Allison J. Beckford (born 8 May 1979 in Westmoreland) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n sprinter competing in the 400 metres. She attended the

Manning's School Manning's School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica, which started offering classes in 1738, is the oldest continuous operating high school in Jamaica. The school's motto is rendered in latin "''Vita sine litteris mors est "'' its engl ...

Savanna-la-Mar Savanna-la-Mar (commonly known as Sav-la-Mar, or simply Sav) is the chief town and capital of Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. A coastal town, it contains an 18th-century fort constructed for colonial defence against pirates in the Caribbean. H ...

, Westmoreland, Jamaica, where she was one of the star athletes coached by Howard Daugharty. She was also academically astute passing several CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) exams and also A-levels exams after completing her upper six forms education. Her personal best of 50.83 was set in 2002. She has also competed in

400 m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. Beckford was a part of the Jamaican team that won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Men's results T ...

. She was not selected for the bronze-winning relay team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She did compete in the 400 metre race, but suffered a severe hamstring injury. Beckford is a relative of

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er James Beckford. She attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

in Houston Texas.

Achievements

External links

* * 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Westmoreland Parish Jamaican female sprinters Jamaican female hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Jamaica Rice University alumni World Athletics Championships medalists Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for Jamaica Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Jamaica 20th-century Jamaican women 21st-century Jamaican women People educated at Manning's School {{Jamaica-athletics-bio-stub