Natasha Laren Mayers (born 10 March 1979 in Saint Vincent) is a professional

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 ...

sprinter who competes internationally for

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

. She is the national record holder over

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

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 ...

. She represented her country at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in 2000 and 2004, and had the honour of national flag bearer at the latter edition. She has also appeared at the

IAAF World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

in 2001 and 2003, as well as having taken part at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

. She won the 2002

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

women's 200 m title, running for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

. Mayers received a two-year competitive ban from

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

after testing positive for excess

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...

in July 2005. She returned to international competition in 2010 and won the 100 m gold medal at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

– an initial bronze medallist, she was twice upgraded as both of the other two original medallists were disqualified.

Career

Early career

She was educated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, attending Inglewood High School in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, before moving on to

Los Angeles Southwest College Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC) is a public community college in the unincorporated area of West Athens, California in Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and its service area includes In ...

. Natasha Mayers

. Retrieved on 2010-11-01. She made her Olympic debut at the

2000 Sydney 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 was just one of four competitors selected for the national Olympic team that year. Her next global appearances came at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and she entered both the

and

competitions. Although she was eliminated in the heats of the latter event, she managed to reach the semi-finals of the 100 m and placed sixth in her heat.Mayers, Natasha

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-11-01. Mayers gained a place at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and began competing for the

women's track team. She was cleared to race in May 2002 after initial eligibility issues and ran in the 100 m and 200 m at that year's

NCAA Outdoor Women's Track and Field Championship The NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for women organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make ...

. Her Trojan's teammate Angela Williams won in the 100 m and Mayers finished one hundredth of a second behind her for second place. She had a personal record run of 22.80 seconds in the 200 m qualifiers, the third fastest ever time for a USC athlete, and then went on to secure the 200 m NCAA title in the final. Later that year she ran a 100 m best of 11.09 seconds at the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, 1 ...

. She represented her country 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 ...

and reached the finals of both the short sprints. She was eighth in the 100 m but was fourth over 200 m, missing the medals by a margin of 0.15 seconds.

Olympic flag bearer and doping ban

At the

2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK. There were a total number of 589 participat ...

she ran in the

and just missed out on a spot in the final, finishing third in her semi-final. She equalled her personal best of 11.09 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays, but did not get past the heats in her race at the 2003 World Championships in the outdoor season. She reached the 60 m semi-finals at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were re ...

and again ran over 100 m at the major outdoor championship – her second Olympic performance at the

2004 Athens Games 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), ...

came to an abrupt end after she suffered a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

injury after reaching the quarter-finals stage. She was the Olympic national flag bearer at the Games opening ceremony and was chosen at the St. Vincent Sports Personality of the Year for her achievements later that year.Sprinter Natasha Mayers suspended for 2 years

CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...

(2005-07-01). Retrieved on 2010-11-01. She returned to St. Vincent in early 2005 and while there gave talks at local schools, promoting hard work and encouraging children to avoid the dangers of illegal drugs. In June that year she tested positive for excess

against her

epitestosterone Epitestosterone, or isotestosterone, also known as 17α-testosterone or as androst-4-en-17α-ol-3-one, is an endogenous steroid and an epimer of the androgen sex hormone testosterone. It is a weak competitive antagonist of the androgen recepto ...

levels and the

gave her a two-year ban from the sport, stretching from June 2005 to June 2007. Later reflecting on the ban she said: "I just didn't know what to do. I went about it all wrong. I should have sought some help...I accepted the ban and that's that." She made her competitive return at the

Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria The Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria is an annual athletics event at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1963, held at the Panathinaiko Stadium. Its name honours Kostas T ...

, where she was runner-up in the 100 m behind

Brianna Glenn Brianna Glenn (born April 18, 1980) is an American long jumper. She finished ninth at the 2002 World Cup and seventh at the 2006 World Athletics Final. Her personal best jump is 6.87 metres, achieved in June 2011 at the United States Olympic Train ...

2010 Commonwealth champion

After a break from the sport, she returned a few years later to run at the

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. She reached the women's 100 m final and came away with the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

after a chaotic series of events: A dual false start by Laura Turner and

Sally Pearson Sally Pearson, OAM (née McLellan; born 19 September 1986) is an Australian former athlete. She is the 2011 and 2017 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles. She also won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at t ...

, saw just Turner eliminated and Mayers finished third for the

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 ...

behind Pearson and

Oludamola Osayomi Oludamola Bolanle ("Damola") Osayomi (born 26 June 1986 in Ilesha, Osun State) is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is a four-time gold medallist at the African Championships in Athletics and won an Oly ...

. Pearson was then disqualified on appeal, meaning Mayers was elevated to the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

behind Osayomi. However, the placings changed yet again as the Nigerian winner was disqualified after failing a drugs test, leaving Mayers as the event winner.Joseph, Keith (2010-10-22)
Gold at the 19th Commonwealth Games
SVG Olympic Committee. Retrieved on 2010-11-01. This made her the first woman to win at the Commonwealth Games for Saint Vincent and Grenadines, the country's only medallist at the Games, and only their second gold medallist ever after Frankie Lucas's middleweight title at the 1974 edition. She competed sparingly after her Commonwealth Games win. She ran at the

2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011. It was the fourth time P ...

, but did not start in the final. She was a non-starter at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

. Her fastest run in 2012 was 11.50 seconds for the 100 m and in 2013 she slowed further to 11.80 seconds.Natasha Mayers
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-22. With the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

forthcoming, she raised awareness that she lacked the funds to return to defend her title. She received a grant from the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

in 2011 but criticised the lack of support from her sporting federation otherwise.Glasgow 2014: 100m champion Natasha Mayers needs 'miracle'
BBC Sport (2014-03-09). Retrieved on 2014-03-22.

Personal bests

– 7.18 (2002) *

– 11.09 (2002) *

– 22.80 (2002) *

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

– 54.34 (2003)

International competition record

References

External links

*
Sports-reference profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayers, Natasha 1979 births Living people Saint Vincent and the Grenadines female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Doping cases in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines People from Saint Vincent (Antilles) Junior college women's track and field athletes in the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Olympic female sprinters