Pauline Davis-Thompson

Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics,^[1] 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 (age 58) Nassau, Bahamas
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 Seville 4×100 m relay 1995 Gothenburg 400 m World Indoor Championships 1995 Barcelona 200 m 1999 Maebashi 200 m Central American and Caribbean Games 1986 Santiago 100 m 1986 Santiago 200 m Commonwealth Games 1990 Auckland 100 m 1990 Auckland 200 m

In 2022, Davis released her memoirs through Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History has won two international book awards.

Winner, Autobiography/Memoir, International Book Awards, 2023

Winner, Biography/Autobiography, Track and Field Writers of America (TAFWA) Book Award, 2022

In 2024, Davis signed a publishing deal to have Running Sideways translated and published within China.

Career

In 1984, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1984 CARIFTA Games.^[2][3]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 on 5 October 2007, Jones admitted to taking performance-enhancing steroids and was stripped of the title. On 9 December 2009, Davis-Thompson was awarded the gold medal.^[4]

After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the IAAF council in 2007.^[5]

Personal life

She was married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992) Mark Thompson.^[6]

As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time.^[7]

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

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
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
	Central American and Caribbean Championships	Havana, Cuba	2nd	100 m	11.60
			2nd	200 m	23.65 (w)
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	45.26
1986	Central American and Caribbean Games	Santiago, Dominican Republic	1st	100 m	11.51
			1st	200 m	23.06
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	45.49
1987	Pan American Games	Indianapolis, United States	3rd	100 m	11.47
			3rd	200 m	22.99
1989	Central American and Caribbean Championships	San Juan, Puerto Rico	1st	100 m	11.25
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	46.50
1990	Commonwealth Games	Auckland, New Zealand	3rd	100 m	11.20 w (+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 (-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 (+0.7 m/s)
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	41.95

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pauline Davis-Thompson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
2. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 2 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
3. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 3 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
4. BBC (8 December 2009). "Katerina Thanou denied Marion Jones' Olympic 100m gold". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
5. Congratulations Pauline! - Five Olympic champions now in IAAF Council. IAAF (2009-12-11). Retrieved on 2009-12-12.
6. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mark Thompson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
7. Wojnarowski, Adrian (29 September 2000). "A bit of foolishness to ease the tension". The Record. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.

External links

• Pauline Davis-Thompson at World Athletics
• Pauline Davis-Thompson at Olympics.com
• Pauline Davis-Thompson at Olympedia

Olympic Games
Preceded by Frank Rutherford	Flagbearer for  Bahamas Sydney 2000	Succeeded by Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie