Bahamas at the Olympics
Although The Bahamas gained independence from Great Britain in 1973, The Bahamas Olympic Committee was created in 1952, the year they first competed at the Olympic Games. Since the 1952 Summer Games, Bahamas has missed only one outing when they participated in the 1980 US-led boycott.
The Bahamas have won a total of 8 golds (after 2021), making them the most successful nation at the Olympics per capita. All their medals have been won in athletics and sailing, which is not surprising considering it is an island nation.
At their first Olympic outing, seven sailors, all affiliated with Nassau Yacht Club, went to Helsinki to compete. In the group were Durward Knowles and Sloane Farrington, who had both competed at the 1948 Olympics for Great Britain.
And the very next outing, they had their first taste of Olympic honors. In 1956, sailors Durward Knowles and Sloan Farrington took the bronze medal in the star class. Having sent only four athletes to represent them in the Summer Games in Melbourne, Australia, a bronze medal is not bad at all.
They first won Olympic gold in 1964 when Durward Knowles and Cecil Cooke took the top spot in the sailing Mixed Two-Person Keelboat event in Tokyo, Japan. It was 28 years before Bahamas won another Olympic medal, when Frank Rutherford took the bronze in the men’s triple jump in Barcelona, Spain.
Recently, The Bahamas have been fairly consistent when it comes to winning an event or two in the Summer Games. In Tokyo 2020, the track provided two more gold medals, Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller crossing the line first in the men's and women's 400m respectively.
As with most island nations of its size and location, Bahamas have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games.
Trivia
- One of the most spectacular sprint race finishes occurred when Bahamian athlete Shaunae Miller dived across the finish line to win gold in the women's 400m in Rio 2016.
- Sailor Sir Durward Knowles, from the Bahamas, died in 2018 aged 100. At the time he was the oldest surviving Olympic gold medalist.
Related Pages
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- Olympic Games Medals per capita
- About sport in The Bahamas
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