Ato Boldon
Encyclopedia
Ato Jabari Boldon is a former athlete from Trinidad and Tobago
and four-time Olympic
medal winner. Only 2 other men in history, Frankie Fredericks
and Carl Lewis
, have won as many Olympic individual event sprint medals. He is the current national record holder in the 50
, 60
and 200 metres
events with times of 5.64, 6.49 and 19.77 seconds respectively. He also held the 100m national record at 9.86, having run it four times, until Richard Thompson ran 9.85 on August 13, 2011. He also holds the Commonwealth Games record in the 100 m.
After retiring from his track career, he was an Opposition
Senator
in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, representing the United National Congress
from 2006–2007. He is now a CBS
and NBC Sports
television broadcast analyst for track and field.
to a Jamaica
n mother and Trinidadian father. He attended Fatima College
(Secondary School) in Trinidad before leaving for the United States
at age fourteen. In December 1989, as a soccer player at Jamaica High School
in Queens, New York City, head coach Joe Trupiano noticed his sprinting abilities during a soccer practice session.
In his first track season, at age 16, he finished with 21.20 seconds in the 200 metres
and 48.40 seconds in the 400 metres
, recording a double win at the Queens County Championships in 1990 and earning MVP honors. After transferring for his final year from Jamaica High to Piedmont Hills High School
in San Jose, California
, Boldon was selected to the San Jose Mercury News' Santa Clara all-county soccer team. He also continued to sprint, placing third in the 200 m at the CIF California State Meet
in 1991. Athletics became his primary focus and he won the Junior Olympic Title that summer in Durham, North Carolina
, in 200 m.
At 18, Boldon represented Trinidad and Tobago at 100 metres
and 200 m in the 1992 Summer Olympics
in Barcelona
, but did not qualify in the first round of either event. Boldon returned to the junior circuit, winning the 100 m and 200 m titles at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
in Seoul, South Korea to become the first double sprint champion in World Junior Championships history.
He was also an NCAA Champion
while enrolled as a sociology
major at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1995 in the 200 m. He secured an NCAA 100 m Championship in 1996, in Eugene, Oregon
, in the final race of his collegiate career, setting an NCAA meet record of 9.92 s which still stands. Boldon also held the collegiate 100 m record with 9.90 s from 1996 until it was broken by Travis Padgett
, who ran 9.89s, in 2008. Ngonidzashe Makusha
later equalled this record at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon .
, taking home the bronze in the 100 m. At the time he was the youngest athlete ever to win a medal in that event, at 21 years of age. The following year at the 1996 Summer Olympics
, he again placed third in the 100 m and 200 m events, both behind world records. In 1997, he won the 200 m at the World Championships
in Athens
, Greece; his country's first and only world title to date in the Athletics World Championships. This made him one of only a few male sprinters to win both a World Junior and World Senior title.
The following year saw Boldon reaching the peak of his career, setting a new personal best and national record of 9.86 s in the 100 m at the Mt. SAC Relays
in Walnut, California
on 19 April and repeating the feat in Athens on 17 June. He picked up gold in the 100 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
held in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia, setting a record time of 9.88 s, beating Namibia
's Frankie Fredericks
(9.96 s) and Barbados
' Obadele Thompson
(10.00 s). The Commonwealth Games 100 m record remains unbroken.
In 1999, Boldon ran 9.86 s twice in the 100 m before sustaining a serious hamstring injury which forced him to miss the World Championships in Seville - the only Championship he missed in his career due to injury.
A silver medal in the 100 m and a bronze in the 200 m were his results of the 2000 Summer Olympics
, which was a personal victory, considering his comeback from a career-threatening injury the year before.
In 2001, Boldon tested positive at an early-season relay meet for the stimulant ephedrine
, and was given a warning, but was not suspended or sanctioned, since ephedrine is a substance found in many over the counter remedies, and Boldon had been treating a cold. "It is in no way something where the blame is laid on the athlete,” said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai
of the positive result.
Also in 2001, at the World Championships in Edmonton
, Alberta, Canada, Boldon finished fourth and out of the medals in the 100 m with 9.98 s, and then ran the second leg of his country's 4 x 100 metre relay, finishing third in the finals. This was Trinidad and Tobago's first 4 x 100 m relay medal in either World or Olympic competition and Boldon states that making national history with this team of young men (the average age of his teammates was 19) was his greatest accomplishment in his career. The colours of his 2001 World Championship
medals would change in 2005 as both his placings were improved — he received bronze in the 100 m and the bronze relay medals were upgraded to silver after all the times and performances of the American sprinter Tim Montgomery
(who was second in the 100 m and won the 4 x 100 m with the US team) were nullified due to serious doping violations. That brought Boldon's career total to four World Championship medals, to match his four Olympic medals.
Boldon was seriously injured in a head-on crash with a drunk driver in Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
, in July 2002, and never again ran sub-ten seconds in the 100 m or sub-twenty seconds for 200 m; something he had done on 37 separate occasions prior to 2002. In 2006, a judge in Trinidad found that Boldon was not at fault in that accident and he was paid substantial damages as a result. That accident left Boldon with a serious hip injury, and he was a shadow of his former self as a sprinter. In 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games
, he failed to advance out of the first round of the 100 m heats but captained his country's 4 x 100 m relay team to their first-ever Olympic final, where they finished seventh.
Boldon is the eighth person to win a medal for Trinidad and Tobago at the Olympics and currently has the third most wind-legal sub-10 second 100 m performances in history, with 28, behind former training partner Maurice Greene
, who has 52, and Jamaica's former 100 m World Record holder Asafa Powell
.
On 20 April 2008 The Observer
published the contents of a letter believed to be by Boldon to John Smith
, his former coach, accusing Smith, Maurice Greene
and his former agent, Emmanuel Hudson, of betraying him by obtaining banned drugs without his knowledge, lying about Greene competing without drugs and damaging his own career. But for a quote on the matter to HellenicAthletes.com, a website he wrote for at the time, Boldon has had no further official comment.
in Seville, Spain, Boldon could not compete due to a serious injury. The British Broadcasting Corporation hired him to do commentary and analysis for their coverage of those Championships. He proved popular with the audience and was invited back as a track-side analyst for the BBC coverage of the U.S. Olympic
Track and Field Trials in 2000, from Sacramento, California.
Since 2005, Boldon has been in the broadcast booth for the U.S. Television network CBS
as part of their commentary team for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In June 2007, he made his debut for NBC Sports
as an analyst for the 2007 U.S. National Championships, and he also was an integral part of Versus and NBC's coverage of 2007 Osaka World Championships
. In 2008, he was the sprint analyst at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials and the 2008 Summer Olympics
for NBC
Sports. Boldon was widely praised for his NBC work by the press, including the Los Angeles Times
, USA Today
and The New York Times
which called him "one of NBC's best analysts, a blend of athletic smarts, charisma, precise analysis and brashness."
representing the Opposition
United National Congress
following the resignation of former Senator Roy Augustus, who resigned on 13 February in a dispute over the leadership style of then Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Panday
. Boldon resigned on 11 April 2007 after 14 months as a senator, also citing issues with Panday's leadership ability.
, qualifying to play at the Germany 2006 tournament.
In 2000, he was made a sports ambassador by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and given a diplomatic passport. He is widely viewed as one of the all-time leading sportsmen in the history of the Caribbean
, as well as one of its most internationally recognizable and outspoken.
Boldon is a qualified pilot, having earned his private pilot's licence in August 2005. He is a member of AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association, and flies frequently out of Van Nuys Airport
, the largest general aviation airport in the world, close to his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley
.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
and four-time Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
medal winner. Only 2 other men in history, Frankie Fredericks
Frankie Fredericks
Frank Fredericks is a former athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games , making him Namibia's first and so far only Olympic medalist...
and Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
, have won as many Olympic individual event sprint medals. He is the current national record holder in the 50
50 metres
50 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...
, 60
60 metres
60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...
and 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
events with times of 5.64, 6.49 and 19.77 seconds respectively. He also held the 100m national record at 9.86, having run it four times, until Richard Thompson ran 9.85 on August 13, 2011. He also holds the Commonwealth Games record in the 100 m.
After retiring from his track career, he was an Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
Senator
Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed Upper House of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate sits in the Red House in Port of Spain...
in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, representing the United National Congress
United National Congress
The United National Congress is one of the two major political parties in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and one of the parties in the current ruling coalition. It was founded by Basdeo Panday, a lawyer and former trade unionist. The UNC was formed as the result of a split in the ruling...
from 2006–2007. He is now a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
television broadcast analyst for track and field.
Junior athletics
Boldon was born in Port-of-Spain, TrinidadTrinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
to a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n mother and Trinidadian father. He attended Fatima College
Fatima College
Fatima College is a government-assisted, highly-selective Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was established in 1945 and had an enrollment of 895 students . The school was established and is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers, an international Roman Catholic...
(Secondary School) in Trinidad before leaving for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at age fourteen. In December 1989, as a soccer player at Jamaica High School
Jamaica High School (New York City)
Jamaica High School is a four-year public high school in Queens, New York. The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education.-History:...
in Queens, New York City, head coach Joe Trupiano noticed his sprinting abilities during a soccer practice session.
In his first track season, at age 16, he finished with 21.20 seconds in the 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
and 48.40 seconds in the 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
, recording a double win at the Queens County Championships in 1990 and earning MVP honors. After transferring for his final year from Jamaica High to Piedmont Hills High School
Piedmont Hills High School
Piedmont Hills High School is a comprehensive public four-year high school located in the Berryessa neighborhood of San Jose, California, USA. It is part of the East Side Union High School District and is the second highest performing school in the district, based on California's Academic...
in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, Boldon was selected to the San Jose Mercury News' Santa Clara all-county soccer team. He also continued to sprint, placing third in the 200 m at the CIF California State Meet
CIF California State Meet
The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direct qualification path that can reach the state meet...
in 1991. Athletics became his primary focus and he won the Junior Olympic Title that summer in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, in 200 m.
At 18, Boldon represented Trinidad and Tobago at 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
and 200 m in the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, but did not qualify in the first round of either event. Boldon returned to the junior circuit, winning the 100 m and 200 m titles at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics
The IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics are the world championships for junior aged athletes athletes, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is held biennially since 1986.-Championships:-Men:-Women:-External links:* at...
in Seoul, South Korea to become the first double sprint champion in World Junior Championships history.
He was also an NCAA Champion
NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship
The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...
while enrolled as a sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
major at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1995 in the 200 m. He secured an NCAA 100 m Championship in 1996, in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, in the final race of his collegiate career, setting an NCAA meet record of 9.92 s which still stands. Boldon also held the collegiate 100 m record with 9.90 s from 1996 until it was broken by Travis Padgett
Travis Padgett
Travis Padgett is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for the United States. He was an All-American and national champion sprinter at Clemson University....
, who ran 9.89s, in 2008. Ngonidzashe Makusha
Ngonidzashe Makusha
Ngonidzashe Makusha is a Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper. He is the national record holder over 100m and Long Jump for Zimbabwe with 9.89s and 8.40m respectively. Both performances achieved during the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships in Des Moines, Iowa where he completed the 100m long...
later equalled this record at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon .
Senior athletics
Boldon won his first international senior-level medal at the 1995 World Championships1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
, taking home the bronze in the 100 m. At the time he was the youngest athlete ever to win a medal in that event, at 21 years of age. The following year at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, he again placed third in the 100 m and 200 m events, both behind world records. In 1997, he won the 200 m at the World Championships
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece; his country's first and only world title to date in the Athletics World Championships. This made him one of only a few male sprinters to win both a World Junior and World Senior title.
The following year saw Boldon reaching the peak of his career, setting a new personal best and national record of 9.86 s in the 100 m at the Mt. SAC Relays
Mt. SAC Relays
The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The relays, held in April each year, were started by then track coach Hilmer Lodge in 1959. The meet attracts all levels and disciplines of...
in Walnut, California
Walnut, California
Walnut is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 29,172 at the 2010 census and its current mayor is Tom King, a former Detective from the Los Angeles Police Department....
on 19 April and repeating the feat in Athens on 17 June. He picked up gold in the 100 m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
held in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia, setting a record time of 9.88 s, beating Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
's Frankie Fredericks
Frankie Fredericks
Frank Fredericks is a former athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games , making him Namibia's first and so far only Olympic medalist...
(9.96 s) and Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
' Obadele Thompson
Obadele Thompson
Obadele Thompson is a sprint athlete from Barbados;. In 2000, he became the first Olympic medalist from Barbados with a bronze medal in the 100m race.-Biography:...
(10.00 s). The Commonwealth Games 100 m record remains unbroken.
In 1999, Boldon ran 9.86 s twice in the 100 m before sustaining a serious hamstring injury which forced him to miss the World Championships in Seville - the only Championship he missed in his career due to injury.
A silver medal in the 100 m and a bronze in the 200 m were his results of the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, which was a personal victory, considering his comeback from a career-threatening injury the year before.
In 2001, Boldon tested positive at an early-season relay meet for the stimulant ephedrine
Ephedrine
Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia....
, and was given a warning, but was not suspended or sanctioned, since ephedrine is a substance found in many over the counter remedies, and Boldon had been treating a cold. "It is in no way something where the blame is laid on the athlete,” said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai
István Gyulai
István Gyulai was a former Hungarian television commentator and General Secretary of the IAAF....
of the positive result.
Also in 2001, at the World Championships in Edmonton
2001 World Championships in Athletics
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America...
, Alberta, Canada, Boldon finished fourth and out of the medals in the 100 m with 9.98 s, and then ran the second leg of his country's 4 x 100 metre relay, finishing third in the finals. This was Trinidad and Tobago's first 4 x 100 m relay medal in either World or Olympic competition and Boldon states that making national history with this team of young men (the average age of his teammates was 19) was his greatest accomplishment in his career. The colours of his 2001 World Championship
2001 World Championships in Athletics
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America...
medals would change in 2005 as both his placings were improved — he received bronze in the 100 m and the bronze relay medals were upgraded to silver after all the times and performances of the American sprinter Tim Montgomery
Tim Montgomery
Timothy Montgomery is a former American athlete. In 2005, he was stripped of his records – including a now void 100m world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002 – after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs...
(who was second in the 100 m and won the 4 x 100 m with the US team) were nullified due to serious doping violations. That brought Boldon's career total to four World Championship medals, to match his four Olympic medals.
Boldon was seriously injured in a head-on crash with a drunk driver in Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
Barataria is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It is just east of Port of Spain and Laventille and west of San Juan. It is part of the East-West Corridor.Barataria falls under the San Juan-Laventille Regional Corporation....
, in July 2002, and never again ran sub-ten seconds in the 100 m or sub-twenty seconds for 200 m; something he had done on 37 separate occasions prior to 2002. In 2006, a judge in Trinidad found that Boldon was not at fault in that accident and he was paid substantial damages as a result. That accident left Boldon with a serious hip injury, and he was a shadow of his former self as a sprinter. In 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, he failed to advance out of the first round of the 100 m heats but captained his country's 4 x 100 m relay team to their first-ever Olympic final, where they finished seventh.
Boldon is the eighth person to win a medal for Trinidad and Tobago at the Olympics and currently has the third most wind-legal sub-10 second 100 m performances in history, with 28, behind former training partner Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
, who has 52, and Jamaica's former 100 m World Record holder Asafa Powell
Asafa Powell
Asafa Powell C.D is a Jamaican sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres. He held the 100 m world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively. Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of...
.
On 20 April 2008 The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
published the contents of a letter believed to be by Boldon to John Smith
John Smith (athlete)
John Walton Smith is a former American athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400 metres event at the 1971 Pan American Games....
, his former coach, accusing Smith, Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
and his former agent, Emmanuel Hudson, of betraying him by obtaining banned drugs without his knowledge, lying about Greene competing without drugs and damaging his own career. But for a quote on the matter to HellenicAthletes.com, a website he wrote for at the time, Boldon has had no further official comment.
Broadcasting
At the 1999 World Championships1999 World Championships in Athletics
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....
in Seville, Spain, Boldon could not compete due to a serious injury. The British Broadcasting Corporation hired him to do commentary and analysis for their coverage of those Championships. He proved popular with the audience and was invited back as a track-side analyst for the BBC coverage of the U.S. Olympic
United States at the Olympics
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games, except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which it boycotted.The United States Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee for the United States....
Track and Field Trials in 2000, from Sacramento, California.
Since 2005, Boldon has been in the broadcast booth for the U.S. Television network CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as part of their commentary team for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In June 2007, he made his debut for NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
as an analyst for the 2007 U.S. National Championships, and he also was an integral part of Versus and NBC's coverage of 2007 Osaka World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
. In 2008, he was the sprint analyst at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials and the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Sports. Boldon was widely praised for his NBC work by the press, including the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
which called him "one of NBC's best analysts, a blend of athletic smarts, charisma, precise analysis and brashness."
Politics
Boldon was sworn in on 14 February 2006 as a SenatorSenate of Trinidad and Tobago
The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed Upper House of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate sits in the Red House in Port of Spain...
representing the Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
United National Congress
United National Congress
The United National Congress is one of the two major political parties in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and one of the parties in the current ruling coalition. It was founded by Basdeo Panday, a lawyer and former trade unionist. The UNC was formed as the result of a split in the ruling...
following the resignation of former Senator Roy Augustus, who resigned on 13 February in a dispute over the leadership style of then Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Panday
Basdeo Panday
Basdeo Panday was the 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001 and has served as Leader of the Opposition from 1976–1977, 1978–1986, 1989–1995 and 2001–2010. He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North. He is the former...
. Boldon resigned on 11 April 2007 after 14 months as a senator, also citing issues with Panday's leadership ability.
Media
In 2006, Boldon wrote, produced and directed a 73-minute DVD film entitled Once In A Lifetime: Boldon in Bahrain which documented his voyage with fellow fans and Trinidad and Tobago nationals to the Kingdom of Bahrain, where the country's soccer team, the Soca Warriors, defeated Bahrain 1–0 in a playoff to become the smallest country ever to qualify for the FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, qualifying to play at the Germany 2006 tournament.
Personal life
Boldon married entertainment executive/manager Cassandra Mills in 1998 after a three-year courtship. Boldon and Mills divorced in 2005. He has 2 daughters.In 2000, he was made a sports ambassador by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and given a diplomatic passport. He is widely viewed as one of the all-time leading sportsmen in the history of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, as well as one of its most internationally recognizable and outspoken.
Boldon is a qualified pilot, having earned his private pilot's licence in August 2005. He is a member of AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association, and flies frequently out of Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys Airport is a public airport located in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley section of the city limits of Los Angeles, California, United States. No major commercial airlines fly into this airport; it is used by private, chartered, and small commercial aircraft...
, the largest general aviation airport in the world, close to his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
.
Achievements
On November 4, 2011, Boldon will be inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame..Competition record
| Year | Competition | Venue | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | IAAF World Junior Championships 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition for athletes aged 19 years or under. It was held in Seoul, South Korea from September 16 to September 20, 1992.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:... |
Seoul Seoul Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world... , Korea Korea Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the... |
1st | 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
| 1992 | IAAF World Junior Championships | Seoul, Korea | 1st | 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
| 1995 | IAAF World Championships 1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations.... |
Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
3rd | 100 m |
| 1996 | 1996 Summer Olympics 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.... |
Atlanta, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... |
3rd | 100 m |
| 1996 | 1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta, Georgia | 3rd | 200 m |
| 1997 | IAAF World Championships 1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations... |
Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
1st | 200 m |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games 1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes... |
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million... , Malaysia |
1st | 100 m |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games 1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held in New York, United States from July 19 to August 2, 1998.-Medal table:-References:*... |
New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... |
1st | 200 m |
| 1998 | Goodwill Games | New York City, New York | 2nd | 100 m |
| 2000 | 2000 Summer Olympics 2000 Summer Olympics The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
2nd | 100 m |
| 2000 | 2000 Summer Olympics | Sydney, Australia | 3rd | 200 m |
| 2001 | IAAF World Championships 2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America... |
Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census... , Alberta Alberta Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces... |
3rd | 100 m |
| 2001 | IAAF World Championships | Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census... , Alberta Alberta Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces... |
2nd | 4 x 100 metres relay 4 x 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race... |
Personal bests
| Date | Event | Venue | Time (seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 February 2000 | 50 metres 50 metres 50 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... , Spain |
5.64 (National record) |
| 23 February 1997 | 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
6.49 (National record) |
| 19 April 1998, 17 June 1998, 16 June 1999, 2 July 1999 | 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
Walnut Walnut, California Walnut is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 29,172 at the 2010 census and its current mayor is Tom King, a former Detective from the Los Angeles Police Department.... , CA California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... & Lausanne Lausanne Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west... |
9.86 +1.8, -0.4, +0.1 & +0.4 (National record) |
| 13 July 1997 | 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
19.77 (National record) |
- All information taken from IAAF profile.