Running Sideways: The Olympic Champion Who Made Track and Field History

The inspiring story of Pauline Davis, a Bahamian sprinter who fought through poverty, inequality, and racism to compete in five Olympic Games and become the first woman from the Caribbean to win Olympic gold. She would inspire an entire nation and go on to become the first Black woman elected to the international governing body of athletics.

Pauline Davis is a former Bahamian sprinter who competed in five Olympic Games. After winning silver at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, she achieved two gold medals in 2000 at Sydney Olympics. In The Bahamas, Pauline is widely known as one of the country’s ＂Golden Girls＂. Prior to the Olympics, she would shatter collegiate records at the University of Alabama and achieve a gold medal at the World Championships. She was the first Black woman to be selected to the IAAF Council in 2007. To this day, she remains an advisor to the track and field community as an honorary member of this council. She is also a senior official at The Bahamas’ Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture. T. R. Todd is a journalist, biographer and novelist. A former journalist at the Nassau Guardian, Todd’s experience with The Bahamas stretches back nearly a decade. He also served as the Associated Press correspondent for the country. Todd is the author of The Man Behind the Bow Tie: Arthur Porter on Business, Politics and Intrigue and the award-winning Pigs of Paradise: The Story of the World-Famous Swimming Pigs. Todd’s work has appeared in newspapers across North America, including the New York Times, Huffington Post, Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. He currently lives in Ottawa, Canada.