Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (born 16 January 1976) is a former Bahamian sprint athlete who specialised 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 de ...

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 ...

. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics. Ferguson-McKenzie is assistant coach of

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 ...

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. Previously, she coached for four years at the University of Houston. In 1995, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the

1995 CARIFTA Games The 24th CARIFTA Games was held in George Town, Cayman Islands, on April 15–17, 1995. Participation (unofficial) Detailed result lists can be found on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of abou ...

. In total she won 7 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze

CARIFTA Games The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The games was first held in 1972 and consists of track and field events including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track eve ...

medals. She had her first major successes with the Bahamian 4×100 metres relay team, winning gold at the Pan American Games and

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 1999, and taking another gold at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

the following year. She won her first individual gold medal at the 2001 World Championships – having initially won silver, gold medallist

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2000 ...

was later disqualified. The 2002 season was a career high for Ferguson-McKenzie: she won five gold medals, with victories 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 ...

and

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...

, and a 100 m, 200 m and relay gold 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 ...

. Her performance in the 100 m remains a personal best, and her time in the 200 m was a commonwealth games record and fastest by any athlete that year. She won her only individual Olympic medal in 2004, taking bronze in the 200 m. Injury ruled her out for the whole of 2005. She failed to reach the finals at the 2007 World Championships, unable to compete with the new generation of American and

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 ...

n sprinters. However, she managed to reach the 100 and 200 metres finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was the previous 200 m national record holder with a best of 22.19 seconds. Her record was broken by

Shaunae Miller-Uibo Shaunae Miller-Uibo (born 15 April 1994) is a Bahamian track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. She is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the women's 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tok ...

(22.05 seconds) at the 2016 Jamaica Grand Prix. Her 100 m best (10.91) is the second fastest time by a Bahamian after

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 o ...

. In 2014 Ferguson-McKenzie became the women's sprints and hurdles coach for the track and field program at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. Ferguson-McKenzie was coached some part of her professional career by

Henry Rolle Sir Henry Rolle (1589–1656), of Shapwick in Somerset, was Chief Justice of the King's Bench and served as MP for Callington, Cornwall, (1614–1623–4) and for Truro, Cornwall (1625–1629). Origins Henry Rolle was born ''circa'' 1589, ...

Career

Ferguson attended St Andrew's School in Nassau, Bahamas and graduated in 1994. Ferguson graduated from

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

from where she launched her senior

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 ...

career since which she has gained medals at the Summer Olympics, IAAF World Championships in Athletics,

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and Pan American Games. In 2002, she was appointed as an ambassador for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. At the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, she set the championship record in the 100 metres and in the 4×100 m relay with the Bahamian team, recording a personal best of 10.91 seconds in the individual event. Osaka07 D6A Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

she competed at the

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 ...

sprint. In her first round heat she placed second behind Oludamola Osayomi in a time of 11.17 to advance to the second round. There she won her series to qualify for the semi finals in a time of 11.21, this time finishing in front of Osayomi. Despite fellow Bahamian

being unable to qualify for the final with a time of 11.22 in the first semi final, Ferguson managed to qualify with the same time as she finished fourth in her race, while Sturrup finished fifth in hers. In the final Ferguson came to 11.19 seconds, which was the 7th position. She competed at the 2009 Manchester City Games, winning the

150 metres 150 metres is a Sprint (running), sprint event in track and field. It is a very rarely contested non-championship and not an IAAF-recognised event. Given the proportion of standard running tracks, the event typically incorporates a bend when held ...

final in 16.54 seconds. She followed this up with a win in the 200 m at the Meeting Mohammed VI d' Athlétisme in Rabat. At the 25th Vardinoyiannia in

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

, Greece, she ran a world-leading time of 22.32 seconds to win the 200 m and set a meeting record.LIVE RESULTS OF 25th VARDINOYANNIA
. EAR. Retrieved 22 July 2009. Now trains in Clermont, Florida at the NTC.

Major competition record

On 16 October 2002 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie was nominated

Goodwill Ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a publ ...

of the

of the United Nations (FAO).

References

External links