Richard Thompson (sprinter)

"Richard Thompson (athlete)" redirects here. For other sportspeople with this name, see Richard Thompson (disambiguation).

Richard Thompson
Thompson at the 2012 Olympic Games
Personal information
NationalityTrinidad and Tobago
Born (1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 39)[1]
Cascade, Trinidad & Tobago[1][2]
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight80 kg (180 lb)[1]
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)100 metres, 200 metres
College teamLSU Tigers
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Trinidad & Tobago
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 4×100 m relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Berlin 4×100 m relay
NACAC Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 San Salvador 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2007 San Salvador 4×100 m relay
CAC Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Cali 4×100 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay
IAAF World Relays
Silver medal – second place 2014 Nassau 4×100 m relay

Richard "Torpedo" Thompson (born 7 June 1985)[3] 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.[4][5] In the 200 meters, he has the fourth fastest time by a Trinidad and Tobago athlete.[6]

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.[7][8]

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.[9] 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.[10][11][12] 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.[13][14] His current personal best of 9.82 was set at the 2014 Trinidad and Tobago national championships.[15]

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.

  1. ^ a b c d "Richard Thompson". Olympedia.org. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  2. ^ "LSU Profile of Richard Thompson". Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Richard Thompson IAAF profile". IAAF. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. ^ "IAAF 100 M men ranking". IAAF. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Trinidad & Tobago national records in athletics". TTNAA. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ^ "IAAF 200 M men ranking". IAAF. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. ^ "LSU biography of Richard Thompson". Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  8. ^ "NCAA Records" (PDF). 12 August 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2014.
  9. ^ "2008 Olympics 100 M final results (men)". Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Olympic Results - Mens 4 x 100 meters relay". London 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  11. ^ "2012 Olympics - Men's 4x100 m final result". IAAF. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  12. ^ "London 2012 4x100m relay men Results - Olympic athletics".
  13. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago championships results (200 M)". Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago championships results (100 M)". Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  15. ^ Laurence, Kwame. "Thompson and Ahye run world-leading 100M times at Trinidad and Tobago Championships". IAAF. Retrieved 30 July 2014.