West Indies Federation at the Olympics
You cannot talk about one hit wonders in the Olympics with the name of British West Indies ever coming up. The British West Indies only participated in one Summer Games. They came to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy using the name Antilles. They sent thirteen athletes to participate in five sports that included thirteen events.
They made Olympic history in many ways. They are the only nation to ever participate in only one outing but they managed to snag a few Olympic medals despite the fact they only sent thirteen athletes. Runner George Kerr took the bronze in the men's 800 meters while the team of George Kerr, James Wedderburn, Keith Gardner, and Malcolm Spence also took the bronze in men's 4×400 meter relay. The rest of the British West Indies included athletes for weightlifting, shooting, sailing, and cycling.
The West Indies Federation included the British colonial territories of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. The Federation only lasted long enough for one Olympic Games. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago had competed in previous Games, and competed independently again in 1964, and Barbados started competing as an independent nation at the 1968 Games.
Although there was a Winter Olympics in 1960 held in Squaw Valley, USA, the British West Indies was not able to send a delegation. Hence, they never participated in any Winter Games.
Related Pages
- More about Past Participating Countries.
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
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