factors influencing the early development of worldclass caribbean track and field athletes a qualitative investigation this qualitative investigation sought to explore through a sociocultural lens the perceived early training and competition environment and support network of worldclass caribbean track and field athletes and the influence on their sport engagement and progression during early childhood and adolescence sixteen worldclass track and field athletes 8 males and 8 females m age 29 sd 5 years from 6 englishspeaking caribbean islands took part in semistructured interviews a thematic analysis was performed on the transcribed data three superordinate themes were identified as key factors that influenced the early sporting development of worldclass caribbean athletes 1 conducive sporting environment 2 functional social support network and 3 key organizational input findings revealed that perceived high levels of deliberate play activity in childhood 6 12 years and an intense track and field competition culture in adolescence 13 20 years were conducive to the continued engagement and progression of worldclass caribbean track and field athletes at the junior level furthermore worldclass athletes perceived themselves to be positively influenced by the support received from their immediate social support network and key organizations during this period this study showed that a conducive sporting environment coupled with optimal social and organizational support may have encouraged worldclass caribbean athletes to remain engaged in track and field and to successfully progress within the sport at the junior level findings shed light on the sporting culture at the junior level within the caribbean region and provide insight into key environmental factors that can influence and foster the development of future world champions and olympians