Merlene Frazer (born 27 December 1973, Trelawny, Jamaica) is a retired female track and field sprinter from Jamaica who specialized in the 200 metres. In the 4 x 100 metres relay, she won a World Championship gold medal in 1991 and an Olympic silver medal in 2000. On both occasions, she ran in the preliminary rounds but not the final. Her biggest individual success was winning a World Championship bronze medal at 200 metres in 1997.

Merlene Frazer
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Jamaica
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney 4x100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Tokyo 4x100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1997 Athens 4x100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Seville 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Seville 4x100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Edmonton 4x100 m relay

As part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 relay squad in 1991, she is the youngest World Champion ever.[1]

Running for the Texas Longhorns track and field team, Frazer won the 1994 200 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and won two indoor titles as well. She was inducted into the Texas sports hall of fame in 2017.[2]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Jamaica
1988 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17) Nassau, Bahamas 6th Long jump
1st 4 × 100 m relay 46.75
1989 CARIFTA Games (U-17) Bridgetown, Barbados 2nd 100 m 11.93
2nd 200 m 25.0
2nd Long jump 5.81 m
1990 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 100 m 11.75   (1.3 m/s)
2nd 200 m 23.89   (-0.2 m/s)
1st 4x100 m relay 45.39
World Junior Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria 5th 100 m 11.64 (wind: +0.9 m/s)
1st 4x100 m relay 43.82
1991 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 3rd 100 m 11.74   (1.7 m/s)
2nd 200 m 23.86
Central American and Caribbean Championships Xalapa, Mexico 1st 200 m 23.63
1st 4 × 100 m relay 44.54
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 3rd 200 m 23.48
1st 4x100 m relay 43.79
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 1st 4 × 100 m 41.94^
1992 World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 3rd 100 m 11.49 (wind: +0.3 m/s)
3rd 200 m 23.29 (wind: +0.3 m/s)
1st 4x100 m relay 43.96
1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 7th 200 m 23.18
4th 4x400 m relay 43.51
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 32nd (h) 400 m 52.24
4x400 m relay DQ
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 12th (sf) 400 m 51.18
4th 4x400 m relay 3:21.69
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 4th 200 m 22.88
World Championships Athens, Greece 10th (sf) 200 m 22.81   (-2.3 m/s)
2nd 4x100 m relay 42.10 SB
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd 200 m 22.26   (0.6 m/s)
3rd 4x100 m relay 42.15 SB
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 2nd 4x100 m relay 42.13^
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 3rd 4x100 m relay 42.40 SB
Notes:
  • ^ At both the 1991 World Championships and the 2000 Olympic Games, Frazer ran in the preliminary rounds of the 4 × 100 m relay but not in the final.
  • (#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf).

Personal bests

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  • 100 metres - 11.20 s (1995)
  • 200 metres - 22.18 s (1999)
  • 400 metres - 51.18 s (1996)

References

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  1. ^ "World Championship Statistics Handbook" (Press release). IAAF. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Defining Moments: Hall of Honor inductee Merlene Frazer". 26 September 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
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