Ricardo Chambers

Who is Ricardo Chambers?

Ricardo Chambers is a Jamaican track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres.

Hailing from Trelawny Parish in Jamaica, he moved to the United States to study on a sports scholarship at Florida State University. Competing for the Florida State Seminoles, he won the silver medal over 400 m at the 2006 NCAA Championships, breaking the FSU record with a run of 44.71 seconds.

He enjoyed success at the NACAC Under-23 Championships later that year, setting a championship record of 45.09 seconds to win the 400 m and anchoring the Jamaican 4×400 metres relay team of Huntley Thomas, Leford Green and Bryan Steele to a second gold medal and record. He represented Jamaica at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. He was fifth in the 400 m, easily beaten by Yeimer Lopez, but finished the competition on a high by winning the relay gold with Sanjay Ayre, Green and Steele, running a Games record of 3:01.78.

Chambers turned professional for the 2007 season and competed at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. He made it to the semi-finals of the individual 400 m, but greater success came in the relay, as he took fourth place in the final for Jamaica. His next major competition was the 2008 Summer Olympics. He again was a semi-finalist in the men's 400 metres, but the Jamaican relay team performed poorly in the event final, failing to match their time from the heats and finishing in last place. He was the Jamaican champion the following year, but his third global appearance – at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics – held similar results; he finished third in his semi-final and was eliminated in the heats in the relay.