Savatheda Fynes (born October 17, 1974) is a track and field

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

athlete, competing internationally for

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. She is an Olympic gold medalist in the

4 x 100 meter 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 ...

race. Some sources spell her first name "Sevatheda."

Career

She graduated Physiology and Exercise Science at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, East Lansing, Michigan, USA. She missed the 2001 World Championships due to injury. She had a minor car accident prior to the 2000 Olympic trials, which limited her training. At the World Championships in 1999 she was eliminated in semifinals due to an injured hip flexor. In 1996 a hamstring injury kept her out of the 100m at the

Atlanta Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. She was a member of the

4x100m relay team that won gold at the 1999 World Championships. After that performance the team of Fynes,

Pauline Davis-Thompson Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics, a rarity for a track and field athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Oly ...

Debbie Ferguson Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (born 16 January 1976) is a former Bahamian sprint athlete who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympi ...

Chandra Sturrup Chandra Sturrup (born September 12, 1971) is a Bahamian track and field sprint athlete. Career She is a 100m specialist and the Bahamian record holder for the women's 100m with a personal best ...

and

Eldece Clark-Lewis Eldece Clarke-Lewis (born 13 January 1965) is a Bahamian sprints athlete. She was a part of the Bahamian team that won the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics 4 x 100 metres relay. She also ran in the preliminary rounds in th ...

were dubbed the Golden Girls. When they won the relay again at the

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

they showed the world why they had earned that name. The girls returned home from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to a six-day fanfare of festivities in their honor, from receptions and parades to monetary awards and land grants. Central Bank has even been commissioned to mint a commemorative gold coin to honour their victory. She earned an athletic scholarship to Southern University at New Orleans, but later transferred to Eastern Michigan University and then to

. She was forced to sit out the 1996 season because she was a transfer. She attended an indoor meet that year and stayed in a hotel room paid for by Michigan State. That being a violation, she lost her final season of eligibility in 1998, and her coach lost her job.

Personal bests

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 ...

: 10.91 seconds in Lausanne 1999 * 60 metres: 7.01 seconds in Maebashi 1999 *

50 metres 50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is ...

: 6.05 seconds in Liévin 2000

Achievements

External links

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Bahamas Olympic Bio

Picture of Savatheda Fynes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fynes, Savatheda 1974 births Living people Bahamian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Olympic athletes of the Bahamas Olympic gold medalists for the Bahamas Olympic silver medalists for the Bahamas Pan American Games competitors for the Bahamas Commonwealth Games gold medallists for the Bahamas Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for the Bahamas Michigan State Spartans women's track and field athletes Southern Lady Jaguars track and field athletes Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Eastern Michigan Eagles women's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Olympic female sprinters