Wenda "Wendy" Vereen (born April 24, 1966) is an American former

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 eve ...

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 Sprin ...

er who specialized 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 des ...

and

200-meter dash 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 slightly ...

es. She was the top ranked national runner in high school in 1983 and 1984. She set personal records of 11.17 seconds for the 100 m and 22.63 seconds for the 200 m. Her career was highlighted by three relay medals – a 4×100-meter relay silver medal at the

1993 World Championships in Athletics The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having or ...

, a medley relay gold medal at the

1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 4th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from March 12 to March 14, 1993. It was the last Indoor Championships to feature the 5,000 and 3,000 metres race walk events. In addition, i ...

, and a bronze at the

1989 IAAF World Cup The 5th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 8–10, 1989, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain. ...

. She twice represented the United States individually, competing in the 200 m 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 ...

in 1993 and 1995.

Career

Vereen grew up in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city, capital city (New Jersey), city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.

and took up track and field at high school at Trenton Central High School. She won the 200 m in the under-17's section of the 1982 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships and was the American junior champion over 200 m in 1983 – her winning time of 23.22 seconds went unbettered until 1999. She was placed as number one in the 100 m and 200 m for high school girls in both 1983 and 1984 by ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runnin ...

''. Her run of 11.17 seconds for the 100 m in 1983 placed her second on the all-time American high school lists after Chandra Cheeseborough. Being one of the top ranked American high school sprinters, she gained an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

to attend

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

. While there she set four school records across individual and relay events. Among the eight NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honors she earned while competing for the

Morgan State Bears The Morgan State Bears are the twelve varsity sports teams representing Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in th ...

, she was runner-up in the 4×100-meter relay at the

NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships are the annual collegiate track and field competitions for women athletes representing Division I institutions organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At ...

in 1986 (future Olympic champion Rochelle Stevens was also part of the team). Vereen was named as a relay alternate for the 1984 American Olympic team but ultimately did not compete.Wendy Vereen
Morgan State Bears. Retrieved on 2015-09-19. She was a frequent finalist at national level from the late 1980s onwards. At the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

200 m she was seventh in 1986, sixth in 1989, and eighth in 1990. At the 1993 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships she was fourth in the 100 m (a career high national placing) and fifth in the 200 m. The following year she came eighth in 100 m and was again fifth over 200 m. She gained her first international medal at the

, anchoring a 4 × 100 m relay team of

Sheila Echols Sheila Ann Echols (born October 2, 1964) is a retired track and field athlete from the United States who competed in the 100 metres and the long jump. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in the 4 x 100 m relay. She also won the 19 ...

, Esther Jones and

Dawn Sowell Dawn Sowell (born 27 March 1966) is an American former sprinter who ran the fastest times in the 100 meters and 200 meters in 1989, with 10.78 secs and 22.04 secs. The 10.78 clocking made her the third-fastest woman of all-time at that time, and ...

to a bronze medal behind East Germany and the Soviet Union. Vereen's professional track career reached its peak in 1993. She achieved a best of 23.07 seconds indoors and gained her first individual international selection for the United States. At the

she came fifth in the 200 m and also won a gold medal with the 1600-meter medley relay event. The team's winning time of 3:45.90 minutes was a world record for the non-IAAF-standard distance. She was chosen for the 4 × 100 m relay team for the

and the quartet of

Michelle Finn-Burrell Michelle Bonae Finn-Burrell (born May 8, 1965, in Orlando, Florida) is an American former sprint athlete from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando. She set the Florida State University record for the 100 m ...

Gwen Torrence Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because ...

, Vereen, and

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was t ...

completed the race in 41.49 seconds. This was a new championship record, although the Russian women's team finished with the same time. Further analysis revealed the Russians as the winners and Vereen was awarded a silver medal with the American team. Vereen closed the season with a seventh-place finish in the 100 m at the 1993 IAAF Grand Prix Final.Wendy Vereen Honours
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-09-19. Vereen had one further international performance, running in the 200 m heats at the

1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, but was disqualified for a lane infringement. Her final top level appearance at the national level came at the 1996 United States Olympic Trials where she was a quarter-finalist in the 200 m.1996 Olympic Team Trials - Women
USATF. Retrieved on 2015-09-19. Following the end of her athletic career, she settled in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and was inducted into the Morgan State University Hall of Fame in 2014. Outside of track, she worked for the Department of Workforce Development, as well as taking up coaching with the Indiana Racing Cheetah Track Club. She married Troy Christopher and the pair had a daughter, Camille, around 2000.

International competitions

Personal records

100-meter dash 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 contest ...

– 11.17 seconds (1983) *

– 22.63 seconds (1993) *

indoor – 23.07 seconds (1993)

References

External links

*
Image of Vereen in 1995
__NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Vereen, Wendy Living people 1966 births Sportspeople from Trenton, New Jersey American female sprinters African-American female track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Morgan State Bears women's track and field athletes 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for the United States