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Making history Barbados celebrates its first Olympic medalist
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) - Sprinter Obadele Thompson's bronze medal in the 100-meter dash at the Sydney Olympics gave his home country of Barbados its first Olympic medal and touched off a celebration on the Caribbean island. "We won bronze!" islanders yelled from their houses and cars shortly after Thompson took third place Saturday, following gold medalist Maurice Greene of the United States and Ato Boldon, of the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. "A bronze is better than getting nothing at all!" yelled other supporters, some dressed in the national colors of blue and gold. Construction company owner Charles Williams said Saturday said his C.O. Williams Construction would give the medalist 10,000 square-foot (930 square-meter) plot of land in an exclusive housing area as a reward and would bear more gifts if Thompson places in the 200-meter dash. "This gift is from every one in the company from the janitor to the managing director. We are all very proud of Obadele," an emotional Williams said during a news conference. Thompson is the first to win an Olympic medal for Barbados since the Caribbean island established its own Olympic team following independence from Britain in the 1960s. At the Rome Olympics in 1960, Barbadian Jim Wedderburn won a bronze medal as part of the West Indies regional team in the 1,600-meter relay. Thompson clocked 10.04 seconds behind Boldon's 9.99 and Greene's 9.87. Thompson's sister, Abiola Blackett, watched her brother's race on television in Barbados and screamed "Thank you, God!" when she saw that her brother had won a medal. "I am hungry, but I am too excited to eat," Blackett said shortly after the race.
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