All eight medals that Trinidad and Tobago had won in the Olympics since 1964 came in Athletics, and even though team star Ato Boldon had not run a sub 10-second 100 metres since the 2001 World Championships, the men's relay team's silver medal at the 2003 Pan Am Games was heartening, as teams from the Americas had swept the podium in Atlanta and Sydney.
Only two of the individual runners made it to the second round, and none made a final. Two field athletes, Cleopatra Borel and Candice Scott made the first part of their finals, but could not move into the top 8 to earn the three extra attempts in the second half of the final. The men's relay team did make the final, and was again the second placed team from the Americas, but five teams from other continents finished ahead of them.