Pauline Davis-Thompson: “Running Sideways”

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Olympic gold medalist Pauline Davis-Thompson is opening up about her struggles and triumphs during her track and field career that spanned three decades.

Her new book, “Running Sideways”, chronicles the Bain Town girl’s life from her days sprinting home from the shop to her vision of Olympic gold.

Jared Higgs has the story.

Davis-Thompson’s career began that year as well, as she competed in her first of five Olympic Games. A 1989 suspension by the BAAS for insubordination nearly railroaded her career. But that didn’t stop her vision of Olympic glory which she says started to manifest in her mind before the 1996 Olympics where the women’s 4×100 relay team won silver.

Fast forward to the year 2000 at the Sydney Olympics in Australia. The anticipation was built, especially after the Golden Girls gold medal performance at the world championships in Seville, Spain the year before.

Davis-Thompson, along with Debbie Ferguson, Svetheda Fynes, Eldece Clarke, and Chandra Sturrup triumphed over the Americans to win the Olympic gold outright.

Davis-Thompson also reminds readers about the challenges she faced at the top level. Besides issues with the BAAAS here at home, she says she also faced challenges as she travelled the world as a Black woman. She says she is overwhelmed with gratitude for Bahamians who have shown appreciation to her over the years through small acts of kindness.

The book was released on February 9th, and Davis-Thompson will host a signing on International Women’s Day on March 8th at Goodman’s Bay.