Me'Lisa Barber
Me'Lisa Barber (born October 4, 1980 in Livingston, New Jersey) is an American track and field sprint athlete.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | October 4, 1980 (age 40) Livingston, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon}
Career
Me'lisa Barber born to parents Ronald and Cheryl Barber in Montclair, N.J. won her first major international championships gold medal by running 50.3 lead leg on Team USA's winning 4x400 relay in 2003 with teammates Demetria Washington, Sanya Richards and the notable Jearl Miles-Clark World Outdoor Championships in Paris. In 2005, she was the U.S outdoor 100 m dash champion and the 4x100 relay gold medalist in the World Championships, making her one of the only athletes to win gold medals in back to back World Championships in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. Barber then became the indoor World Champion in the 60 m dash in Russia running a blazing time of 7.01 which is 4th fastest time ever ran in the world.
She ran on the 2001 Team USA World University Games gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m relay team with University of South Carolina teammates Demetria Washington, Carolyn Jackson and her twin sister Miki Barber.
She ran the opening leg in teaming with her sister Miki to set a school record of 3:33.14 at the University of South Carolina competition. Barber finished as the runners-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was named second team all-state in the 55 m in 1998 and first team all-state in the 100 m and 200 m outdoors in the same year.
Barber won her heat of the 100 meters at the 1999 USA Junior Championships, but did not make the finals.
Barber grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.,[1] and her 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m high school relays at Montclair High School were both honored as All-American.[2] As a senior, she was ranked 3rd on the Track & Field News list in the 100 meters. Barber was 4th on the 200 m list.
She is the 2005 US Champion in the 100 m dash which earned her a spot on the 2005 World Championships in Athletics where she placed 5th with 11.09 sec in the 100 m finals. The winner was compatriot Lauryn Williams. Also, she and her teammates, Angela Daigle, Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams, lived up to their favourites tag with an easy victory in the 4 × 100 m final sprint relay. They took gold in 41.78sec – the fastest time in the world that year.
Barber has been featured in magazine articles along with her twin Miki Barber in stories in USA Today, Track and Field News, Sports Illustrated Oxygen Sports, Fearless Magazine. Discussing the importance of education to young adults, giving them motivational tips on how to balance sports and academics.
Her nickname is Lisa. Barber majored in Retail Management and with a minor in Business at University of South Carolina. Hobbies include poetry, art, reading and . Barber's favorite athlete is Michael Jordan. Barber training for the 2016 Brazil Olympics and is CEO of TheHoneyCollection Jewelry Line.
Personal records
- 100 meters – 10.95 (2007)
- 200 meters – 22.37
- 300 meters – 37.54
- 400 meters – 50.87
References
- Litsky, Frank. "PLUS: TRACK AND FIELD; Fast Times Eyed At Armory Meet", The New York Times, January 9, 2001. Accessed November 26, 2007. "The 800 to 900 athletes expected to compete in the Armory meet include Miki and Me'Lisa Barber, South Carolina's sprinting twins from Montclair, N.J...."
- Bloom, Marc. "Running; Teammates at the Meet, Strangers at Practice", The New York Times, July 11, 1998. Accessed June 14, 2008. "Melisa and Mikele Barber, 17-year-old twins and graduating seniors who are going on to the University of South Carolina, practice under the Montclair coaches Ray Spivey and Doris Ellis at the high school track."
