Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (born 16 January 1976) is a former Bahamian sprint athlete who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres.[1] Ferguson-Mckenzie participated in five Olympics.

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie

Ferguson-McKenzie at the 2009 World Championships
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  Bahamas
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney4x100 m relay
1996 Atlanta4x100 m relay
2004 Athens200 m
World Championships
1999 Seville4x100 m relay
2001 Edmonton200 m
2009 Berlin4x100 m relay
2009 Berlin200 m
Pan American Games
1999 Winnipeg200 m
World Athletics Final
2004 Monaco200 m
2007 Stuttgart200 m
CAC Championships In Athletics
1997 San Juan100 m
1997 Grenada4x100 m relay
2003 Grenada4x100 m relay
2008 Cali200 m
1993 Cali200 m
1993 Cali4x100 m relay
2008 Cali4×100 m relay
2013 Morelia4×100 m relay
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester100 m
2002 Manchester200 m
2002 Manchester4x100 m relay
Continental Cup
2002 Madrid200 m
2002 Madrid4x100 m relay
2006 Athens4x100 m relay
2010 Split4×100m relay
Goodwill Games
1998 Uniondale4x100 m relay
2001 Brisbane200 m
CAC Junior Championships (U20)
1994 Port of Spain100 m
1994 Port of Spain200 m
CAC Junior Championships (U17)
1990 Havana4x400 m relay
1992 Tegucigalpa100 m
1992 Tegucigalpa200 m
1990 HavanaPentathlon
1990 Havana4x100 m relay
CARIFTA Games
Junior (U20)
1994 Bridgetown100m
1994 Bridgetown200m
1995 George Town100m
1995 George Town200m
1995 George Town4x100m relay
1992 Nassau4x100m relay
1992 Nassau4x400m relay
1993 Fort-de-France4x100m relay
1993 Fort-de-France4x400m relay
1994 Bridgetown4x100m relay
1994 Bridgetown4x400m relay
1995 George Town4x400m relay
1993 Fort-de-France100m
CARIFTA Games
Youth (U17)
1991 Port of Spain100m
1992 Nassau100m
1992 Nassau200m
1992 Nassau400m
1991 Port of Spain200m

Ferguson-McKenzie is assistant coach of track and field at University of Kentucky. Previously, she coached for four years at the University of Houston.[2]

In 1995, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 1995 CARIFTA Games.[3][4] In total she won 7 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze CARIFTA Games 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 in 1999, and taking another gold at the Olympic Games the following year. She won her first individual gold medal at the 2001 World Championships – having initially won silver, gold medallist Marion Jones 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 and Grand Prix Final, and a 100 m, 200 m and relay gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. 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.[5] She won her only individual Olympic medal in 2004, taking bronze in the 200 m. Injury ruled her out for the whole of 2005.[6] She failed to reach the finals at the 2007 World Championships, unable to compete with the new generation of American and Jamaican sprinters.[7] 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 (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.

In 2014 Ferguson-McKenzie became the women's sprints and hurdles coach for the track and field program at the University of Houston.[8]

Career

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

Ferguson graduated from University of Georgia from where she launched her senior athletics career since which she has gained medals at the Summer Olympics, IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.

In 2002, she was appointed as an ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 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.

Ferguson-McKenzie in competition at the 2007 World Championships.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she competed at the 100 metres 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 Chandra Sturrup 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.[1]

She competed at the 2009 Manchester City Games, winning the 150 metres final in 16.54 seconds.[9] She followed this up with a win in the 200 m at the Meeting Mohammed VI d' Athlétisme in Rabat.[10] At the 25th Vardinoyiannia in Rethymno, Greece, she ran a world-leading time of 22.32 seconds to win the 200 m and set a meeting record.[11][12] Now trains in Clermont, Florida at the NTC.

Major competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing the  Bahamas
1990 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17) Havana, Cuba 3rd Pentathlon 3015pts
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 47.66
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:47.22
1991 CARIFTA Games (U-17) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 1st 100 m 11.89 w   (2.4 m/s)
3rd 200 m 24.86
1992 CARIFTA Games (U-17) Nassau, Bahamas 1st 100 m 11.79
2nd 200 m 23.97 w
2nd 400 m 54.68
CARIFTA Games (U-20) 2nd 4 × 100 m relay 45.61
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:42.37
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17) Tegucigalpa, Honduras 1st 100 m 12.0   (0.0 m/s)
1st 200 m 24.2   (-0.1 m/s)
World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 21st (qf) 100 m 11.92 (wind: +1.9 m/s)
23rd (sf) 200 m 24.74 (wind: +0.7 m/s)
1993 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Fort-de-France, Martinique 3rd 100 m 11.79   (0.3 m/s)
4th 200 m 24.09   (-1.2 m/s)
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 45.53
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:39.32
CAC Championships Cali, Colombia 2nd 200 m 23.32 w
1994 CARIFTA Games (U-20) Bridgetown, Barbados 1st 100 m 11.58
1st 200 m 23.53
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 45.66
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:36.53
Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-20) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 1st 100 m 11.1   (-1.8 m/s)
2nd 200 m 23.8   (-1.8 m/s)
World Junior Championships Lisbon, Portugal 5th 100m 11.48 (wind: +2.0 m/s)
4th 200m 23.59 w (wind: +2.2 m/s)
12th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:44.67
Commonwealth Games Victoria, Canada 12th (sf) 200 m 23.68
5th 4×100 m relay 44.89
1995 CARIFTA Games (U-20) George Town, Cayman Islands 1st 100 m 11.35
1st 200 m 23.17
1st 4 × 100 m relay 45.00
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:39.46
World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 276th (h) 200 m 23.33   (0.0 m/s)
4th 4 × 100 m relay 43.14
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 13th (sf) 100 m 11.28   (0.4 m/s)
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 43.14 (h)
1997 CAC Championships San Juan, Puerto Rico 1st 100 m 11.29
World Championships Athens, Greece 7th (sf) 100 m 11.39   (-0.1 m/s)
6th 4 × 100 m relay 42.77
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 9th (sf) 100 m 11.12   (-0.1 m/s)
5th 200 m 22.28   (0.6 m/s)
1st 4×100 m relay 41.92 WL
Pan American Games Winnipeg, Canada 1st 200 m 22.83   (0.7 m/s)
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 8th 100 m 11.29   (-0.4 m/s)
4th 200 m 22.37   (0.7 m/s)
1st 4×100 m relay 41.95 SB
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 5th 100 m 11.13   (-0.3 m/s)
1st 200 m 22.52
IAAF Grand Prix Final Melbourne, Australia 2nd 200 m 23.00
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, England 1st 100 m 10.91 GR
1st 200 m 22.20 GR
1st 4×100 m relay 42.44 GR
IAAF World Cup Madrid, Spain 1st 200 m 22.49[13]
IAAF Grand Prix Final Paris, France 1st 100 m 10.97
2003 Central American and Caribbean Championships St. George's, Grenada 1st 4×100 m relay 43.06
World Championships Paris, France 10th (sf) 100 m 11.27   (0.4 m/s)
12th (qf) 200 m 22.98   (-0.2 m/s)
8th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 43.64
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 7th 100 m 11.16   (-0.1 m/s)
3rd 200 m 22.30
4th 4 × 100 m relay 42.69
World Athletics Final Monaco 2nd 200 m 22.66
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 14th (sf) 100 m 11.25   (-0.1 m/s)
14th (sf) 200 m 23.27   (-0.4 m/s)
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 2nd 200 m 22.74
2008 Central American and Caribbean Championships Cali, Colombia 1st 200 m 22.78
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 44.03
Olympic Games Beijing, China 7th 100 m 11.19
7th 200 m 22.61
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 6th 100 m 11.05   (0.1 m/s)
3rd 200 m 22.41   (-0.1 m/s)
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 42.29 SB
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 6th 200 m 22.96   (-1.0 m/s)
17th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 50.62
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 24th (h) 100 m 11.32
38th (h) 200 m 22.61
2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships Morelia, Mexico 7th 100 m 11.85
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 44.08

On 16 October 2002 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

References
  1. "Athlete biography: Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie". Beijing2008.cn. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  2. "Five-Time Olympian Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie Loves Being Part Of Kentucky Track". WLEX. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  3. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 2 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
  4. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 3 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
  5. 200 Metres 2002. IAAF (14 October 2004). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  6. Saunders, Gerrino (13 July 2006). BAAA Lists Surprising ‘Times’. The Bahama Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  7. 100 Metres 2007. IAAF. (4 April 2008). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. "Cougars Welcome Track and Field Great Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie". Houston Cougars Track & Field. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. "Superb Bolt storms to 150m record". BBC Sport. BBC News. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. Benchrif, Mohammed (24 May 2009). "Lishchynska and Cheshari set world season leads but Jelimo is way below par in Rabat". IAAF. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. Nikitaridis, Michalis (21 July 2009). "Ferguson (22.32) and Jones (12.47) set world season leads in Rethymno". IAAF. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. LIVE RESULTS OF 25th VARDINOYANNIA Archived 23 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine. EAR. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  13. Representing the Americas
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Marion Jones		 Women's 200m Best Year Performance
2001 – 2002		 Succeeded by
Allyson Felix
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Pauline Davis-Thompson		 Flagbearer for  Bahamas
Athens 2004
Beijing 2008		 Succeeded by
Chris Brown
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