Keston Bledman,
HBM (born 8 March 1988) is a
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
sprint athlete, who competes internationally for
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
.
On 7 July 2007, at the
2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, he upset the Jamaican
Yohan Blake
Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100 metres, 100-metre and 200 metres, 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ...
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
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. He competed at the
4 × 100 m relay together with
Marc Burns
__NOTOC__
Marc Burns (born 7 January 1983) is an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago specializing in the 100 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay.
Participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was disqualified from his 100 metres heat due to a false ...
,
Aaron Armstrong and
Richard Thompson. He was the lead off man.
In their qualification heat they placed first in front of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. 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
Emmanuel Earl Callender (sometimes Callander; born 10 May 1984 in Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago.
Callender represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Su ...
for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n team, winning the
silver medal
A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
.
In 2022, Bledman and his teammates received the gold medal due to Jamaica's
Nesta Carter testing positive for the prohibited substance
methylhexaneamine.
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.
On 4 June 2011, Bledman ran 9.93 over 100 m in
Clermont, Florida
Clermont is the most populous city in Lake County, Florida, Lake County, within the U.S. state of Florida. The population was 43,021 in 2020. It is about west of Orlando, Florida, Orlando and southeast of Leesburg, Florida, Leesburg. The cit ...
, to become the 78th athlete to cross the
10-second barrier. 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, which is currently tied for the 27th fastest ever. At the 2011 World Championships, he qualified for the 100 m final as one of the fastest losers in the semi-final.
He was also a member of the relay team that won a silver medal at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team 4 × 100 m team that won the bronze at the
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
. He ran in the 100 m and the 4 × 100 m at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
.
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.
He was recruited by Gunness Persad, who became his coach, at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive sportsday.
His first international competition was the 2005 World Youth Championships, where he won an individual bronze.
His athletics idol is
Hasely Crawford who won the 100 m at the 1976 Olympics for Trinidad and Tobago.
Personal bests
International competitions
1 Disqualified in the final.
Track records
As of 9 September 2024, Bledman holds the following track records for 100 metres.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bledman, Keston
1988 births
Living people
Trinidad and Tobago male sprinters
21st-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen
Olympic athletes for Trinidad and Tobago
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Trinidad and Tobago
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Trinidad and Tobago
Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Trinidad and Tobago
Pan American Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games silver medalists for Trinidad and Tobago
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Trinidad and Tobago
Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Trinidad and Tobago
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games
Olympic gold medalists for Trinidad and Tobago
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics
Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games
Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Sportspeople from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics