Melaine Walker
Jamaican hurdler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melaine Walker (born 1 March 1983) is a Jamaican 400 metres hurdler. She was born in Kingston. Walker is the former Olympic 400 m hurdles champion.[1] She held the Olympic record of 52.64, set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and her time of 52.42 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin was the second fastest time in history at the time.[1]
Biography
Walker is a past student of the St. Jago High School. Competing for the Texas Longhorns women's track and field team, Walker won the 2005 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 4 × 400 m relay.[2]
She won Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in a new Olympic record time of 52.64 seconds. Walker won the Jamaica national championships in 54.70 seconds, narrowly beating newcomer Kaliese Spencer and qualifying for her first World Championships in Athletics.[3]
On 20 August 2009, she set the second fastest time in history of 52.42 seconds to win the women's 400 m hurdles final at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.[4] She leapt on the back of the mascot Berlino the Bear to do a victory lap but Berlino crashed into a cart of hurdles and dropped her.[5]
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Jamaica | |||||
| 1998 | World Junior Championships | Annecy, France | 5th | 200 m | 23.72 (wind: -1.1 m/s) |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m relay | 44.61 | |||
| 1999 | World Youth Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 2nd | 200 m | 23.72 (wind: -0.1 m/s) |
| 6th | 100 m hurdles (76.2 cm) | 13.80 (wind: -0.4 m/s) | |||
| 2000 | World Junior Championships | Santiago, Chile | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 56.96 |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:33.99 | |||
| 2002 | World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 5th | 100 m hurdles | 13.66 w (wind: +3.4 m/s) |
| 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 56.03 | |||
| 2004 | NACAC U-23 Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 5th | 100 m hurdles | 13.86 (wind: +0.0 m/s) |
| 2006 | Central American and Caribbean Games | Cartagena, Colombia | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 55.97 |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:32.86 | |||
| 2007 | World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 54.31 |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.64 |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 54.06 | |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 52.42 |
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Thessaloniki, Greece | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 53.36 | |
Personal bests
- 60 metres hurdles – 8.05 s (2006, indoor)
- 100 metres hurdles – 12.75 s (2006)
- 400 metres hurdles – 52.42 s (2009)
- 60 metres – 7.40 s (2005, indoor)
- 200 metres – 23.67 s (1998)
- 400 metres – 51.61 s (2008)
