthony Lovell.

====1990–1993====
Thompson first represented Barbados at age 14, winning the 100 and 200 metres at the 1990 [[Caribbean Union of Teachers]] (CUT) Games in [[Georgetown, Guyana]]. He again showed promise by winning the 100 m in the under-17 age division at the 1991 [[CARIFTA Games]] in [[Port of Spain|Port of Spain, Trinidad]]. The CARIFTA Games is an annual Caribbean junior track and field championship that has produced notable Caribbean sprinters including [[Usain Bolt]], [[Merlene Ottey]] and [[Pauline Davis-Thompson]]. Over the next three years, Thompson dominated the 100 m at the regional junior level, winning four successive CARIFTA Games 100 m titles (twice in both the under-17 and under-20 divisions), and not losing to a Caribbean junior sprinter at this distance since he was 14 years old. In 1993, Thompson became the Barbados national senior 100 m champion, and placed third and second in the 100 and 200 metres, respectively, at the [[Pan American Junior Athletics Championships]] in [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, Canada. A few weeks later, at only 17 years old, he won his first 100 m title at the 1993 Senior [[Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics|Central American and Caribbean Championships]] (CAC) in [[Cali|Cali, Colombia]], clocking a slightly wind-assisted 10.30 sec. (+2.1&nbsp;m/s wind).

Despite attending one of the top academic high schools in the Caribbean and being among the best sprinters in his age group in the world, he was initially not recruited by any universities because Barbados was then only known for being a top tourist destination and producing [[List of international cricketers from Barbados|outstanding cricketers]], not sprinters. He was also not invited to the top American junior track meets for similar reasons. Not deterred, in early 1993, Thompson contacted Hall of Fame former UTEP head track coach, Bob Kitchens,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ustfccca.org/2016/08/featured/ustfccca-coaches-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-announced|title=USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Announced ::: USTFCCCA|website=www.ustfccca.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref> who had trained [[Nigerians|Nigerian]] sprinter, [[Olapade Adeniken]], to the 1992 NCAA Outdoor 100 and 200 metres titles.

In August 1993, Thompson left Barbados on an [[athletic scholarship]] to become part of UTEP's long legacy of outstanding track and field athletes, which includes: [[Bob Beamon]] ([[1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Olympic]] [[long jump]] champion), [[Suleiman Nyambui]] ([[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Olympic]] [[5000 metres|5000 m]] silver medalist), [[Bert Cameron]] ([[1983 World Championships in Athletics|1983 World Champion]] in the 400 m), [[Blessing Okagbare]] ([[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Olympic]] long jump silver medalist), and [[Churandy Martina]] ([[European Athletics Championships|European Champion]] in the 100 and 200 metres).

====1994====
Thompson made an immediate impact on the collegiate scene, while still only 17 years old, he reached the finals at the 1994 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 55 and 200 metres—the only male athlete to do so that year<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://in.milesplit.com/meets/179629/results/312954/formatted#.Wo0OZeZzI2w|title=NCAA DI Indoor Championships – Results|work=MileSplit Indiana|access-date=2018-02-21|language=en}}</ref>—while helping his team finish third overall. He opened his outdoor season before his home crowd at the CARTIFA Games in Barbados, defending his under-20 100 m title in a new meet record (10.33 sec.), and winning the 200 m for the first time (20.71 sec.).  His record-setting 100 m run earned him the Austin Sealy Award for Most Outstanding Performance of the championships. Two weeks later at the Sierra Medical Center/UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas, Thompson established his first global mark by equaling the World Junior Record of 10.08 sec. in the 100 m<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-21-sp-18381-story.html|title=No Record for 9.96 in 99.96 Meters|last=WHITE|first=MATT|date=1994-07-21|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-02-21|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> (broken in 1998 by [[Dwain Chambers]]).

Unfortunately, shortly afterward he sustained his first major injury, a non-displaced fracture in his neck, which went improperly diagnosed for several months. Despite this season-altering injury, Thompson helped UTEP finish second overall at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as part of the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relays.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/tfn_pdfs/ncaamenresultsbyyear/1994.pdf|title=1994 NCAA Outdoor Men's Results|website=www.trackandfieldnews.com}}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He also won the Jamaica Junior National Championships in the 100 m (as a visiting athlete), the CAC Junior Championships in the 100 and 200 metres, placed fourth in the 100 m at the [[World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]] and was the youngest semifinalist in 100 m at the [[1994 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]] in [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], Canada.

====1995====

Obadele completed his final year in the junior (under-20) category by dominating the yearly global 100 m performance list. He twice recorded the fastest junior 100 m time (10.18 sec.) and ran 8 of the 11 fastest junior 100 m times that year. His most memorable victory came in the 100 m invitational race at the Drake Relays in [[Des Moines, Iowa]], where he defeated his idol [[Carl Lewis]] (nine-time Olympic gold medalist), [[Mark Witherspoon]] (member of the 1992 US Olympic 100 m team), and Sam Jefferson (1994 NCAA 100 m champion).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1995/05/08/8093937/carl-lewis|title=CARL LEWIS|last=NODEN|first=MERRELL|work=SI.com|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref>

Internationally, Thompson successfully defended his title in the 100 m at the Senior CAC Championships in [[Guatemala]], while adding the 200 m title in a new championship record of 20.49 sec., which was the third-fastest time by a junior athlete that season. He was the youngest semifinalist in the 200 m at the World (Senior) Championships in [[Gothenburg|Gothenburg, Sweden]], and won a silver medal in the 100 m at the [[World University Games]] in [[Fukuoka|Fukuoka, Japan]].

===Senior athletics===

====1996====
Obadele started the 1996 season on fire, winning his first NCAA Indoor Championship in an NCAA indoor 200 m record.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://in.milesplit.com/meets/179504/results/312951/formatted#.Wo0T5-ZzI2w|title=NCAA DI Indoor Championships – Results|work=MileSplit Indiana|access-date=2018-02-21|language=en}}</ref> His time of 20.36 sec. shattered the old mark of 20.59 sec. set seven years earlier by four-time Olympic Champion, Michael Johnson, and equaling the then third-fast time in that event.
To celebrate his 20th birthday, Thompson ran 45.38 sec. in his first competitive 400 m since he was 13 years old. Two weeks later, in his season-opening 100 m, he clocked the fastest time ever recorded by a human under any conditions—a wind-assisted time of 9.69 sec.—which could not be ratified as an official world record because the tailwind (+5&nbsp;m/s) far exceeded the +2.0&nbsp;m/s legal limit. This performance broke the mark set by Carl Lewis in 1988 (9.78 sec.) and stood for 12 years until [[Tyson Gay]] ran a wind-aided 9.68 sec. at the 2008 US Olympic Trials.

Thompson sustained a groin injury during that race, forcing him to miss practice for a week. Injuries struck again months later in the semifinals of the 100 and 200 metres ([[groin]] and [[hamstring]] [[Strain (injury)|strains]], respectively) at the 1996 NCAA Outdoor Championships in [[Eugene, Oregon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/specials/olympics/cntdown/0602oly-run-ncaa-thompson.html|title=Thompson Takes a Risk and Comes Up Limping|website=archive.nytimes.com|access-date=2018-03-06}}</ref> He withdrew from the meet, extinguishing the anticipated showdown with [[Trinidadians|Trinidadian]] sprinter, [[Ato Boldon]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/02-m200Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> of [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]].

Sidelined by those injuries for three weeks, Thompson's once bright Olympic prospects darkened grimly as he returned to training with only one month to prepare for his first Olympic Games. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he reached the 100 m semifinals, but exceeded expectations by finishing fourth in the 200 m finals behind Michael Johnson, who set an amazing new world record of 19.32 sec., [[Frankie Fredericks]] of [[Namibia]] (19.68 sec.) and Boldon (19.80 sec.). Obadele's fourth-place run of 20.14 sec. established a new Barbados national record, and placed him ahead of [[Michael Marsh (sprinter)|Mike Marsh]] (the defending Olympic 200 m champion) and [[Jeff Williams (athlete)|Jeff Williams]] (1995 World Championship 200 m bronze medalist). At only 20 years old, ''[[Track & Field News]]'' magazine ranked Thompson #5 in the 200 m in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/02-m200Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 200|website=www.trackandfieldnews.com}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

====1997====

Obadele started his senior collegiate season by winning the WAC indoor 55 m in 5.99 sec.—a new NCAA record and his second world record. He is the first and only man to go under the 6-second barrier in that event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-lists?list_id=15&sex_id=M&yyear=2008|title=Track & Field News – Lists|website=trackandfieldnews.com|language=en-gb|access-date=2018-02-21|archive-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221161416/https://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-lists?list_id=15&sex_id=M&yyear=2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the NCAA Indoor Championships, he became the third male athlete to win back-to-back 200 m titles. Unfortunately, he false started in the 55 m finals, despite being heavily favoured to win after running 6.08 sec. in the semifinals, which was 0.10 sec. faster than all competitors at the entire meet. In May, he defeated the 1996 Olympic 100 m champion and world record holder, [[Donovan Bailey]], in the 100 m in [[Tempe, Arizona]]. Thompson also co-captained his team to back-to-back WAC Outdoor titles. In rainy conditions at the NCCA Outdoor Championships in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], he won the NCAA 100 and 200 metres in 10.13 sec. and 20.03 sec., respectively, running the latter into a heavy headwind. He became only the sixth person since 1969 to win this double.

====Professional athletics career====

=====1997=====
After the collegiate season, Thompson placed sixth in the 200 m at the 1997 World Championships in [[Athens|Athens, Greece]]. He also finished second in the same event at the IAAF Grand Prix Finals in Fukuoka, Japan. He moved up the ''Track & Field News'' rankings to #4 in the 200 m in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/02-m200Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 200}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=====1998=====
In the summer of 1998, Thompson relocated to [[Austin, Texas]] to work with [[Dan Pfaff]], who had coached Bailey to the 1996 Olympic 100 m title. Pfaff helped Thompson shake off mid-season woes and finish the last two months of competition strongly. During that period, he broke the Barbados national 100 m record four times. On 5 September, he placed second in a photo finish to Fredericks in the 100 m Grand Prix Final in Moscow, Russia. A week later, on 11 September, he recorded his all-time personal best of 9.87 sec. en route to winning the 100 m at the [[World Cup in Athletics]] in [[Johannesburg|Johannesburg, South Africa]], erasing the championship record set by [[Ben Johnson (Canadian sprinter)|Ben Johnson]] in 1985. At the time, Thompson's performance was the fourth-fastest legal 100 m in history (only 0.03 sec. outside Bailey's world record Olympic victory of 9.84 sec.), and the second-fastest 100 m in 1998 (0.01 sec. behind Boldon's 9.86 sec.). Days later, on 17 September, he won the 100 m bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in [[Kuala Lumpur|Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]], behind Boldon and Fredericks, after leaving the starting blocks last. ''Track & Field News'' ranked him #6 in the world in the 100 m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/01-m100Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 100}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=====1999=====
In March, Thompson won the silver medal in the 200 m at the [[IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics|IAAF World Indoor Championships]] in [[Maebashi|Maebashi, Japan]]. His time of 20.26 sec. was the then third-fastest all-time performance. Later that season, Thompson placed fourth in the 100 and 200 metres at the World Championships in [[Seville|Seville, Spain]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/barbados/obadele-thompson-9873|title=IAAF: Obadele Thompson {{!}} Profile|website=iaaf.org|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref> and ''Track & Field News'' ranked him #5 and #6 in those events, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/01-m100Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 100}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/02-m200Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 200}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=====2000=====
[[File:Mens 100m medalists, Sydney2000.jpg|thumb|Thompson (right) posing with the other 100&nbsp;m Olympic medallists]]
Obadele reached the zenith of his athletic career in 2000. After rounding into form on European track circuit, he injured his big toe while placing second to [[Maurice Greene (athlete)|Maurice Greene]] in the 100 m at the Monaco Golden League meeting,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaaf.org/results/iaaf-golden-league/2000/herculis-zepter-2348/men/100-metres/final/result#resultheader|title=IAAF: 100 Metres Result {{!}} Herculis Zepter {{!}} iaaf.org|website=iaaf.org|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref> forcing him to return to the US for treatment six weeks before the 2000 Sydney Games. He returned to competition ten days before the Games to set a 200 m personal best of 19.97 sec. in [[Yokohama|Yokohama, Japan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/second-best-all-time-for-lebedeva-in-yokohama|title=IAAF: Second best all-time for Lebedeva in Yokohama{{!}} News {{!}} iaaf.org|website=iaaf.org|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref> At the Games, he won the bronze medal in the 100 m in 10.04 sec. behind Greene (9.87 sec.) and Boldon (9.99 sec.) and placed fourth in the 200 m, although he and Boldon both ran 20.20 sec.

His bronze medal was Barbados' first and only Olympic medal and only the second Olympic medal won by a Barbadian athlete (at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Barbadian [[Jim Wedderburn]] won bronze with three Jamaicans on the [[West Indies Federation]] 4 x 400 metres relay team).

By season end, ''Track & Field News'' ranked Thompson #3 in the world in the 100 and 200 metres,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/01-m100Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 100}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/images/stories/Rankings/02-m200Rank.pdf|title=Track & Field News World Rankings – Men's 200}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> while the [[International Association of Athletics Federations|International Association of Athletic Federations]] (IAAF) ranked him #3 in the 100 m and #2 in the 200 m.

====Injury years====

=====2001=====

Injuries ravished Thompson's 2001 season, and he competed sparing. Ironically, although he never ran a 200 m that season, he reached a career-high IAAF #1 world ranking in that event for several weeks based on his accumulated IAAF points. Three weeks before the 2001 World Championships in [[Edmonton|Edmonton, Alberta]], Thompson sustained a [[Pectoralis major muscle|pectoral]] tear during training but rebounded and narrowly missed making the 100 m finals while heavily bandaged.

=====2002–2009=====

The years 2002–2009 were very lean ones for Obadele, characterised primarily by recurring and new injuries and scant appearances on the track. After not racing for almost one year, he qualified for 2003 World Championships in [[Paris|Paris, France]], but had the misfortune of encountering the eventual World Champion, [[Kim Collins]], as well as Greene and Chambers (1999 World Championship 100 m bronze medallist) in the quarterfinals. Thompson's 10.14 sec. fourth-place clocking became the then-fastest performance not to make a 100 m semifinal.

Thompson raced sparingly and unremarkably in 2004, and just weeks before the 2004 Athens Olympics his participation was doubtful due to various injuries. However, he once more defied the odds when he reached and placed seventh in the 100 m finals in 10.10 sec., despite his injuries and not competing for six weeks entering the Games.

In 2005, Thompson returned to competing in the 200 m outdoors for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympic finals five years earlier. He placed fourth at the CAC Championships in [[Nassau, Bahamas]] in a season-best 20.53 sec. behind the 19-year-old emerging sprint sensation, Usain Bolt, who won in 20.03 sec.

In 2008, Thompson sustained another hamstring injury during the Barbados Olympic trials that ended his hopes of participating in the 2008 [[Beijing Olympics 2008|Beijing Olympics]]. In April 2009, he retired from athletics by winning his final race, a 200 m at a college invitational race in Austin, Texas.