In its continuing tribute to prominent Caribbean nationals during Caribbean American Heritage Month in June, the Washington, D.C-based Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS) has inducted four-time Trinidadian Olympic medal winner Ato Boldon into its “Wall of Fame.”
ICS noted that Boldon holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 meters events, with times of 5.64, 6.49 and 19.77 seconds, respectively, and also the Commonwealth Games record in the 100m.
He also held the 100m national record at 9.86s, “having run it four times until Richard Thompson ran 9.85s on August 13, 2011,” ICS said.
“After retiring from his track career, Boldon was an opposition senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament, representing the United National Congress from 2006-2007,” it said. He is now an NBC Sports television broadcast analyst for track and field.
ICS said Boldon began coaching his compatriot Khalifa St. Fort “around 2012 and helped her improve her 100m from 12.3 to 11.5 seconds after one month.”
St. Fort won the silver medal at the 2015 World Youth Championships in Athletics and a bronze in the relay at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.
ICS said that, in 2000, “Boldon was made a sports ambassador by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and given a diplomatic passport.
“He is widely viewed as one of the all-time leading sportsmen in the history of the Caribbean, as well as one of its most internationally-recognizable spokesman,” it said.
“When Trinidad and Tobago hosted the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship in association football, one of the new stadiums constructed for the tournament was located in Couva and named Ato Boldon Stadium,” it added.
ICS said Boldon is also a qualified pilot, having earned his private pilot’s license in August 2005. He is a member of the AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association.
NBC said Boldon is its “lead track and field analyst” for NBC Sports Group.
The four-time Olympic medalist made his NBC Sports Group debut in 2007, during NBC’s presentation of the US National Championships.
That same year, Boldon also served as an analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Track and Field World Championships.
NBC said Boldon joined its Olympics broadcasting team in 2008, “where he served as a track and field analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games.”
It said Boldon continued in that role during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Most recently, NBC said Boldon served as an Olympic correspondent at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.
In 1992, Boldon represented Trinidad and Tobago in the 100m and 200m competitions at the Barcelona Olympics.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, NBC noted that Boldon won bronze medals in the 100m and 200m events.
He also won a silver medal in the 100m, and a bronze in the 200m, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
“Boldon retired shortly after the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he helped lead his country’s 4x100m relay team to their first-ever Olympic 4x100m relay final,” NBC said.
Prior to joining NBC Sports Group, Boldon served as an analyst for BBC’s coverage of the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain, NBC noted.
It said he also served as a “sideline reporter” for the BBC’s coverage of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2000.
In 2005, NBC said Boldon served as a commentator for CBS’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
NBC said Boldon wrote, produced and directed the film “Once in A Lifetime: Boldon in Bahrain”.
“The documentary chronicled his voyage with fellow Trinidad and Tobago fans to the Kingdom of Bahrain, as the Trinidad and Tobago soccer team became the smallest country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup,” NBC said.
