Pauline Davis-Thompson

Pauline Davis-Thompson
Personal information
Born (1966-07-09) 9 July 1966
Nassau, Bahamas
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Bahamas
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney 4 × 100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney 200 m
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta 4 × 100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Seville 4 × 100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1995 Gothenburg 400 m
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 1995 Barcelona 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Maebashi 200 m
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 1986 Santiago 100 m
Gold medal – first place 1986 Santiago 200 m
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Auckland 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Auckland 200 m

Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson, née Davis, (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 200 m.

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.[4] 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.[5]

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 × 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.[5]

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.[6]

After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the IAAF council in 2007.[7]

Personal life

She's married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992) Mark Thompson.[8]

As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time.[9]

In 2022, Davis released a memoir, Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History.[10] It won a 2023 International Book Award and the 2022 Cogan's Track and Field Book Award.[11][12] In 2024, Davis signed a publishing deal to have Running Sideways translated and published within China.[13]

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. ^ "Five is enough". The Birmingham News. 18 March 1986. p. 25. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b Pauline Davis-Thompson at Tilastopaja (subscription required)
  6. ^ BBC (8 December 2009). "Katerina Thanou denied Marion Jones' Olympic 100m gold". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  7. ^ Congratulations Pauline! - Five Olympic champions now in IAAF Council. IAAF (2009-12-11). Retrieved on 2009-12-12.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Running sideways : the Olympic champion who made track and field history / Pauline Davis with T. R. Todd". olympics.com.
  11. ^ "Olympian Pauline Davis presents a copy of her book, 'Running Sideways' to the Deputy Prime Minister". znsbahamas.com.
  12. ^ "Track and Field Writers of America Cogan's Track and Field Book Award". tafwa.org.
  13. ^ "Our Patron: Pauline Davis-Thompson". runforpompey.com.
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