Barbados first competed at the Summer Olympic Games in 1968, and has participated in each Games since, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics when Barbados joined the American-led boycott and has never competed in the Winter Olympic Games. The country's only Olympic medal is a bronze won by sprinter Obadele Thompson in the men's 100 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Barbados competed as part of the West Indies Federation in 1960. Barbadian athlete James Wedderburn was part of the 4 × 400 m relay team which won the bronze medal that year. Weightlifter Grantley Sobers also competed in 1960.