The Most Famous

ATHLETES from The Bahamas

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This page contains a list of the greatest Bahamian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 15 of which were born in The Bahamas. This makes The Bahamas the birth place of the 53rd most number of Athletes behind Armenia, and Slovenia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Bahamian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Bahamian 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 Bahamian Athletes.

Photo of Durward Knowles

1. Durward Knowles (1917 - 2018)

With an HPI of 47.71, Durward Knowles is the most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Sir Durward Randolph Knowles (2 November 1917 – 24 February 2018) was a sailor and Olympic champion from The Bahamas. He won the gold medal in the Star class at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, together with Cecil Cooke. He won the bronze medal in the same class at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He had previously competed for the United Kingdom in the 1948 Olympics, finishing in 4th place in the Star class together with Sloane Elmo Farrington. Representing the Bahamas, Knowles also won gold in the 1959 Pan American Games star class (with Farrington). He is one of only five athletes who have competed in the Olympics over a span of 40 years, along with fencer Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier, sailor Magnus Konow, showjumper Ian Millar, and sailor Paul Elvstrøm. In 2014, the second Legend-class patrol boat of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force was commissioned as HMBS Durward Knowles. In May 2016, following the death of Sándor Tarics, he became the oldest living Olympic champion. He turned 100 in November 2017 and died on 24 February 2018.

Photo of Donald Thomas

2. Donald Thomas (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 37.93, Donald Thomas is the 2nd most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Donald Thomas (born 1 July 1984) is a Bahamian high jumper from Freeport, Bahamas.

Photo of Chandra Sturrup

3. Chandra Sturrup (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 35.82, Chandra Sturrup is the 3rd most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Chandra Sturrup (born September 12, 1971) is a Bahamian track and field sprint athlete.

Photo of Shaunae Miller-Uibo

4. Shaunae Miller-Uibo (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 35.38, Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the 4th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo (born 15 April 1994) is a Bahamian track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. She is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the women's 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the World Athletics Championships, Miller-Uibo won silver medals in the 400 m in 2015 and 2019, and a bronze at the 200 m in 2017 when she also placed fourth at her longer distance. In 2022, she won her first world outdoor and indoor 400 m titles. She holds North American records in the 400 m both outdoors and indoors, set in October 2019 and February 2021, respectively. Her marks of 48.36 (improved at the Tokyo Games) and 50.21 seconds place her respectively sixth and joint eighth on the world all-time list. She holds world bests over the 300 metres outdoors and indoors. At 16 years old, she was the 400 m 2010 World junior champion and took the World youth title a year later. At 19, Miller-Uibo placed fourth in the 200 m at the 2013 World Championships, and then took her first senior medal (a bronze) at the 2014 World Indoor Championships competing at 400 m. She was the 2018 Commonwealth Games 200 m champion and won four Diamond League titles, having secured the 200 m/400 m double in 2017; she owns circuit records in both disciplines. Miller-Uibo holds the world's fastest women's marks in straight races of 150 m and 200 m. Her personal best of 21.74 s for the 200 m is a Bahamian national record. She won several national titles in both her disciplines and the NCAA Division I indoor title for the Georgia Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs.

Photo of Troy Kemp

5. Troy Kemp (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 35.26, Troy Kemp is the 5th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Troy Kemp (born March 18, 1966) is a former high jumper from the Bahamas who won the gold medal at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best was 2.38m in Nice 1995. He Attended Boise State University where he was an All-American. He was inducted into the Boise State Hall of Fame in 1996.

Photo of Chris Brown

6. Chris Brown (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 35.25, Chris Brown is the 6th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Christopher Devon "Chris" Brown OLY (born 15 October 1978), also known as "Fireman", is a Bahamian track and field athlete from the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, who mainly competes in the 400 m. In addition to winning medals in individual contests, he has also won four World Championships medals in the relay. He also won a gold medal in the relay at the 2012 London Olympic Games. He is an alumnus of Norfolk State University. In 2005 he finished fourth in the 400 m final at the World Championships. Also took a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay a few days later. In 2007, his most successful year, Brown won gold medals in both the individual 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2007 Pan American Games. In the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Brown tied the Bahamian national record, when finishing fourth in the 400 m final. Brown (together with Avard Moncur, Andrae Williams and Michael Mathieu) also won silver in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2007 World Championships. In 2008 at the Beijing Olympics he placed fourth in the 400 m final when he was initially in 3rd place, American runner David Neville dived across the line just ahead of him. He lost the bronze by 0.04 seconds. A few days later he picked up a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay along with Andretti Bain, Michael Mathieu and Andrae Williams. In 2012, Brown finished third in the 400 m finals at the World Indoor Championships behind countryman Demetrius Pinder. He once again finished fourth in the Olympic 400 m final. He won his first Olympic gold medal four days later in the 4 × 400 m relay with Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller, They beat the defending champions the United States, marking the first Olympic men's gold medal in any athletics event for the Bahamas and the first American loss in that race at the Olympics since 1972. At both the 2014 and 2015 IAAF World Relays held in his home country of The Bahamas he was part of the silver medal-winning 4x400 men's relay team. On 22 August 2012 the Bahamian government named a street in his honor in his hometown of Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera.

Photo of Pauline Davis-Thompson

7. Pauline Davis-Thompson (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 35.00, Pauline Davis-Thompson is the 7th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 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 200m. In 2022, Davis released her memoirs through Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History has won two international book awards. Winner, Autobiography/Memoir, International Book Awards, 2023 Winner, Biography/Autobiography, Track and Field Writers of America (TAFWA) Book Award, 2022 In 2024, Davis signed a publishing deal to have Running Sideways translated and published within China.

Photo of Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie

8. Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 34.64, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is the 8th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (born 16 January 1976) is a former Bahamian sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics. Ferguson-McKenzie is assistant coach of track and field at University of Kentucky. Previously, she coached for four years at the University of Houston. In 1995, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1995 CARIFTA Games. In total she won 7 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze CARIFTA Games medals. She had her first major successes with the Bahamian 4×100 metres relay team, winning gold at the Pan American Games and World Championships in Athletics in 1999, and taking another gold at the Olympic Games the following year. She won her first individual gold medal at the 2001 World Championships – having initially won silver, gold medallist Marion Jones was later disqualified. The 2002 season was a career high for Ferguson-McKenzie: she won five gold medals, with victories at the IAAF World Cup and Grand Prix Final, and a 100 m, 200 m and relay gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Her performance in the 100 m remains a personal best, and her time in the 200 m was a commonwealth games record and fastest by any athlete that year. She won her only individual Olympic medal in 2004, taking bronze in the 200 m. Injury ruled her out for the whole of 2005. She failed to reach the finals at the 2007 World Championships, unable to compete with the new generation of American and Jamaican sprinters. However, she managed to reach the 100 and 200 metres finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was the previous 200 m national record holder with a best of 22.19 seconds. Her record was broken by Shaunae Miller-Uibo (22.05 seconds) at the 2016 Jamaica Grand Prix. Her 100 m best (10.91) is the second fastest time by a Bahamian after Chandra Sturrup. In 2014 Ferguson-McKenzie became the women's sprints and hurdles coach for the track and field program at the University of Houston. Ferguson-McKenzie was coached some part of her professional career by Henry Rolle.

Photo of Avard Moncur

9. Avard Moncur (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 34.04, Avard Moncur is the 9th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Avard Moncur (born November 2, 1978) is a Bahamian track and field athlete competing in the 400 metres. He was born in Nassau.

Photo of Steven Gardiner

10. Steven Gardiner (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 32.90, Steven Gardiner is the 10th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Steven Gardiner (born 12 September 1995) is a Bahamian track and field sprinter competing in the 400 metres and 200 metres. He is the 2020 Olympic and 2019 world champion in the 400 m, and also won the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in that event. His winning time of 43.48 s from the 2019 World Championships is the Bahamian record and makes him the eighth‑fastest man in the history of the event. Gardiner also owns the Bahamian records in the outdoor 300 m and 200 m, with times of 31.83 s and 19.75 s respectively, and the world best in the indoor 300 m at 31.56 s.

People

Pantheon has 26 people classified as Bahamian athletes born between 1917 and 1998. Of these 26, 25 (96.15%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Bahamian athletes include Donald Thomas, Chandra Sturrup, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. The most famous deceased Bahamian athletes include Durward Knowles. As of April 2024, 10 new Bahamian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Alonzo Russell, Anthonique Strachan, and Tynia Gaither.

Living Bahamian Athletes

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Deceased Bahamian Athletes

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Newly Added Bahamian Athletes (2024)

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