This is insane beyond belief.
I was a high school junior in 1979 when Merlene Ottey first appeared in Track and Field. By my senior year in 1980, she had won her first bronze at the Moscow Olympics.
20 years later at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won a silver in the relay for Jamaica.
From the age of 20 to 39, Merlene Ottey was near or under 11 seconds for the 100 meter sprint. Her 10.74 personal best came at the ripe age of 35!
She has never won a Gold medal hence her nickname the Queen of Bronze or Silver Queen.
Take a look at her stats or graph below. Utterly impressive!
Year – Age – 100 meter SB
1979 – 18 – 11.59
1980 – 19 – 11.36
1981 – 20 – 11.07
1982 – 21 – 11.03
1983 – 22 – 11.07
1984 – 23 – 11.01
1985 – 24 – 10.92
1986 – 25 – 11.06
1987 – 26 – 10.87
1988 – 27 – 11.00
1989 – 28 – 10.95
1990 – 29 – 10.78
1991 – 30 – 10.79
1992 – 31 – 10.80
1993 – 32 – 10.82
1994 – 33 – 10.78
1995 – 34 – 10.85
1996 – 35 – 10.74
1997 – 36 – 10.83
1998 – 37 – 11.01
1999 – 38 – 10.97
2000 – 39 – 10.99
2001 – 40 – 11.31
2002 – 41 – 11.28
2003 – 42 – 11.22
2004 – 43 – 11.09
2006 – 45 – 11.34
2007 – 46 – 11.56
2008 – 47 – 11.80
This article was from The Guardian:
Ottey, 48, in final attempt to reach 8th Games
LJUBLJANA, July 18 (Reuters) – Jamaican-born sprinter Merlene Ottey will race twice in four days in a last-ditch effort to become the first athlete to take part in eight Olympic Games.
Ottey, 48, will run at meetings in the Slovenian city of Maribor on Saturday and Tuesday in an attempt to achieve the Olympic 100 metres qualifying time by the deadline on Wednesday.
Ottey has taken part in every Olympics since the 1980 Games in Moscow and her tally of eight medals is more than any other woman in track and field. She competed for Slovenia at the 2004 Games after six Olympics with Jamaica.
“Of course she wants to run at these (Beijing) Games because she would be the first ever to participate at eight consecutive Olympics,” Ottey’s Slovenia coach Srdjan Djordjevic told Reuters.
“If there are ideal weather conditions, she could qualify.”
He said Ottey has been suffering for years from an allergy that usually starts in April or May and ends in the second half of July. Ottey, who became a Slovenian citizen in 2002, has also won 14 world championship medals, including two titles.
At the 2000 Olympics, Ottey won a silver in the relay for Jamaica to become the oldest female track and field Olympic medallist.
She also has a 100 metres bronze from the same Games after her U.S. rival Marion Jones last year admitted to taking steroids and returned her medals from the Sydney Games.
Ottey won her first medal – one of a record five bronzes – in Moscow 28 years ago. She has yet to win an Olympic gold. (Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Robert Woodward)
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