Keston Bledman

Keston Bledman, HBM (born 8 March 1988) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago.[2]

Keston Bledman
Keston Bledman at the 2012 Olympics in London
Personal information
NationalityTrinidad and Tobago
Born (1988-03-08) 8 March 1988[1]
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago[1]
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight88 kg (194 lb)[1]
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Sprinting
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100m: 9.86 (Trinidad 2012)
200m: 20.73 (Lappeenranta 2008)
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Trinidad and Tobago
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 4×100 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2014 Glasgow4×100 m relay
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima 4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Toronto 4×100 m relay
CAC Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Cali 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2009 Havanna 4×100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2011 Mayagüez 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Mayagüez 4×100 m relay
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 São Paulo100 m
Silver medal – second place2007 São Paulo4×100 m relay
World Youth Championships
Silver medal – second place2005 MarrakechMedley relay
Bronze medal – third place2005 Marrakech100 m

On 7 July 2007, at the 2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in São Paulo, Brazil, he upset the Jamaican Yohan Blake in the 100 meters, finishing in 10.32 seconds (−1.1 m/s wind).

Bledman represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4 × 100 m relay together with Marc Burns, Aaron Armstrong and Richard Thompson. He was the lead off man.[3] In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by Emmanuel Callender for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the Jamaican team, winning the silver medal.[2] In 2022, Bledman and his teammates received the gold medal due to Jamaica's Nesta Carter testing positive for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine.[4]

He ran in the first round, but not the final of the men's 4 × 100 m at the 2009 World Championships where Trinidad and Tobago won silver.[3]

On 4 June 2011, Bledman ran 9.93 over 100 m in Clermont, Florida, to become the 78th athlete to cross the 10-second barrier.[5] He won his first national title in June 2012 by beating Richard Thompson over 100 m and ran a personal best time of 9.86 seconds,[6] which is currently tied for the 16th fastest ever. At the 2011 World Championships, he qualified for the 100 m final as one of the fastest losers in the semi-final.[3]

He was also a member of the relay team that won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[7] He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team 4 × 100 m team that won the bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[8] He ran in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[9]

Early career

His mother lived in the US, and Bledman attributes his athletic success to wanting to do well enough to qualify for the national team and earn a visa.[3] He was recruited by Gunness Persad, who became his coach, at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive sportsday.[3] His first international competition was the 2005 World Youth Championships, where he won an individual bronze.[3] His athletics idol is Hasely Crawford who won the 100 m at the 1976 Olympics for Trinidad and Tobago.[3]

Personal best
DistanceTimevenue
100 m9.86 s (+1.4 m/s)Port-of-Spain, Trinidad (23 June 2012)
200 m20.73 sLappeenranta, Finland (3 August 2008)

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Trinidad and Tobago
2005 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Bacolet, Trinidad and Tobago 8th 100 m 10.79 (+1.7 m/s)
1st 4 × 100 m relay 41.05
World Youth Championships Marrakesh, Morocco 3rd 100 m 10.55
2nd Sprint medley relay 1:52.51
2006 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Les Abymes, Guadeloupe 2nd 100 m 10.57 (0.0 m/s)
Central American and Caribbean
Junior Championships (U-20)		 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 2nd 100 m 10.39 (+1.5 m/s)
4th 4 × 100 m relay 40.80
World Junior Championships Beijing, China 7th 100 m 10.47 (-0.5 m/s)
54th (h) 200 m 25.57 (-0.6 m/s)
2007 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Providenciales, Turks and Caicos 2nd 100 m 10.41 (+1.2 m/s)
Pan American Junior Championships São Paulo, Brazil 1st 100 m 10.32
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 40.11
Pan American Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9th (sf) 100 m 10.34
4th 4 × 100 m relay 39.23
World Championships Osaka, Japan 22nd (qf) 100 m 10.33
2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships Cali, Colombia 10th (sf) 100 m 10.38
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.54
Olympic Games Beijing, China 1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.06
2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships Havana, Cuba 6th 100 m 10.29
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.73
World Championships Berlin, Germany 2nd (h) 4 × 100 m relay 38.47
2010 NACAC U23 Championships Miramar, Florida, United States 4th 100 m 10.19 (+1.7 m/s)
Central American and Caribbean Games Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 7th 100 m 10.32
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.24
2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1st 100 m 10.05
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 38.89
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 8th (sf) 100 m 10.14
6th 4 × 100 m relay 39.01
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 9th (sf) 100 m 10.04
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 38.12
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia 11th (sf) 100 m 10.08
7th 4 × 100 m relay 38.57
2014 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 2nd 4 × 100 m relay 38.04
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 14th (sf) 100 m 10.24
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 38.10
2015 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 7th 4 × 100 m relay 38.92
Pan American Games Toronto, Canada 4th 100 m 10.12
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 38.69
World Championships London, United Kingdom 50th (h) 100 m 10.75
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 23rd (h) 100 m 10.20
6th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 37.961
2017 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 11th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 39.44
World Championships London, United Kingdom 29th (h) 100 m 10.26
9th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 38.61
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 26th (h) 60 m 6.79
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 12th (sf) 100 m 10.30
– 4 × 100 m relay DQ
Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla, Colombia 12th (sf) 100 m 10.35
4th 4 × 100 m relay 38.90
2019 Pan American Games Lima, Peru 8th 100 m 10.43
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 38.46

1Disqualified in the final

References
  1. "Keston Bledman". Olympedia.org. OlyMADmen. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  2. "Athlete biography: Keston Bledman". Beijing2008.cn. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  3. Laurence, Kwame. "IAAF: Keston Bledman | Profile - Focus on Athletes Biography". iaaf.org. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  4. "Medal reallocation in action: Trinidad and Tobago get men's 4x100m relay gold from Beijing 2008". International Olympic Committee. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  5. "Tyson Gay runs world-best 100 this year in Clermont". Orlando Sentinel. 4 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  6. Lawrence, Kwame (25 June 2012). Bledman wins Trinidad and Tobago title in 9.86. IAAF. Retrieved on 9 July 2012.
  7. "London 2012 4x100m relay men Results - Olympic athletics".
  8. "Glasgow 2014 - Keston Bledman Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  9. "Men's 100m". 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
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