David McKenzie (sprinter)
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David Colin McKenzie (born 3 September 1970) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes 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 the jumping events ...
athlete who won the gold medal in the
4 x 400 metres 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 ...
at the
1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...
held in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, along with teammates, Peter Crampton, Adrian Patrick, and
Du'aine Ladejo Du'aine Ladejo (born 14 February 1971, in Paddington, London, England) is an English-born athlete and television personality. In his sports career, he was best known for winning the 400 metres sprint gold medal at the 1994 European Championship ...
.


Early life

McKenzie attended Ingram High School in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
,
South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
and trained with
Croydon Harriers Croydon Harriers is an athletics club based in Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the large ...
. On 11 Aug 1985 at
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...
, just one month shy of his fifteenth birthday, he ran a time of 49.97s for the 400 metres, at the time the second fastest ever time for an under-15 athlete, and as at 2008 was still the third fastest time.


Senior career

He reached his all-time peak on 12 June 1994 when he ran 45.47s at Sheffield for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. This earned him a solid place in the
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
team for the
1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...
in Victoria,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. At those games he was part of the 4x400 metres relay team that took gold (along with Peter Crampton, Adrian Patrick, and
Du'aine Ladejo Du'aine Ladejo (born 14 February 1971, in Paddington, London, England) is an English-born athlete and television personality. In his sports career, he was best known for winning the 400 metres sprint gold medal at the 1994 European Championship ...
with Mark Smith and
Alex Fugallo Alexander 'Alex' Michael Fugallo (born 1970), is a male former athlete who competed for England. Athletics career Fugallo represented England in the 400 metres and won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres event, at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in ...
in earlier rounds). McKenzie also won a relay gold medal in the 1994 Helsinki European Championship 4x400 metres relay team alongside
Brian Whittle Brian Ian Whittle (born 26 April 1964) is a Scottish politician and former athlete, who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region), South Scotland region since 2016 Scottish P ...
,
Roger Black Roger Anthony Black MBE (born 31 March 1966) is a retired English athlete who competed internationally for Great Britain and England. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic G ...
and
Du'aine Ladejo Du'aine Ladejo (born 14 February 1971, in Paddington, London, England) is an English-born athlete and television personality. In his sports career, he was best known for winning the 400 metres sprint gold medal at the 1994 European Championship ...
. McKenzie was to also feature in the season ending
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
at
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...
again winning gold in the
4 x 400 metres 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 ...
with teammates
Du'aine Ladejo Du'aine Ladejo (born 14 February 1971, in Paddington, London, England) is an English-born athlete and television personality. In his sports career, he was best known for winning the 400 metres sprint gold medal at the 1994 European Championship ...
,
Jamie Baulch James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a retired Welsh sprint athlete and television presenter. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. As a member of British 4 × 400 metres relay teams, he won a gold medal ...
and
Roger Black Roger Anthony Black MBE (born 31 March 1966) is a retired English athlete who competed internationally for Great Britain and England. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic G ...
.


References

1970 births Living people British male sprinters English male sprinters Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games {{UK-athletics-bio-stub