Richard Thompson (athlete)

Richard Thompson

Thompson at the 2012 Olympic Games
Personal information
Nationality	Trinidad and Tobago
Born	(1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 31) Cascade, Trinidad & Tobago
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
College team	LSU Tigers
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Games 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay 2008 Beijing 100 m 2012 London 4×100 m relay World Championships 2009 Berlin 4×100 m relay NACAC Championships 2007 San Salvador 100 m 2007 San Salvador 4×100 m relay CAC Championships 2008 Cali 4×100 m relay Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay

Richard "Torpedo" Thompson (born 7 June 1985) is a sprinter from Cascade, Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres. He is the 9th best 100 meters runner of all time and the Trinidad and Tobago record holder with a personal best of 9.82. He occasionally runs the 200 meters and he has the second fastest time by a Trinidad and Tobago athlete and the 127th best of all-time from all countries in a best time of 20.18, 0.99 seconds slower than the World Record holder Usain Bolt.

Thompson studied at Louisiana State University (LSU) and broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor 60 metres record in 2008, his final season of collegaite athletics.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Thompson was the silver medalist in the 100 meters, running a then personal best of 9.89 seconds, and the 4x100 meters relay along with Emmanuel Callender, Keston Bledman and Marc Burns. He also won the silver medal in the 4x100 meters at the 2012 Olympics with the same team he competed in the 2008 Olympics with. Also in the 2012 Olympics, he finished 6th following the disqualification of Tyson Gay in the final of the 100 meters. Thompson is a five time Trinidad and Tobago national champion. His current personal best of 9.82 was set at the 2014 Trinidad and Tobago national championships.

In 2017, it was revealed that Nesta Carter had tested positive for a banned substance which he took in 2008. This means the Trinidad and Tobago 4x100m relay team which consisted of Thompson will receive the Olympic Gold.