# Ronald Forbes

Ronald Joseph Forbes (born 5 April 1985) is a track athlete from the Cayman Islands.
Forbes is an All American 110 meter hurdler and 60 meter hurdler who competed collegiality for Florida International University from 2005 to 2008 . Forbes went on to pursue a professional track and field career competing in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. Forbes has competed in the 2011 and 2015 Athletics World Championships. Indoors, Forbes has qualified and competed 2010 and 2012 World Indoor Athletics Championships. Forbes has competed in the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 Commonwealth Games. During the opening ceremonies for the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics he was the flag-bearer for the Cayman Islands.
He took up athletics when he was 14 as a discus thrower and shot putter, because he hoped it would give him the opportunity for travel and a scholarship. He eventually earned a scholarship in 2004 to Bacone College in Muskogee Oklahoma where he became the Red River Athletic Conference champion in the 400 meter hurdles and after a year, transferred to Florida International University. During his time at Florida International University, he was a two time All American, finishing 3rd in the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships and 8th in the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He is currently the Cayman Islands National Record Holder and the Florida International University Record Holder in the 55, 60 and 110 meter hurdles. In 2017 he was awarded the honor of having the Football Stadium in his home district of North side renamed to The Ronald J Forbes Playing Field; in the same year he has been recognized as a National Sports hero in the Cayman Islands.

## Personal bests
### Outdoor

* 200 m: 21.65 s (wind: +0.3 m/s) – Coral Gables, Florida, 12 April 2008
* 110 m hurdles: 13.36 s (wind: +0.4 m/s) – Clermont, FL, 30 April 2016
* 400 m hurdles: 52.79 s – New Orleans, Louisiana, 15 May 2005

### Indoor

* 60 m hurdles: 7.58 s – Fayetteville, Arkansas, 14 March 2008
* 200 m: 22.33 s – Gainesville, Florida, 26 January 2008

## Achievements

Forbes is the Cayman Islands and Florida International University 110 metres hurdles (outdoor), 60 metres hurdles (indoor) and 55 metres hurdles (indoor) record holder.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing the Cayman Islands ||||||
| 2000 | CARIFTA Games (U17) | St. George's, Grenada | 5th | 100 m hurdles (91.4 cm) | 13.64 (+1.8 m/s) |
| 2000 | Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U17) | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 7th | 100 m hurdles (91.4 cm) | 14.17 w (+4.0 m/s) |
| 2000 | Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U17) | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 6th | 400 m hurdles (84.0 cm) | 1:03.86 |
| 2001 | CARIFTA Games (U17) | Bridgetown, Barbados | 5th | 100 m hurdles (91.4 cm) | 13.73 (-2.3 m/s) |
| 2001 | CARIFTA Games (U17) | Bridgetown, Barbados | 5th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 59.74 |
| 2001 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala | 7th | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.99 A |
| 2002 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Nassau, Bahamas | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 54.61 |
| 2002 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Nassau, Bahamas | 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.78 |
| 2002 | Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U20) | Bridgetown, Barbados | 6th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 55.51 |
| 2002 | Central American and Caribbean Games | San Salvador, El Salvador | 7th | 400 m hurdles | 55.01 |
| 2003 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 54.39 |
| 2003 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 6th | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.07 |
| 2003 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 6th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:28.35 |
| 2003 | Island Games | Saint Peter Port, Guernsey | 4th | 400 m hurdles | 53.98 |
| 2004 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 53.63 |
| 2004 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 4th | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.95 |
| 2004 | CARIFTA Games (U20) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:31.89 |
| 2004 | Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U20) | Coatzacoalcos, México | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 53.80 |
| 2004 | Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U20) | Coatzacoalcos, México | 5th | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.71 |
| 2005 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | 11th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.49 (-0.7 m/s) |
| 2005 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Nassau, Bahamas | — | 400 m hurdles | DNF |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 16th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.35 (NWI) |
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 12th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.76 |
| 2006 | NACAC Under-23 Championships | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 6th | 110 m hurdles | 14.44 (+1.1 m/s) |
| 2006 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Cartagena, Colombia | 10th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.42 w (+2.1 m/s) |
| 2008 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Cali, Colombia | 5th | 110 m hurdles | 13.71 w A (+2.3 m/s) |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 26th (qf) | 110 m hurdles | 13.72 (+0.1 m/s) |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 20th (sf) | 60m hurdles | 7.91 |
| 2010 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | 7th | 110 m hurdles | 14.34 (-0.1 m/s) |
| 2010 | Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 6th | 110 m hurdles | 13.84 (+0.1 m/s) |
| 2010 | Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | — | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ |
| 2011 | Central American and Caribbean Championships | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | 9th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.18 (-3.9 m/s) |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 11th (sf) | 110 m hurdles | 13.67 (-1.6 m/s) |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 21st (h) | 60m hurdles | 7.95 |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 8th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.21 (+0.8 m/s) |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 5th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 13.89 (-0.2 m/s) |
| 2014 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Xalapa, México | 5th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.51 A (-1.6 m/s) |
| 2015 | NACAC Championships | San José, Costa Rica | 6th (sf) | 110 m hurdles | 13.77 (+1.2 m/s) |
| 2015 | Island Games | St Clement, Jersey | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.62 (+2.3 m/s) |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 30th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 13.78 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 35th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 14.67 |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 11th (h) | 110 m hurdles | 13.88 |