The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Barbados

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This page contains a list of the greatest Barbadian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 3 of which were born in Barbados. This makes Barbados the birth place of the 91st most number of Athletes behind Tanzania, and Iceland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Barbadian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Barbadian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Barbadian Athletes.

Photo of Obadele Thompson

1. Obadele Thompson (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 38.51, Obadele Thompson is the most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Obadele "Oba" Thompson BSS (born 30 March 1976) is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), and a finalist at each Olympics. His personal best performances are 9.87 seconds for the 100 m, 19.97 seconds for the 200 metres (both Barbadian records), and 45.38 seconds for the 400 metres. He has held the indoor 55 metres world record (5.99 sec.) since 1997. Obadele's Olympic success followed a collegiate career at the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) where he amassed several prestigious awards for his academics, athletics, and leadership. As a collegian, he won four individual NCAA sprint titles: indoor 200 m (1996 and 1997) and the outdoor 100 and 200 metres (1997). He set two NCAA records: indoor 55 m (1997) and indoor 200 m (1996). He established two world records: 55 m (1997) and the World Junior 100 m (1994). In 1996, he ran the then-fastest 100 m recorded under all conditions (9.69 sec.). He was an eleven-time NCAA All-American and a sixteen-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Champion. Thompson won several Athlete of the Year awards, including the UTEP Athlete of the Year (1996 and 1997), US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Male Indoor Athlete of the Year (1997), and the Stan Bates WAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year (1997). He has also been listed as one of UTEP's all-time top 10 male athletes. Thompson was a three-time USTFCCCA Academic All-American (1995–1997). In 1996, he became a member of Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) honor society, the highest recognition business students worldwide can receive from an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited business program. In 1997, he was named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team At-Large Academic All-American (formerly the GTE First-Team At-Large Academic All-American award) and received the State of Texas Certificate of Merit for his exemplary achievement in academics and athletics. In 1998, he became a UTEP Alumni Association Top Ten Senior awardee, and received the NCAA Today's Top VIII Award (now the NCAA Today's Top 10) for outstanding leadership, athletics and academics, along with two-time NFL Super Bowl Champion, Peyton Manning, who attended the University of Tennessee. After retiring from a decade-long professional athletics career, Thompson published his first book, Secrets of a Student-Athlete: A Reality Check, which was endorsed by legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. Thompson was a keynote speaker at the official launch of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in Barbados and has participated in leadership development programs, including with the West Indies Cricket Team. He has also served variously as a speaker and panellist on matters related to sports management, performance, and anti-doping. Thompson was inducted into the UTEP Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2007, and into the UTEP Athletics and Drake Relays Halls of Fame in 2011. He graduated from UTEP summa cum laude in economics and marketing and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Texas School of Law. He practices international arbitration and litigation.

Photo of Beverley Goddard

2. Beverley Goddard (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 30.96, Beverley Goddard is the 2nd most famous Barbadian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Beverley Lanita Callender (née Goddard, born 28 August 1956) is an English former track and field sprinter. She competed for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984, winning bronze medals in the 4 x 100 metres relay in 1980 and 1984. She is also the 1981 World Student Games 100 metres champion.

Photo of Marita Payne

3. Marita Payne (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 30.24, Marita Payne is the 3rd most famous Barbadian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Marita Payne-Wiggins (born October 7, 1960) is a Canadian former track and field athlete who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics. She is the co-Canadian record holder in the 400 metres, along with Jillian Richardson, and previously held the Canadian record in the 200 metres.

Photo of Jim Wedderburn

4. Jim Wedderburn (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 29.74, Jim Wedderburn is the 4th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

James Wedderburn (born 23 June 1938) was a Barbadian athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed for the British West Indies in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the bronze medal with his team mates from Jamaica Malcolm Spence, Keith Gardner and George Kerr.

Photo of Ryan Brathwaite

5. Ryan Brathwaite (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 29.26, Ryan Brathwaite is the 5th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ryan Brathwaite (born June 6, 1988) is a track and field athlete from Barbados who won the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. In recognition of his achievements, on September 17, 2009 Brathwaite was given the honour of being an ambassador while formally receiving the title Ambassador His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite. He is from the Hillaby district in the parish of St. Andrew. Although he shares a birthplace, surname and speciality with Shane Brathwaite, the two are not related.

Photo of Sada Williams

6. Sada Williams (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 25.09, Sada Williams is the 6th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Sada Williams (SHAH-day; born 1 December 1997) is a Barbadian sprinter competing primarily in the 200 and 400 metres. She won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the 2022 World Championships, becoming the first Barbadian woman ever to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Williams took gold in the event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She represented her country at the 2017 World Athletics Championships but did not reach the semifinals. Williams competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She had a breakthrough 2022 season, finishing third in the 400 m at the World Championships Eugene 2022 in July. She improved her own national record to 49.75 seconds, coming home only behind Shaunae Miller-Uibo (49.11 s) and Marileidy Paulino, who ran a time of 49.60 s. About two weeks later at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Williams won the title in a Games record time of 49.90 seconds. She continued her fine season in August by claiming silver behind only Miller-Uibo (49.40 s) at the NACAC Championships in Freeport, Bahamas, with a time of 49.86 seconds.

Photo of Mario Burke

7. Mario Burke (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 0.00, Mario Burke is the 7th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Mario Omar Burke (born 18 March 1997) is a Barbadian sprinter. He currently attends the University of Houston. Burke won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at 2016 World Junior Championships in Athletics. On June 24, 2017, Burke won the 100 metres race at the Barbados National Championships. He opened his 2019 season with a world-leading time of 6.56 seconds in the 60 meters at the Red Raider Invite meet. He went on to place second over the same distance at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships with a new personal best time of 6.55 s. On June 5, 2019, at the NCAA Division I Championships, he became the second Barbadian to break the 10-second barrier with a legal time of 9.98 s. He had previously broken the 10-second barrier with a 9.95 s clocking at the American Athletic Conference Championships a few weeks earlier, but the race was wind-assisted.

Photo of Shane Brathwaite

8. Shane Brathwaite (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 0.00, Shane Brathwaite is the 8th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Shane Rashad Brathwaite (born 8 February 1990 in Bridgetown) is a hurdler from Barbados who competed in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics but did not finish the race in the qualifying heats. His gold medal in the octathlon at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics made him the first person from Barbados to win a gold medal at a global athletics championship. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Brathwaite competed for Texas Tech University at Lubbock, Texas. Although he shares a birthplace, surname and specialty with Ryan Brathwaite, the two are not related.

Photo of Alex Sobers

9. Alex Sobers (b. )

With an HPI of 0.00, Alex Sobers is the 9th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Alex Xavier Sobers (born November 13, 1998) is a Barbadian swimmer. He competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he ranked #44 in the 400 m freestyle competition with a time of 3:59.97. He did not advance to the final. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He competed at the collegiate level for Emmanuel College. In 2020, Sobers joined the Boston College Eagles staff as a volunteer assistant coach.

Photo of Tia-Adana Belle

10. Tia-Adana Belle (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 0.00, Tia-Adana Belle is the 10th most famous Barbadian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Tia-Adana Djena Belle (born 15 June 1996) is a Barbadian athlete competing in the 400 metres hurdles. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics without advancing from the first round. In addition, she won the silver medal at the 2013 World Youth Championships. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 10 people classified as Barbadian athletes born between 1938 and 1997. Of these 10, 9 (90.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Barbadian athletes include Obadele Thompson, Beverley Goddard, and Marita Payne. The most famous deceased Barbadian athletes include Jim Wedderburn. As of April 2024, 7 new Barbadian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Beverley Goddard, Jim Wedderburn, and Sada Williams.

Living Barbadian Athletes

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Deceased Barbadian Athletes

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Newly Added Barbadian Athletes (2024)

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