ATHLETES from Antigua and Barbuda

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Antiguan, Barbudan Athletes of all time. This list of famous Antiguan, Barbudan Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. James Beckford (1975 - )

With an HPI of 25.81, James Beckford is the most famous Antiguan, Barbudan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

James Beckford (born 9 January 1975 in Saint Mary, Jamaica) is a Jamaican track and field athlete competing in the long jump. He represented Jamaica at the Olympic level in 1996, 2000 and 2004. He was the silver medallist in the long jump at the 1996 Olympics and also has two silvers from the World Championships in Athletics (from 1995 and 2003). He was chosen as the Jamaica Sportsman of the Year for 1995, 1996 and 2003. He is the current holder of the Jamaican record for the triple jump with a mark of 17.92 m, and was also the holder of the long jump record at 8.62m until 28 September. 2019 when it was replaced with a mark of 8.69 m by Tajay Gayle at the World Championships in Athletics in Doha, Qatar. Beckford was educated in the United States and began his athletics career there, specialising in the horizontal jumps. He took the triple jump title at Florida's Class AAAA championship, representing William R. Boone High School. He moved to Texas to study at Blinn College. While there he improved Delroy Poyser's Jamaican record with a jump of 17.29 metres (56 ft 8¾ in) – a mark which was also the world-leading outdoor jump at that point in April 1994. His personal best of 8.62 m (28 ft 3+1⁄4 in) is currently ranked 15th on the all-time list. Since he made that jump, 5 April 1997 in Orlando, Florida, only 6 men have jumped farther. He was banned from competition for three months in 1997 after he failed a drug test for ephedrine, a banned stimulant. He has competed at the World Championships on five occasions and the IAAF World Indoor Championships on six occasions. Aside from his global performances, he has won medals at the Summer Universiade, the Goodwill Games, the IAAF Grand Prix Final, as well as a silver medal from the 1998 CAC Games. He remains active, winning the 2018 World Masters Championships.

2. Brendan Christian (1983 - )

With an HPI of 24.75, Brendan Christian is the 2nd most famous Antiguan, Barbudan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Brendan Kyle Akeem Christian (born 11 December 1983) is a sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda who specializes in the 200 metres. Born in Antigua, he is the son of Donald Christian who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal as a cyclist. His personal best 100 metres time is 10.09 seconds, achieved in June 2009 in Nivelles. He is also a holder of the Antiguan and Barbudan record in 4 x 100 metres relay with 39.90 seconds. As a junior, he won the silver medal in this event at the 2002 World Junior Championships, where he also finished sixth in the 100 metres race. He then competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-final, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games where he reached the semi-final. In 2007 he won the 100 metres bronze medal and the 200 metres gold medal at the Pan American Games. Shortly after, at the 2007 World Championships, he reached the semi-finals in both events. There, he set a national record in the 200 metres of 20.23 seconds. Christian represented Antigua and Barbuda at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 200 metres and placed second in his first round heat after Aaron Armstrong in a time of 20.58 seconds. He improved his time in the second round to 20.26 seconds and won his race in front of Churandy Martina and Kristof Beyens. He ran his semi final race in 20.29 seconds and placed fifth, failing to achieve a spot in the Olympic final. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he again reached the semi-finals, but again placed fifth, missing out on a place in the final.

3. Daniel Bailey (1986 - )

With an HPI of 24.47, Daniel Bailey is the 3rd most famous Antiguan, Barbudan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Daniel Bakka Everton Bailey (born 9 September 1986) is a sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda who specializes in the 100m.