Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson, née Davis, (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 200 m.
Career In 1984, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1984 CARIFTA Games.
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 × 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.
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.
After her track career, she went into athletics administration, being elected to the IAAF council in 2007.Congratulations Pauline! - Five Olympic champions now in IAAF Council. IAAF (2009-12-11). Retrieved on 2009-12-12.
Personal life She's married to Jamaican Olympic hurdler (1992) Mark Thompson.
As a teenager, she had to constantly wear a sports bra to deal with her unoptimal physique at the time.
In 2022, Davis released a memoir, Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History. It won a 2023 International Book Award and the 2022 Cogan's Track and Field Book Award. In 2024, Davis signed a publishing deal to have Running Sideways translated and published within China.
Personal bests EventTimeDateVenue100 m10.9721 July 2000Nassau, Bahamas200 m22.2728 September 2000Sydney, Australia400 m49.2829 July 1996Atlanta, United States
Achievements 1982CARIFTA Games (U-17)Kingston, Jamaica2nd100 m12.192nd200 m25.1Central American and CaribbeanJunior Championships (U-17)Bridgetown, Barbados1st100 m11.891st200 m23.901st400 m55.901stLong jump5.22 m1983CARIFTA Games (U-20)Fort-de-France, Martinique2nd100 m11.691st200 m23.57Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsHavana, Cuba2nd100 m11.602nd200 m23.65 (w)1st4 × 100 m relay45.261986Central American and Caribbean GamesSantiago, Dominican Republic1st100 m11.511st200 m23.062nd4 × 100 m relay45.491987Pan American GamesIndianapolis, United States3rd100 m11.473rd200 m22.991989Central American and Caribbean ChampionshipsSan Juan, Puerto Rico1st100 m11.252nd4 × 100 m relay46.501990Commonwealth GamesAuckland, New Zealand3rd100 m11.20 w (+4.4 m/s)3rd200 m23.151991World Indoor ChampionshipsSeville, Spain5th60 m7.16World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan7th200 m22.90 (-2.4 m/s)1993IAAF Grand Prix FinalStuttgart, Germany8th100 m11.561994IAAF Grand Prix FinalParis, France7th400 m51.521995World Indoor ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain2nd200 m22.68World ChampionshipsGothenborg, Sweden2nd400 m49.964th4 × 100 m relay43.141996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States4th400 m49.282nd4 × 100 m relay42.141997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece7th400 m50.686th4 × 100 m relay42.771998IAAF Grand Prix FinalMoscow, Russia8th400 m53.831999World Indoor ChampionshipsMaebashi, Japan3rd200 m22.70World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain1st4 × 100 m relay41.922000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia1st200 m22.27 (+0.7 m/s)1st4 × 100 m relay41.95
References
External links