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, 26 of which were born in The Bahamas. This makes The Bahamas the birth place of the 68th most number of Athletes behind Indonesia, and Moldova.

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 58.50, Durward Knowles is the most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 21 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 Chris Brown

2. Chris Brown (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 52.54, Chris Brown is the 2nd most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 27 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 4 × 400 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 Shaunae Miller-Uibo

3. Shaunae Miller-Uibo (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 49.81, Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the 3rd most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo, née Shaunae Miller, (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 held North American records in the 400 m both outdoors and indoors until broken in 2024 and 2023 respectively. Her marks of 48.36 (improved at the Tokyo Games) and 50.21 seconds place her respectively eighth and joint 14th 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 Donald Thomas

4. Donald Thomas (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 47.81, Donald Thomas is the 4th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

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

Photo of Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie

5. Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 46.51, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is the 5th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, née Debbie Ferguson, (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 Chandra Sturrup

6. Chandra Sturrup (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 46.26, Chandra Sturrup is the 6th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

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

Photo of Troy Kemp

7. Troy Kemp (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 45.05, Troy Kemp is the 7th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 20 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 Pauline Davis-Thompson

8. Pauline Davis-Thompson (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 43.73, Pauline Davis-Thompson is the 8th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 24 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 200 m. 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 Eldece Clarke-Lewis

9. Eldece Clarke-Lewis (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 43.18, Eldece Clarke-Lewis is the 9th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Eldece Clarke-Lewis (born 13 January 1965) is a Bahamian sprints athlete. She was a part of the Bahamian team that won the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics 4 × 100 metres relay. She also ran in the preliminary rounds in the 2000 Olympics 4 × 100 meters relay in Sydney, this would later get her the gold medal as the Bahamian team won in the final.

Photo of Carl Oliver

10. Carl Oliver (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 42.32, Carl Oliver is the 10th most famous Bahamian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Carl Oliver Jr. (born 30 January 1969) is a Bahamian former track and field sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He is the current secretary of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations. His greatest achievements on the track came with the Bahamian 4 × 400 metres relay team. He was a bronze medallist in the relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics and was also a finalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. He helped set a national record of 3:02.85 minutes at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. After 2000 he was mainly the country's back-up runner for the heats. He qualified the Bahamas for the finals at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics where they became world champions and assisted the team to the finals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, where his compatriots took bronze in his absence. He was a one-time Bahamian champion in the 400 m and had a personal best of 45.69 seconds.

People

Pantheon has 36 people classified as Bahamian athletes born between 1917 and 1998. Of these 36, 35 (97.22%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Bahamian athletes include Chris Brown, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, and Donald Thomas. The most famous deceased Bahamian athletes include Durward Knowles. As of April 2024, 10 new Bahamian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Eldece Clarke-Lewis, Carl Oliver, and Collin Mitchell.

Living Bahamian Athletes

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Deceased Bahamian Athletes

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Newly Added Bahamian Athletes (2025)

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