Give athletes full support!

Obadele Thompson has made a clarion call to his fellow Bajans to throw their full support behind the island’s sportsmen and sportswomen. 

The 49-year-old, who 25 years ago achieved one of the greatest feats in the country’s history by winning an Olympic medal, delivered the feature address on a night of glitz and glamour as the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) in association with IGT Lottery hosted their annual awards ceremony.

 Under the event’s theme Inspired by History, Driven by Tomorrow, Thompson spoke passionately to an attentive audience at Wyndham Sam Lord’s Castle on Saturday night, while hundreds more watched on local television and online streams. Among the specially invited patrons was the President of Barbados The Most Honourable Jeffrey Bostic, who is the patron of the BOA as they celebrate their 70th anniversary.

“I want us to embrace a bright future for sport in Barbados, while we look back at 70 years of success.

In 1984 I was fortunate at eight years old. I was very fortunate to see the men’s 4×400 team of the late Richard Louis, Richard Peltier, Clyde Edwards and Elvis Forde make the Olympic finals. Just to see people from my island and see them in an Olympic final was awe-inspiring,” Thompson said.

 “I was fortunate that back in the day I was able to see cricket when we had the late Malcolm Marshall, (Sir) Gordon Greenidge, (The Most Honourable) Joel Garner, (The Most Honourable) Desmond Haynes, so from very early on I realised that Barbados could compete with the best in the world. I want to challenge everyone to embrace that. It is becoming a tougher place out there to qualify (for international competitions) . . . but we know we have the talent. As we move to the future will we focus on just participating or dominating? When I lined up 25 years ago and looked down that lane there was only one thing going through my head . . . that was winning for Barbados.”

 Thompson’s Olympic bronze medal came in the men’s 100 metres – the marquee event at the Sydney 2000 Games – with more than 500 million viewers worldwide at the time. He was third and took to the podium alongside the winner Maurice Greene of the United States and Ato Bolden, of Trinidad and Tobago. 

In a touching moment, Thompson, a BOA director, reflected on his journey to sporting stardom with pride while showcasing gratitude. He praised his Barbadian coaches – Orlando Greene at Harrison College, as well as the late Frank Blackman, and the late Tony Lovell at Freedom Striders.

“Mr Greene’s understanding of what it took to win was superior to a lot of other people. A former NCAA champion, he was an Olympian, he held the national 800 metres record from 1976 to 2022, and he was the coach of the 1984 Barbados track and field team, when Barbados reached the final in the men’s 4×400 relay. His understanding made such a difference,” Thompson added.

“I believe “Blackie” was a genius. Whenever I came home to Barbados regardless of whether I was at college or as a professional athlete, it was him who I called. He was not only a competitor in his time but he was also Mr Greene’s coach.”

BOA president Sonia Osborne  echoed Thompson’s call for national support as a show of pride and industry among the citizenry as they have set “ambitious medal and performance targets”. 

She detailed the upcoming regional and international multi-sports events including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games; the Centennial Central America and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo; the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics; the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru; followed by the Commonwealth Youth Games in Malta.

These are part of the lead-up to the XXXIV Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the summer of 2028 which will feature 36 sports, 51 disciplines, and over 11 000 athletes for what promises to be the biggest celebration of sporting excellence in history.

 In his address, Minister of Sports Charles Griffith pledged government’s continued support of the island’s sporting industry and outlined a number of the ongoing projects – including the re-construction of the National Stadium and the Netball Stadium at Waterford. He also detailed the urgent need for the island to be a major player in the multibillion-dollar sports industry, led by the legacy of cricket greatness.

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