Yvonne Saunders-Mondesire (born 9 October 1951) is a Canadian former track and field athlete. A versatile athlete, she competed in women's pentathlon, long jump,

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

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 ...

and 800 metres. She competed internationally for Canada, Jamaica, and England during her career. She was a double medallist for Jamaica at the

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Jan ...

and was the 400 m champion at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

for Canada. She competed twice at the

Summer Olympics 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 1972 for Jamaica and in 1976 for Canada.

Early life and education

Born Yvonne Saunders in Jamaica,Yvonne Saunders
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2016-02-07. she emigrated with her family to England at the age of eight. Her talent for track and field was identified in her teens while she was at Gorse Park High School in

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. Str ...

, Greater Manchester.Saunders-Mondesire inducted into Athletics Ontario Hall of Fame
ShareNews (2014-10-08). Retrieved on 2016-02-07. Competing in the high jump she won the intermediate category at the

English Schools' Athletics Championships The English Schools' Athletics Championships are annual national athletics competitions organised by the English Schools' Athletic Association ESAA for students in England aged 12–18 for track and field, cross country and race walking. The eve ...

in 1966 and 1967. She began to expand her oeuvre of events and at the AAA Junior Championships she was the under-17 high jump winner in 1967, then took a high jump pentathlon double in 1968. She represented England at the British Schools International Match, winning high jump in 1967 and 1968. Her international duties brought her to Montreal in 1968 and the family decided to move there that same year.

Career

She moved to Toronto shortly after and began training at Guelph Legion Track Club. Her talents came along with some unwanted attention and she later recounted: "I was also called racist names as I jogged in the city and white parents approached me at meetings pleading that I should allow their daughters to win". The eighteen-year-old Saunders soon made an impact at the Canadian Track and Field Championships by winning a national title double in the high jump and

. Entering senior competition, she decided to represent her country of birth and in her major debut she placed eighth in the pentathlon at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

. She also helped the Jamaican women's

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

team to fifth in the rankings. At the

1971 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 1971 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a n ...

she won three medals, being individual bronze medallist in the 400 m and long jump and a gold medallist with 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 ...

team. Further accolades followed at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

later that year, where she took bronze medals in the individual and relay 400 m events. She was also fifth in the long jump, clearing six metres.Yvonne Saunders
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-02-07. Her Olympic debut came in 1972 at the Munich Games. She was a semi-finalist in the 400 m and ran in the heats with the relay team including

Ruth Williams Ruth Williams ''Heverly(February 12, 1926 – February 10, 2005) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 139 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Ruth Williams debuted ...

Una Morris Una Lorraine Morris (born 17 January 1947) is a retired Jamaican sprint (running), sprinter, physician, restaurateur, and Catering, food caterer. She represented Jamaica at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in eight sprint events in total, with t ...

and Rosie Allwood. Saunders qualified for Canadian citizenship in 1972 and began to compete for her adopted home from 1973 onwards. It was in this period that her career hit its peak. A third Canadian national title followed at the 1973 Canadian Championships. She was chosen to run both the individual and relay sprint events for Canada at the

in January and delivered a Canadian record of 51.67 seconds to win the gold medal. She remains the only Canadian woman to have won that title and her run proved to be a lifetime best. She won a second medal with her teammates in the relay, sharing the bronze medals alongside Brenda Walsh,

Margaret McGowen Margaret Stride (née MacGowan; born 21 December 1954) is a Canadian sprinter. She competed in the women's 400 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games 4 × 400 metres relay (with Joyce Sadowick, ...

and Maureen Crowley. Later that year she set a world indoor best for the

600 metres The 600 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It is most often run at high school indoor track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *A = affected by altitude *h = ha ...

distance (at 1:18.4 minutes) and she had a 400 m win at the AAA Championships, setting a championship record of 51.90 seconds in the process. Injuries affected Saunders in the subsequent two years, starting with a herniated back in 1975, then a knee injury. She had a successful appeal to the International Olympic Committee to speed up her citizenship and eligibility to compete at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

for Canada. With her training interrupted, she was off her 1974 best at the competition. She was eliminated in the first round of the 800 metres and placed a distant eighth in the relay final, running with Margaret Stride, Joyce Yakubowich, and

Rachelle Campbell Rachelle Campbell (born 30 October 1956) is a Canadian sprinter. She competed in the women's 400 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games 4 × 400 metres Relay (with Joyce Sadowick, Margaret McG ...

. This proved to be the last global event that she would appear at. Saunders' form declined after 1976, though she remained in competition. Her last major tournament was the Liberty Bell Classic – held due to the

1980 Olympic boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

– where she was the best of the Western-aligned nations, beating American Robin Campbell and Ann Mackie-Morelli of Canada. She retired from the sport in 1982, having become increasingly disillusioned with the greater role that money and performance-enhancing drugs were having in the sport. She married Dr. Roy Mondesire, a scientist, and the couple had two children. Her younger brother

Mark Saunders (police officer) Mark Saunders (born 1962) is a Canadian politician and retired police officer who served as chief of police with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) from April 26, 2015 to July 31, 2020. Saunders announced he intends to run for mayor of Toronto in ...

became Chief of the Toronto Police Service in 2015. She was inducted into Athletics Ontario Hall of Fame in 2014 and lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Personal bests

– 51.67 seconds (1974) * 800 metres – 2:00.1 minutes (1975)

International competitions

National titles

* Canadian Track and Field ChampionshipsCanadian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-02-07. **400 metres: 1970, 1973 **Long jump: 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Yvonne Living people 1951 births Canadian pentathletes British pentathletes Jamaican female sprinters British female sprinters Canadian female middle-distance runners Jamaican female middle-distance runners English female middle-distance runners Canadian female long jumpers Jamaican female long jumpers British female long jumpers Canadian female high jumpers Jamaican female high jumpers British female high jumpers Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom British emigrants to Canada Black Canadian female track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Jamaica Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Canadian people of Jamaican descent Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Canadian female sprinters Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games