Richard "Torpedo" Thompson (born 7 June 1985) is a sprinter from Cascade, Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres and has been running for Louisiana State University as a member of the LSU Tigers track and field team.
In his first World Championships in Osaka in 2007, Thompson reached the semi- finals but finished 8th in a time of 10.44 seconds.His personal best time is 9.89 seconds, achieved in August 2008 in Beijing, China, during the Olympic 100m final where he won silver. Thompson's personal best for 200m is 20.18 seconds ran in Fayetteville for LSU. His 60m best is 6.51 seconds, achieved in March 2008 in Fayetteville.
In the 2008 Summer Olympics he competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed first in his heat before Martial Mbandjock in a time of 10.24 seconds. He qualified for the second round in which he improved his time to 9.99 seconds, winning his race with opponents as Tyson Gay and Mbandjock. In the semi finals he finished second (9.93 seconds) in his heat behind Asafa Powell and qualified for the final. There he finished his race in second place, far behind winner Usain Bolt (9.69) but with a time of 9.89 seconds he won the silver medal, outsprinting Walter Dix and Churandy Martina. Together with Keston Bledman, Aaron Armstrong and Marc Burns he also competed at the 4x100 metres relay. In their qualification heat they placed first in front of Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.26 was the fastest of all sixteen teams participating in the first round and they qualified for the final. Armstrong was replaced by Emmanuel Callender for the final race and they sprinted to a time of 38.06 seconds, the second time after the Jamaican team, winning the silver medal.
