Former Alabama Athlete Named to International Committee
8/29/2003 12:00:00 AM
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Former Alabama NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Pauline Davis-Thompson will be helping to mold the Olympic highlights of the next generation of women after being elected to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) women’s council.
The Bahamas native was elected to the post from a slate of nearly two dozen other candidates. The elections were held in Paris, France this week at the IAAF Congress, held in conjunction with the IAAF World Championships.
Davis-Thompson ran for Alabama in the late 1980s, winning the 1988 NCAA 200m dash and 1989 400m dash.
On the international stage, Davis-Thompson competed at seven IAAF World Outdoor Championships and five Olympic Games, saving her best for last. Her final race in international competition is the stuff of legend as she, ran the third leg of the Bahamas 400m relay team that won the 2000 Olympic gold medal in Sydney, upsetting the Marion Jones-led United States team. She won the silver medal in the 200m at those same games, finishing just behind Jones.
In her long career Davis-Thompson won numerous world medals. In 1995 she won a silver medal in the 200m at the World Indoor Championships in Barcelona and a silver medal in the 400m at the World Outdoor Championships in Gothenburg.
In 1996 Davis-Thompson anchored the Bahamas 400m relay team to a silver medal in the 400m relay in the Atlanta Olympics. In 1999 Davis-Thompson was the bronze medalist in the 200m at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan. At the World Outdoor Championships in Seville she ran on the gold medal winning 400m-relay team.
