Ian Weakly AKA Ian Weakley (born 24 February 1974 in

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

, Saint James Parish) is a retired male

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

from

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 ...

. Weakly's best performance came in 2003 with a time of 48.55 in the 400 meter hurdles, ran in

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Pre-Professional

Weakly began competing in athletics (

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 ...

) at

St. Elizabeth Technical High School St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, Santa Cruz, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica. This year 2021 marks 25 years of STETHS Alumni ...

. Originally an 800m runner, Weakly transitioned to the 400 meter hurdles and began to succeed. Weakly won both the

1992 CARIFTA Games The 21st CARIFTA Games was held in Nassau, Bahamas, on April 18–20, 1992. Participation (unofficial) Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 236 athlet ...

and

1993 CARIFTA Games The 22nd CARIFTA Games was held in Fort-de-France, Martinique, on April 10–11, 1993. Participation (unofficial) Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of abou ...

in the 400 meter hurdles. After graduation Weakly attended

Southwestern Christian College Southwestern Christian College (SwCC) is a private historically black Christian college in Terrell, Texas. History SwCC was founded in 1948 by the educator and minister G. P. Bowser under the name Southern Bible Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. ...

where he won both silver and bronze at the 1994 & 1995 NJCAA National Championships. Also during his time at

Weakly qualified for the 1994 Commonwealth Games final where he finished eighth. Weakly then transferred to

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

being apart of the 1995 Indoor National Championship winning team. During the following 1996 outdoor season Weakly would win silver and bronze in the

400 metres 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 ...

and the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

at the

NCAA Track and Field Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

as well as place fourth at the

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

and

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

within a week of each other in February 1997 clocking in at 2:25.78 and 1:48.42 respectively. Weakly would Graduate from George Mason in 1998 with a Bachelors in International Relations and Government & Politics. Later that year he would sign a professional contract with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Professional Athletics career

Weakly is best known for winning the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 2001

Jamaican Athletics Championships The Jamaican Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Jamaica.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 ...

where he reached the semi-finals. In 2002 Weakly would place third at 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 ...

. Later that year he would place 5th at the

IAAF World Cup The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as t ...

. In 2003 he would run his lifetime best of 48.55 seconds, in

. This time put Weakly as one of the fastest 150 runners all-time in his event. However, after an impressive 2003 season Weakly was unable to replicate this performance in 2004, where he fell in qualifying for the Olympics. The next year, Weakly recaptured his 2003 form by winning gold in the 2005

IAAF Super Grand Prix The IAAF Super Grand Prix was an annual series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Over the competition's history, a total of nine different meetings were part of the ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

and placing second in the

Golden Grand Prix The Golden Grand Prix Kawasaki is a track and field competition at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan as part of the World Athletics Continental Tour. It was first organized in 2011 at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium in Kawasaki and spons ...

Osaka, Japan is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...

. He would make the

2005 World Athletics Final The 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 9, and September 10, 2005. The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary on September 3 as the Monaco stad ...

finishing eighth. Weakly would next win silver at the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: **Barranquilla, Colombia ( ...

. After placing 5th at the National Championships and not qualifying for the 2008 Beijeng Olympics, Weakly would retire from professional running.

References

External links

* *

1974 births Living people Jamaican male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Jamaica Sportspeople from Montego Bay Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Jamaica Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Universiade silver medalists for Jamaica Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games {{Jamaica-athletics-bio-stub