Ato Boldon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ato Boldon OLY
Boldon at the Sydney 2000 Olympics
Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
In office 14 February 2006 – 23 April 2007
Preceded by	Roy Augustus
Succeeded by	Ronald Phillip
Personal details
Born	Ato Jabari Boldon (1973-12-30) 30 December 1973 (age 51) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Nationality	Trinidadian
Political party	United National Congress
Residences	Florida, United States
Ato Boldon Personal information Height 176 cm Weight 75 kg Sport Sport Sprinting Event(s) 100 metres, 200 metres College team UCLA Achievements and titles Personal best(s) 100 m: 9.86 s (Lausanne 1999) 200 m: 19.77 s (Stuttgart 1997) Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Games Silver 2000 Sydney 100 m Bronze 1996 Atlanta 100 m Bronze 1996 Atlanta 200 m Bronze 2000 Sydney 200 m World Championships Gold 1997 Athens 200 m Silver 2001 Edmonton 4×100 m relay Bronze 1995 Gothenburg 100 m Bronze 2001 Edmonton 100 m Pan American Games Silver 2003 Santo Domingo 4×100 m relay Commonwealth Games Gold 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m Goodwill Games Gold 1998 New York City 200 m Silver 1998 New York City 100 m World Junior Championships Gold 1992 Seoul 100 m Gold 1992 Seoul 200 m CAC Junior Championships (U20) Gold 1992 Tegucigalpa 100 m Gold 1992 Tegucigalpa 200 m

Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a famous former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. He is well-known for winning four Olympic medals. He also holds national records for Trinidad and Tobago in sprint events like the 50, 60, and 200 metres. He even holds the Commonwealth Games record for the 100-meter race.

After his amazing running career, Boldon became a Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago from 2006 to 2007. Today, he works as a sports analyst for NBC Sports, sharing his knowledge of track and field on television.

Ato Boldon's Career Highlights

Early Life and Start in Sports

Ato Boldon was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. When he was 14, he moved to the United States. In high school in Queens, New York City, his soccer coach noticed how fast he was. This led him to try track and field.

At 16, Boldon quickly became a top sprinter. He won two races at the Queens County Championships in 1990. He then moved to San Jose, California, and continued to excel in sprinting. He won the Junior Olympic title in the 200-meter race.

Junior and College Success

At 18, Boldon competed for Trinidad and Tobago in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Soon after, he became the first person to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics in Seoul, South Korea.

Boldon also ran track while studying sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He won the NCAA 200-meter championship in 1995. In 1996, he won the NCAA 100-meter championship, setting a new record for the event.

Becoming a Senior Athletics Star

Boldon won his first major international medal at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, taking bronze in the 100-meter race. He was the youngest person ever to win a medal in that event at just 21 years old.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, he won two bronze medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. In 1997, he won the 200-meter race at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens, Greece. This was the first world title in athletics for his country.

In 1998, Boldon was at the top of his game. He set a new national record in the 100-meter race with a time of 9.86 seconds. He also won a gold medal in the 100-meter race at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His record time of 9.88 seconds at this event still stands today.

In 1999, Boldon faced a serious hamstring injury, which made him miss the World Championships. However, he made a strong comeback at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter race and a bronze in the 200-meter race. These wins made him the most successful individual Olympic medalist from Trinidad and Tobago at the time, with four Olympic medals.

In 2001, Boldon had a minor issue when he tested positive for a stimulant found in common cold medicines. He was given a warning but was not suspended. Later that year, at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton, Canada, he won a bronze medal in the 100-meter race and a silver medal with his team in the 4x100-meter relay. This was the first relay medal for Trinidad and Tobago in a World or Olympic competition.

After a serious car accident in 2002, Boldon's sprinting career was affected. He still competed, even captaining his country's 4x100-meter relay team to their first Olympic final at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Ato Boldon is known for having many fast 100-meter races under 10 seconds. He is one of the top sprinters in history for this achievement.

Broadcasting Career

Ato Boldon started working in broadcasting when an injury kept him from competing at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) hired him to commentate on the races. People liked his commentary, and he was invited back for more events.

Since 2007, he has been a key analyst for NBC Sports, covering major track and field events like the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. He is praised for his smart analysis and energetic style. In 2013, he was even nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for his Olympic commentary.

In Politics

On 14 February 2006, Ato Boldon became a Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. He represented the Opposition party, the United National Congress. He served for 14 months before resigning in April 2007, choosing to focus on his sports broadcasting career.

Media Work and Coaching

In 2006, Boldon created a film called Once in a Lifetime: Boldon in Bahrain. It showed his journey with other fans to watch Trinidad and Tobago's soccer team, the Soca Warriors, qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Boldon has also coached young athletes. He helped sprinter Khalifa St. Fort improve her 100-meter time significantly. She went on to win medals at the World Youth Championships and World Championships.

Ato Boldon's Personal Life

Ato Boldon has two daughters. He lives in Florida, United States. He is also a qualified pilot, having earned his private pilot's license in 2005.

In 2000, the country of Trinidad and Tobago made Boldon a sports ambassador. He is seen as one of the greatest sportsmen from the Caribbean. A stadium in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago, is named after him: Ato Boldon Stadium. This is a big honor, as he is one of only a few sprinters to have a stadium named after them.

Achievements and Records

On 4 November 2011, Ato Boldon was honored by being inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

Competition Record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Trinidad and Tobago
1992	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20)	Tegucigalpa, Honduras	1st	100 m	10.4  (0.0 m/s)
			1st	200 m	21.5  (0.1 m/s)
	World Junior Championships	Seoul, Korea	1st	100 m	10.30  (0.0 m/s)
			1st	200 m	20.63  (0.3 m/s)
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	45th (h)	100 m	10.77  (−0.3 m/s)
			47th (h)	200 m	21.65  (0.0 m/s)
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	25th (qf)	100 m	10.48  (−0.1 m/s)
			41st (h)	200 m	21.31  (−1.2 m/s)
			19th (h)	4 × 100 m	40.24
1994	Commonwealth Games	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada	4th	100 m	10.07
			9th (sf)	200 m	20.80
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	3rd	100 m	10.03  (1.0 m/s)
			29th (qf)	200 m	21.81  (−0.1 m/s)
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, U.S.	3rd	100 m	9.90  (0.7 m/s)
			3rd	200 m	19.80  (0.4 m/s)
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	5th	100 m	10.02  (0.2 m/s)
			1st	200 m	20.04 w  (2.3 m/s)
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1st	100 m	9.88  (−0.1 m/s) GR
	Goodwill Games	New York City, U.S.	2nd	100 m	10.00
			1st	200 m	20.15
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	100 m	9.99  (−0.3 m/s)
			3rd	200 m	20.20  (−0.6 m/s)
			11th (sf)	4 × 100 m	38.92 NR
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	3rd	100 m	9.98  (−0.2 m/s)
			2nd	4 × 100 m	38.58 NR
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	8th (sf)	100 m	10.22  (0.6 m/s)
			10th (sf)	4 × 100 m	38.84
2003	Pan American Games	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	2nd	4 × 100 m	38.53
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	44th (h)	100 m	10.41  (−1.1 m/s)
			7th	4 × 100 m	38.60

Personal Best Times

• All information taken from IAAF profile.

Track Records Held by Boldon

As of September 2024, Boldon holds these track records for 100 and 200 meters.

100-Meter Records

200-Meter Records

See also

In Spanish: Ato Boldon para niños