Pauline Davis-Thompson

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 athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Olympics (Sydney 2000) at age 34 in the 4 × 100 m Relay and, after Marion Jones' belated disqualification nine years later, in the 200m.

This article is about the sprinter from the Bahamas. For the California State Assemblywoman, see Pauline Davis (politician).

Pauline Davis-Thompson
Personal information
Born (1966-07-09) 9 July 1966
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Bahamas
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay
2000 Sydney 200 m
1996 Atlanta 4×100 m relay
World Championships
1999 Seville4×100 m relay
1995 Gothenburg400 m
World Indoor Championships
1995 Barcelona200 m
1999 Maebashi200 m
Central American and Caribbean Games
1986 Santiago 100 m
1986 Santiago 200 m
Commonwealth Games
1990 Auckland100 m
1990 Auckland200 m

Career

In 1984, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1984 CARIFTA Games.[1][2]

Her first high-profile success came in 1989 when she became the NCAA National Champion in the 200-meter dash while setting a collegiate national record as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide team at the University of Alabama. Then in 1995, she won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships 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 and the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She originally finished in second place in the women's 200 m behind Marion Jones, but in October 2007 Jones admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs and was stripped of the title. On 9 December 2009, Davis-Thompson was finally awarded the gold medal.[3]

After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the IAAF council in 2007.[4]

Personal life

She is married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992) Mark Thompson.[5]

As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time.[6]

Personal bests
Event Time Date Venue
100 m 10.97 21 July 2000 Nassau, Bahamas
200 m 22.27 28 September 2000 Sydney, Australia
400 m 49.28 29 July 1996 Atlanta, United States

Achievements
Representing the  Bahamas
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1982 CARIFTA Games (U-17) Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 100 m 12.19
2nd 200 m 25.1
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17) Bridgetown, Barbados 1st 100 m 11.89
1st 200 m 23.90
1st 400 m 55.90
1st Long jump 5.22 m
1983 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Fort-de-France, Martinique 2nd 100 m 11.69
1st 200 m 23.57
1987 Pan American Games Indianapolis, United States 3rd 100 m 11.47
3rd 200 m 22.99
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 3rd 100 m 11.20 w (wind: +4.4 m/s)
3rd 200 m 23.15
1991 World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain 5th 60 m 7.16
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 7th 200 m 22.90 (wind: -2.4 m/s)
1993 IAAF Grand Prix Final Stuttgart, Germany 8th 100 m 11.56
1994 IAAF Grand Prix Final Paris, France 7th 400 m 51.52
1995 World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 2nd 200 m 22.68
World Championships Gothenborg, Sweden 2nd 400 m 49.96
4th 4 × 100 m relay 43.14
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 4th 400 m 49.28
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 42.14
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 7th 400 m 50.68
6th 4 × 100 m relay 42.77
1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final Moscow, Russia 8th 400 m 53.83
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 3rd 200 m 22.70
World Championships Seville, Spain 1st 4 × 100 m relay 41.92
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 1st 200 m 22.27 (wind: +0.7 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 41.95

References
  1. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 2 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
  2. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 3 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
  3. BBC (8 December 2009). "Katerina Thanou denied Marion Jones' Olympic 100m gold". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  4. Congratulations Pauline! - Five Olympic champions now in IAAF Council. IAAF (2009-12-11). Retrieved on 2009-12-12.
  5. Mark Thompson at Sports Reference
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Frank Rutherford		 Flagbearer for  Bahamas
Sydney 2000		 Succeeded by
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie
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