May 10, 1960 was a groundbreaking day for Jamaica. On this day in Cold Spring Hanover, the great Merlene Ottey was born to Hubert and Joan Ottey. She had six siblings: Desmond, Yvonne, Beverly, Jane, Ruthven and Hugh. She attended Gurneys Mount and Pondside School before graduating from Rusea and Vere Technical schools.
Her mother introduced her to the sport as she bought Ottey a coaching manual on track and field. It was back in her school days in the seventies that the inspiration and ambition to run in the sprints came, she would compete barefoot in local races. But her inspiration mainly came from listening to the track and field broadcast from the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, where her fellow countryman, Donald Quarrie ran in the sprint finals.
Merlene was chosen for her first Jamaican team as a 14 year old and registered her first 2000m time in 1975 with 25.95.
Here athletic career took off when she attended the University of Nebraska in 1979. During her time there the, harsh winters bothered her so much that she often wore four pairs of socks and several layers of clothing just to get to her classes. She gained recognition by breaking many records and later on rounded off her college experience by graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
By 1980 she was the first woman from the English speaking Caribbean to win an Olympic medal and was also awarded the Jamaican National, Honorable Officer of the Order of Distinction.
Merlene Ottey was named Ambassador of Jamaica after her gold medal win in the 1993 world championships. She won 14 world championships medal- more than anyone in history and was also the first woman to run under seven seconds for 60m and under 22s in the indoor 200m. Ottey was named Jamaican Sportswoman of the year 15 times between 1979 and 1997. She got the Order of Distinction for ‘services in the field of sport’ by Jamaican cabinet in 1980.
Members of the Jamaican team protested against her selection ahead of Jamaica’s 100m champion Peta-Gaye Dowdie for the Sydney Olympics.
Ottey withdrew from the 2001 World Championships for “personal reasons”. Her manager, Daniel Zimmerman, said she decided not to compete because of the protest. He said she may have not been able to endure the rounds because of her age. “After what happened in Sydney. She does not necessarily want to go back. Having half the team protesting doesn’t make you feel motivated. And running the rounds may be tough on her body at this age.”
In 1998 Merlene moved to Slovenia, and began training with Slovene coach Srdjan Djordjevic. She became a Slovene citizen in May 2002 and now represents her country in international events. In July 1999 the IAAF banned Merlenne after she tested positive for the banned Anabolic steroid nandrolone but was cleared in 2000 by Jamaican Athletics and then the IAAF when the laboratory that had tested her sample came under severe criticism. Merlene was disappointed with the Jamaican Athletic Union’s treatment of her, which was one of her reasons (besides less competition than in Jamaica) why she applied for Slovene citizenship. She competed for Slovenia in the 2003 World Championships and in the 100m at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but was eliminated in the semifinals.
Merlene Ottey is Jamaica’s most favorite athlete, not just in track and field but also in every category of Jamaican sports. She is regarded as one of the most successful athletes of all time and a giant in track and field world championship history
