Richard Williams
On April 5. 2017, Kim Collins from the small island nation of St Kitts and Nevis will be 41 but he has let that age stop him from continuing to compete in grueling sprint races-running against men half his age.
It is hard to believe but 14 years ago Collins was the 100m World Champion. For six occasions he has represented St Kitts and Nevis at the Summer Olympics. His first occasion was 1996-that is 20 years ago.
The video montage below highlights Collins’ career over a 20 year span.
Who is Kim Collins?
Kim Collins (born 5 April 1976) is a former track and field sprinter from Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2003, he became the World Champion in the 100 metres. He represented his country at the Summer Olympics on five occasions, from 1996 to 2016, and was the country’s first athlete to reach an Olympic final.
He competed at ten editions of the World Championships in Athletics, from 1995 to 2015, winning five medals. He was twice runner-up in the 60 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (2003, 2008). At regional level, he was a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games and a silver medallist at the Pan American Games.
Collins holds a personal best of 9.93 seconds for the 100 m, which is a Saint Kitts and Nevis national record and a M40 world record for men over 40. This makes him the only man over forty years of age to break the 10-second barrier. His indoor personal best of 6.47 seconds for the 60 m is a national record and a M35 world record.
Collins was the bronze medallist over 200 m at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and became the 100 m champion at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. He won a silver medal over 60 metres at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, before going on to take his outdoor crown. He also won sprint medals at the 2005 World Championships, 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2011 World Championships. A dispute with the Saint Kitts and Nevis administrators saw Collins dropped from the 2012 Olympic Games and he did not return to international duty until 2015. (Wikipedia)
