Ken Farnum

Ken Farnum was a sprint cyclist. He was born on Barbados where he began racing, winning eight West Indies sprint titles. As Barbados did not have an NOC at the time, he competed for Jamaica at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, but he is considered by the Barbados Olympic Committee as their first Olympian. After the Olympics he moved to New York City where he worked in communications, but he continued riding and racing.

Farnum won three New York state cycling championships from 1955-57. He was the first cyclist of color to win major events in the United States since Major Taylor at the turn of the 20th century. Farnum competed against and inspired Herbie Francis, the first African-American to make a US Olympic cycling team. In April 2020 Farnum succumbed to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.