Source: Erasmus Williams FB
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — Kim Collins, the Kittitian former track and field sprinter, celebrates his 50th birthday today. He was born on this date, 5th April 1976.
In 2003, Collins became the World Champion in the 100 metres at the World Championships in Athletics. He represented Saint Kitts and Nevis at the Summer Olympics on five occasions between 1996 and 2016, and was the country’s first athlete to reach an Olympic final. Collins competed at ten editions of the World Championships in Athletics from 1995 to 2015, winning five medals. He was also a two-time runner-up in the 60 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (2003 and 2008).
At the regional level, he won gold at the Commonwealth Games and silver at the Pan American Games. Collins remains the only individual world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Collins holds a personal best of 9.93 seconds in the 100 metres, which stands as the national record for Saint Kitts and Nevis and a M40 world record for men over 40. This achievement made him the first man over the age of forty to break the 10-second barrier. His indoor personal best of 6.47 seconds in the 60 metres is also a national record and a M35 world record.
He won a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and later became 100 metres champion at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Collins also secured sprint medals at the 2005 World Championships, the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, and the 2011 World Championships.
Collins competed collegiately for Texas Christian University. Over his Olympic career, he represented his country at the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
He made his major championship debut at the 1996 Olympics, where he advanced to the second round in the 100 metres. At the 2000 Olympics, Collins became the first athlete from Saint Kitts and Nevis to reach an Olympic final, finishing seventh in the 100 metres. The following year, he earned the nation’s first World Championship medal, tying for bronze in the 200 metres.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Collins won his first major title. Shortly after the race, he returned a positive doping test for the beta agonist Salbutamol. Investigations determined the substance was part of asthma medication he had been taking for several years, but had failed to declare to the medical commission. Collins was ultimately allowed to retain his title and received a warning.
In recognition of his achievements, Collins was featured on a set of two postage stamps issued by Saint Kitts in 2002.
The 100 metres final at the 2003 World Championships became the defining moment of his career. With Olympic and World Champion Maurice Greene eliminated in the semi-finals, the race was wide open. In a tightly contested final, where the top four athletes finished within 0.02 seconds, Collins claimed victory and became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nevis.
At the 2004 Olympics, Collins again reached the 100 metres final, finishing sixth. At the 2005 World Championships, he captured another bronze medal, finishing behind Justin Gatlin and Michael Frater.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Collins reached the final of the men’s 200 metres and finished sixth. He also competed at the 2009 World Championships, reaching the quarter-finals before being eliminated.
Collins initially announced his retirement from international athletics in September 2009, bringing an end to a career that had already spanned nearly 17 years.
He later returned to competition in 2011, competing at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow at the age of 34. That year, he set a 60 metres national record and went on to claim bronze in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championships after Usain Bolt was disqualified.
At the same championships, Collins helped the Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 × 100 metres relay team reach its first-ever final and secure a bronze medal, alongside teammates Jason Rogers, Antoine Adams, and Brijesh Lawrence.
At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Collins broke a 28-year-old Pan American Games record in the heats with a time of 10.00 seconds and later won silver in the final behind Lerone Clarke. The medal was Saint Kitts and Nevis’ first at the Pan American Games.
Collins was expelled from the Saint Kitts and Nevis team at the 2012 London Olympics after missing training sessions. He later said he had been punished for spending time with his wife.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Collins became the oldest sprinter in the field and made his fifth Olympic appearance. While most sprinters reach their peak in their 20s, Collins achieved his personal best after the age of 40, running 9.93 seconds in the 100 metres. In Rio de Janeiro he advanced to the semi-finals but did not qualify for the final.
In 2018, Collins announced his final retirement after competing in the 60 metres at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships, marking his last appearance at a World Championship.
In recognition of his historic 2003 world title in Paris, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis declared August 25 as “Kim Collins Day.”
In March 2026, Collins was recognised as an “Outstanding Athlete of African Descent in the Hemisphere” by the Organisation of American States during the Inter-American Week of People of African Descent in Washington, D.C..
Credit: Wikipedia for background information.