Barbados at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Barbados is the easternmost of the islands located within the Caribbean. Home to 280,000 residents, Barbados was first settled by the British in the 1620s. The nation remained a British colony until it declared total independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.^[1] The first appearance of a uniquely Barbadian delegation at the Olympic Games came two years after it declared independence. At its debut, nine male athletes arrived to participate at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Previously, Barbados (as a British colony) constituted a major part of the West Indies Federation along with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, which sent a delegation to participate at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.^[2]

Between its 1968 debut and its appearance at the Beijing Olympics, Barbadian delegations appeared at every Summer Olympics except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, which took place in Moscow in the Soviet Union.^[3] With the exceptions of the 1968 and the 2008 Barbadian teams, every appearance by Barbados at the Olympics (as of Beijing) included at least ten athletes; its smallest delegation arrived in 2008, carrying only eight competitors. All the delegations except the one that arrived in 1968 have included female athletes.^[3] Prior to and including the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there had been one medalist from Barbados. Obadele Thompson won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, as part of Barbados' most successful showing at any Olympic Games as of 2008.^[3]

In Beijing, eight athletes participated across three sports (swimming, track and field, and sailing) in ten distinct events. Gregory Douglas, the nation's only sailor in Beijing, was the youngest participant from Barbados at 18 years old; runner Jade Bailey, the only female athlete in the delegation, was the oldest, at 25 years old. There were no medalists from Barbados at Beijing.^[4] Swimmer Bradley Ally bore the flag of Barbados at the ceremonies.^[3]

In track and field events, there were two ways to qualify for later rounds. The first way, "qualifying by right", involves ranking high enough in one's heat. Athletes could also "qualify by result"; if they did not rank high enough in their heats but were high enough in the event's overall standings, they could also advance.

Andrew Hinds participated for the Barbadian team at the Beijing Olympics, participating in the men's 100 meters dash. Born in 1984, he is the son of former Olympian Hadley Hinds, and has been affiliated in training with the MVP Track and Field Club in Kingston, Jamaica. Hinds participated in the Beijing Olympics at age 24, and had not previously participated in any Olympic Games prior to that.^[5] During the qualification round of the event, which took place on August 14, Hinds participated in the third heat. He completed the race in 10.35 seconds, placing fifth out of the heat's eight athletes. Indonesia's Suryo Agung Wibowo ranked behind him in sixth place (10.46 seconds), while Ghana's Aziz Zakari ranked ahead of him in fourth place (10.34 seconds). Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson (10.24 seconds) and France's Martial Mbandjock (10.26 seconds) led the Barbadian sprinter's heat. of the 80 athletes participating in the event, Hinds tied Colombia's Daniel Grueso and the Netherlands Antilles' Churandy Martina for 27th place. He advanced to the quarterfinal round.^[6]

During the quarterfinal round, which took place on August 15, Hinds was placed in the second heat. Eight athletes participated in the heat, and Hinds placed fifth with a time of 10.25 seconds. Brazil's Jose Carlos Moreira ranked directly behind him (10.32 seconds), while Nigeria's Olusoji Fasuba ranked directly ahead of him (10.21 seconds). Hinds' heat was led by Richard Thompson again (9.99 seconds) and the United States' Tyson Gay (10.09 seconds). Of the 40 athletes who advanced to quarterfinals in the event, Hinds tied Russia's Andrey Epishin for 24th place. He did not advance to later rounds.^[6]

Ryan Brathwaite is a hurdler who competed for Barbados at the Beijing Olympics. Born in 1988 in the Barbadian capital city of Bridgetown, Brathwaite attended Barton County Community College in rural central Kansas, competing in the school's athletic programs. He competed in Beijing at age 20 in a single track event, the men's 110 meters hurdles. Brathwaite had not previously competed at any Olympic Games.^[7] During the qualification round of his event, which took place on August 17, Brathwaite participated in the third heat against seven other athletes. He finished the race in 13.38 seconds, placing second in the event ahead of the Czech Republic's Petr Svoboda (13.43 seconds) and behind Colombia's Paulo Villar (13.37 seconds). 43 athletes competed in the qualification round of the event, and 40 finished their races; of those, Brathwaite ranked third. He advanced to the quarterfinal round.^[8]

Brathwaite participated in the third heat of the quarterfinal round in the men's 110 meters hurdles, which took place on August 19. His heat included eight athletes, although one was disqualified and did not rank. With a time of 13.44 seconds, Brathwaite ranked second in the event behind Jamaica's Maurice Wignall (13.36 seconds) and ahead of Villar, who led Brathwaite's qualification heat (13.46 seconds). The quarterfinal round included 32 advancing athletes, and 30 of those competitors finished their races. Of those, Brathwaite ranked tenth. He again advanced, this time to the semifinal round.^[8]

Semifinals in the hurdling event took place on August 20. Brathwaite competed in the eight-person second heat. Running the race in 13.59 seconds, Brathwaite finished in seventh place, defeating France's Samuel Coco-Villoin (13.65 seconds) but falling behind Dutch sprinter Marcel van der Westen (13.45 seconds). The heat was led by the United States' David Oliver (13.31 seconds) and Poland's Artur Noga (13.34 seconds). Of the 16 semifinalists, Brathwaite ranked 12th. He did not advance to the final round.^[8]

Jade Latoya Bailey participated at the Beijing Olympics in track and field events on Barbados' behalf. Born in 1983, Bailey was 25 at the time she entered the Beijing Olympics. She had not previously competed in any Olympic Games or events.^[9] One of the events in which she participated was the women's 100 meters dash. During the qualification round of the event, which occurred on August 15, Bailey was placed in the ninth heat against eight other athletes. She ranked second in the heat after finishing the race in 11.46 seconds, displacing Jamaica's Sherone Simpson (11.48 seconds) and falling behind Russia's Evgeniya Polyakova (11.24 seconds). Of the 85 athletes who competed in and finished this round of the event, Bailey tied Tahesia Harrigan of the British Virgin Islands for 25th place. She advanced to the quarterfinal round.^[10]

The quarterfinal round of the women's 100 meters took place on August 16. Bailey competed in the first heat, which included eight athletes. Of those, Bailey placed last in the heat after finishing the race in 11.67 seconds. Nigeria's Franca Idoko ranked ahead of her (11.66 seconds), while Cameroon's Myriam Leonie Mani ranked ahead of Idoko (11.65 seconds). The heat was led by Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser (11.06 seconds) and Polyakova, who led Bailey's previous heat (11.13 seconds). 40 athletes advanced to the quarterfinal round. Of those, the Barbadian sprinter tied Brazil's Lucimar Moura for 37th place. She did not advance to semifinals.^[10]

Jade Bailey also competed in the women's 200 meters race. During the qualification round of the event, which took place on August 18, Bailey was placed in the fourth heat, which included eight athletes. She finished in seventh place after finishing with a time of 23.62 seconds, defeating Myanmar's Lai Lai Win (24.37 seconds) but falling behind Uzbekistan's Guzel Khubbieva (23.44 seconds). Bailey's heat was led by Bahraini sprinter Roqaya Al Ghasara (22.81 seconds) and Great Britain's Emily Freeman (22.95 seconds). 48 people competed in the qualification round, and 46 of those athletes finished the races. Bailey tied Slovenia's Sabina Veit for 34th place overall. She did not advance to later rounds.^[11]

Men

Women

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Then 18-year-old Canada-raised^[12] Gregory Douglas participated in the Beijing Olympics on behalf of Barbados. He was the only Barbadian sailor to participate in the Beijing Olympics. Douglas competed in the one person dinghy event, where he was assessed using a score derived from his participation in nine distinct races.^[13] In the first race, Douglas ranked 41st place out of 43; in the second, 43rd out of 43; in the third, 43rd out of 43; in the fourth, 34th out of 43; in the fifth, 33rd out of 43; in the sixth, 30th out of 43; in the seventh, 40th out of 43; in the eighth, 37th out of 43; and in the ninth, 41st out of 43.^[14] His total final score was 342, and his net final score was 299.^[13] Overall, Douglas ranked 43rd out of 43, falling behind 42nd place finalist Adil Mohammad of the United Arab Emirates by 27 points, and behind gold medalist Paul Goodison of Great Britain by 236 points.^[14]

Men

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled;