The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Trinidad and Tobago

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This page contains a list of the greatest Trinidadian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 14 of which were born in Trinidad and Tobago. This makes Trinidad and Tobago the birth place of the 55th most number of Athletes behind The Bahamas, and Georgia.

Top 10

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

Photo of Hasely Crawford

1. Hasely Crawford (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 44.87, Hasely Crawford is the most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Hasely Joachim Crawford TC, OLY (born 16 August 1950) is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became his country's first Olympic champion. Hasely Crawford Stadium, in Port of Spain, was renamed in his honour in 2001.

Photo of McDonald Bailey

2. McDonald Bailey (1920 - 2013)

With an HPI of 41.75, McDonald Bailey is the 2nd most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Emmanuel McDonald Bailey (8 December 1920 – 4 December 2013) was a British and Trinidadian athlete, who was born in Williamsville, Trinidad and Tobago. Bailey won a bronze medal in the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games. He competed for Great Britain in the men's 100 metres at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, where he finished sixth and last in the final, and the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki where he won the bronze medal. He jointly held the 100 m world record at 10.2 seconds between 1951 and 1956 and won the sprint double seven times at the AAA Championships. In the 1948/9 season he worked on fitness and speed with Queen's Park Rangers F.C. who won their first ever promotion that season, from Football League 3rd Division South to Football League 2nd Division. In 1953 he joined rugby League club Leigh, but he only played in one friendly match for them. in 1977 Bailey was awarded Trinidad and Tobago's Chaconia Medal (Gold).

Photo of Ato Boldon

3. Ato Boldon (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 39.40, Ato Boldon is the 3rd most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64, 6.49 and 19.77 seconds respectively, and also the Commonwealth Games record in the 100 m. He also held the 100m national record at 9.86s, having run it four times until Richard Thompson ran 9.85s on 13 August 2011. After retiring from his track career, Boldon was an Opposition Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, representing the United National Congress from 2006–2007. Boldon works as an NBC Sports television broadcast analyst for track and field.

Photo of Kerron Clement

4. Kerron Clement (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 34.53, Kerron Clement is the 4th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael Johnson's mark in 2005. Clement won the hurdles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and took the silver behind Angelo Taylor at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He retained his world title at the 2009 World Championships. He is a frequent member of the American 4x400-meter relay and is a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist in the event. As a junior athlete, he set a championship record at the 2004 World Junior Championships and as a University of Florida Gator won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2004/2005. He quickly progressed on the senior circuit, taking the hurdles title at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in both 2005 and 2006. He was fourth in his first global appearance at the 2005 World Championships and won his first global gold at the 2006 IAAF World Cup.

Photo of Glenroy Gilbert

5. Glenroy Gilbert (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 33.46, Glenroy Gilbert is the 5th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Glenroy John Gilbert (born August 31, 1967) is a Canadian former track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4×100 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and head coach of Athletics Canada.

Photo of Richard Thompson

6. Richard Thompson (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 33.05, Richard Thompson is the 6th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Richard "Torpedo" Thompson (born 7 June 1985) is a sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres. His personal best of 9.82 seconds, set in June 2014, was one of the top ten fastest of all time, and a national record. In the 200 meters, he has the fourth fastest time by a Trinidad and Tobago athlete. Thompson studied at Louisiana State University (LSU) and broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor 60 metres record in 2008, his final season of collegiate athletics. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Thompson was the silver medalist in the 100 meters, running a then personal best of 9.89 seconds, and the gold medalist in the 4x100 meters relay along with Emmanuel Callender, Keston Bledman and Marc Burns. He also won the silver medal in the 4x100 meters at the 2012 Olympics with the same team he competed in the 2008 Olympics with. Also in the 2012 Olympics, he finished 6th following the disqualification of Tyson Gay in the final of the 100 meters. Thompson is a five time Trinidad and Tobago national champion. His current personal best of 9.82 was set at the 2014 Trinidad and Tobago national championships. In 2017, fellow sprinter and 2008 Olympic Games men's relay gold medalist Nesta Carter was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee for doping at the 2008 event, retroactively awarding the Trinidad and Tobago team which included Thompson Olympic Gold.

Photo of Marc Burns

7. Marc Burns (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 32.84, Marc Burns is the 7th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Marc Burns (born 7 January 1983) is an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago specializing in the 100 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay. Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified from his 100 metres heat due to a false start, thus failing to make it through to the second round. Marc Burns placed second in the men's 100 metres dash at the Bislett Games IAAF Golden League meet in Oslo in July 2005, in preparation for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. At the 2005 World Championships he won (together with Kevon Pierre, Jacey Harper and Darrel Brown) a silver medal. Later that year he won the World Athletics Final. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games he won a bronze medal over 100 metres. He was a finalist in the 100 m final at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. At the London Grand Prix he ran a season's best time of 9.97 seconds coming second behind former world record holder Asafa Powell. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed 2nd in his heat after Samuel Francis in a time of 10.46 seconds. He qualified for the second round in which he improved his time to 10.05 seconds, winning his race with opponents as Kim Collins and Tyrone Edgar. In the semi-finals he finished 3rd (9.97 seconds) in his heat behind Usain Bolt and Walter Dix and qualified for the final. There he finished his race in 7th place in a time of 10.01 seconds. Together with Keston Bledman, Aaron Armstrong and Richard Thompson he also competed at the 4x100 metres relay. In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by Emmanuel Callender for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the Jamaican team, winning the silver medal. In 2022, Burns and his teammates received the gold medal due to Jamaica's Nesta Carter testing positive for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won the silver medal in the men's 4 × 100 m relay. He was also part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Burns was coached most of his professional career by Henry Rolle.

Photo of David Jenkins

8. David Jenkins (b. 1952)

With an HPI of 30.63, David Jenkins is the 8th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

David Andrew Jenkins (born 25 May 1952) is a former World ranked no.1 400m track and field sprinter who also ran other sprint distances. He is, statistically, the highest ranking Scottish sprinter in history, above 1980 Olympic 100m champion Allan Wells. He was part of the UK relay team which won a silver medal at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Anabolic steroids were banned from athletics in 1976, and Jenkins has said that he began using steroids around then; although his times slowed from this point due in part to his increased propensity for injury. He was a finalist in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics 400m. He received a 7-year prison sentence in the 1980s for drug smuggling, but was able to serve a reduced period of 10-1/2 months by becoming an informant. Jenkins has subsequently had a business career in the United States. He is the brother of Roger Jenkins, also formerly an international athlete, who became one of the UK's highest paid bankers.

Photo of Emmanuel Callender

9. Emmanuel Callender (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 27.23, Emmanuel Callender is the 9th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Emmanuel Earl Callender (sometimes Callander; born 10 May 1984 in Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. Callender represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4 × 100 m relay, together with Marc Burns, Aaron Armstrong, Keston Bledman and Richard Thompson. In their qualification heat (without Callender) they placed first in front of Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by Callender for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second fastest time after the Jamaican team, winning the silver medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he raced in the first round and the final, and Trinidad and Tobago won the silver medal. Callender set new personal bests in the 100 and 200 meters at the Grande Prêmio Brasil Caixa meet in May 2009, recording times of 10.16 and 20.40 seconds respectively. Since then, he has improved his 100 m personal best, to 10.05 s.

Photo of Keston Bledman

10. Keston Bledman (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 25.64, Keston Bledman is the 10th most famous Trinidadian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Keston Bledman, HBM (born 8 March 1988) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. On 7 July 2007, at the 2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in São Paulo, Brazil, he upset the Jamaican Yohan Blake in the 100 meters, finishing in 10.32 seconds (−1.1 m/s wind). Bledman represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4 × 100 m relay together with Marc Burns, Aaron Armstrong and Richard Thompson. He was the lead off man. In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by Emmanuel Callender for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the Jamaican team, winning the silver medal. In 2022, Bledman and his teammates received the gold medal due to Jamaica's Nesta Carter testing positive for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine. He ran in the first round, but not the final of the men's 4 × 100 m at the 2009 World Championships where Trinidad and Tobago won silver. On 4 June 2011, Bledman ran 9.93 over 100 m in Clermont, Florida, to become the 78th athlete to cross the 10-second barrier. He won his first national title in June 2012 by beating Richard Thompson over 100 m and ran a personal best time of 9.86 seconds, which is currently tied for the 27th fastest ever. At the 2011 World Championships, he qualified for the 100 m final as one of the fastest losers in the semi-final. He was also a member of the relay team that won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team 4 × 100 m team that won the bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He ran in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 29 people classified as Trinidadian athletes born between 1920 and 1999. Of these 29, 27 (93.10%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Trinidadian athletes include Hasely Crawford, Ato Boldon, and Kerron Clement. The most famous deceased Trinidadian athletes include McDonald Bailey, and Deon Lendore. As of April 2024, 15 new Trinidadian athletes have been added to Pantheon including McDonald Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert, and Machel Cedenio.

Living Trinidadian Athletes

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Deceased Trinidadian Athletes

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Newly Added Trinidadian Athletes (2024)

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