Charles Allen (born March 3, 1977) is a Canadian

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

, specializing in hurdling and

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

. Born in Georgetown,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, Allen emigrated to Canada, first to Brampton where he attended

Turner Fenton Secondary School Turner Fenton Secondary School is a high school in the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario. The principal is Kevin Williams. It is operated by the Peel District School Board, and is credited as one of the highest funded schools in Ontario, ...

, and then to Malton where he went to Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School. Allen represented Canada at the

1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Sydney, Australia on August 20–25. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1049 athletes from 142 cou ...

in the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. He competed for Guyana in the 110 metres hurdles at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, and still holds the Guyanese record in that event. By the time of the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

, Allen was again representing Canada. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Allen made the finals in the 110 m hurdles after setting a new personal best time in each of the qualifying rounds. He finished a respectable sixth, but in a slower time than he had hoped. He was also captain of Canada's

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team, but the team failed to pass the qualifying stages. At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

in Melbourne, however, Allen won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

with the Canadian relay team.

References

External links

* * * * * 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Georgetown, Guyana Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Black Canadian track and field athletes Canadian male hurdlers Canadian male sprinters Guyanese male hurdlers Afro-Guyanese people Guyanese emigrants to Canada Olympic athletes for Guyana Naturalized citizens of Canada Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from Brampton Track and field athletes from Ontario Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games {{Guyana-athletics-bio-stub