![]() | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birth name | Mechelle Chanai Lewis | |||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Fort Washington, Maryland | September 20, 1980|||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Running | |||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | 100m and 4x100m | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Mechelle Chanai Lewis Freeman (born September 20, 1980) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 meters and 4x100 meter relay. [1] Mechelle, an Oxon Hill, Maryland native, was a 2007 Pan American double silver medalist, 2007 World Champion and 2008 USA Olympian. [2]
Lewis represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She competed on the 4x100 meter relay together with Angela Williams, Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams. In their first round heat they were however disqualified and eliminated. [3]
Born in Washington, D.C. to Eddie and Chandra Lewis, and raised in Fort Washington, Maryland, Mechelle is the youngest of a set of twin girls. Both were highly active and successful in sports at a young age taking on basketball and soccer. They spent their summers competing in AAU basketball tournaments and their fall seasons winning soccer championships for the Oxon Hill Boys & Girls Club. Ironically however, after easily winning all of her events at a track meet held during her 8th grade P.E. class, Mechelle was approached by a high school scout who told her that she should look into taking on track and field. Once in high school, Mechelle and her sister would make one of the most significant decisions in their lives and decided to quit basketball to begin their Track & Field career.[ citation needed ]
Mechelle really came into her own as an athlete at Oxon Hill High School. Lettering in both soccer and track, the decision to take running seriously would propel her to becoming a Maryland state record holder, where she held the state record in the 55m for 3 years with a time of 6.94s. [4] Mechelle was also the 300m regional champion and the MVP of her high school indoor and outdoor track team three years in a row. She made the Prince George's County All-County Team three years as well as the All-Metropolitan team, representing the best select few athletes in the Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia area. Her high school track team was third in the county three times and finished in the top three twice at the state championships. Mechelle's 4 × 400 m relay team won the state title three consecutive years and came in third at the National High School Indoor Track & Field Championships in 1997. [4] With nationally recognized success, Mechelle also brought home championships competing in the USATF Junior Olympics for the Rising Stars track club. [5] Mechelle kept busy off the track as well, winning Homecoming queen her senior year and operating in her role as the Senior Class Vice President. She also enjoyed playing in the band, mastering both the flute and the oboe. After going through a rigorous process of elimination, both Mechelle and her sister chose to run track at the University of South Carolina where they both received full scholarships to do so.[ citation needed ]
Lewis attended the University of South Carolina, from 1998 to 2004 where she obtained her bachelor's degree and master's degrees in Mass Communications. She was a three-time All-American athlete in the 60m, 200m, and the 4 × 100 m relay. She held the school record in the 55m for two years with a time of 6.84s. [6] Mechelle also competed on the team that brought the first national championship in any sport to her school when her team won the 2002 Track & Field Outdoor Championships. She accompanied the team to the White House to meet President Bush for the honor. In the classroom, Lewis received the Highest GPA honor in her freshman class at the University of South Carolina with a 4.0 GPA and went on to graduate with honors. She was also honored as one of the 2002 "Top 25 Most Promising Minority Students" in the country from the American Advertising Federation during her senior year.
Mechelle graduated from college cum laude with a 3.6 GPA, and from graduate school with a 3.8 GPA. After experiencing several injuries in college, she left sports to pursue a business career. She moved to New York City and worked at one of the world's top advertising agencies, Young & Rubicam, serving Xerox and the United Negro College Fund. [7]
After two years at Young & Rubicam, Mechelle decided to return her focus to track and field; she relocated to North Carolina to begin a fully committed training regimen. [8] Although briefly sidelined by further injuries, Mechelle rebounded and went on to become a 2007 Pan American double silver medalist, 2007 World Champion, and 2008 Olympian.
Sponsored by Nike, Xerox, Lifestyle Family Fitness and Young & Rubicam in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lewis competed in the 4 × 100 m with USA teammates Angela Williams, Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams. [9] However, they were disqualified after a missed hand-off in the semifinal between teammates Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams. [10]
In December, Mechelle was elected to serve as the USATF Elite Athlete Communications Liaison, as well as the USATF Athletes Advisory Committee Women's Sprints Event Leader. [11] Mechelle is excited about her new role as she gears up for the 2011 season.
Outside of track & field, Mechelle uses her platform, Do It Afraid!, to encourage individuals to recognize their self-worth and move forward in life facing their fears head on. Mechelle is also involved with Athletes for Hope. [12] She enjoys hosting and speaking at events, participating in fitness clinics, and advocating for healthy-living awareness.
Her mission is to enable individuals to be transformed throughout their mind, body and spirit by providing essential knowledge and exposure to prepare individuals to live overall healthy lives. Mechelle is also a certified Zumba Instructor.
In addition, she founded the non-profit TrackGirlz, a 501c3 to promote mentorship to girls through track and field, in 2015. [13]
Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
---|---|---|---|
100 meters | 10.97 | Eugene, Oregon, United States | June 27, 2008 |
200 meters | 23.01 | Provo, Utah | May 24, 2008 |
400 meters | 55.72 | Shanghai, China | September 20, 2008 |
50 meters | 6.32 | Lievin, France | February 10, 2009 |
60 meters | 7.23 | Düsseldorf, Germany | February 13, 2009 |
Year | Tournament | Venue | Event | Result | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 4x100 meter | 1st | ||
2007 | 2007 Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 100 meter | 2nd | ||
2007 | 2007 Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 4x100 meter | 2nd | ||
2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 4x100 meter | Disqualified | ||
Marion Lois Jones, 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 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but was later stripped of her medals after admitting to lying to federal investigators about her knowledge of performance-enhancing drugs.
Lauryn Williams is an American sprinter and bobsledder. She was the gold medalist in the 100 meter dash at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2007 World Championships, and 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She won a silver medal in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Allyson Michelle Felix is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 meters later in her career. At 200 meters, Felix is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2005–2009), a two-time Olympic silver medalist, and the 2011 world bronze medalist. At 400 meters, she is the 2015 world champion, 2011 world silver medalist, 2016 Olympic silver medalist, 2017 world bronze medalist, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. Across the short distances, Felix is a ten-time U.S. national champion.
Angela Williams is an American athlete. Williams attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 2002. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female track and field competitor in 2002, which qualified her as a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup, awarded to the best overall female collegiate athlete in 12 sports. She was named the winner of that award also in 2002.
Muna Lee is a retired American sprinter who currently serves as an Assistant Coach:Sprints/Hurdles for the UAB Blazers Track & Field program.
Torri Edwards is an American sprinter. She competes in 100 and 200 meters, winning an Olympic medal in 4×100-meter relay in 2000. In 2003, she won six medals in major international competitions, including one World Championship gold. Edwards competed in the 100 m at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Jordan Melissa Hogan is an American distance runner. She attended Mission College Preparatory High School in San Luis Obispo and was unanimously selected 2008 Girls High School Athlete of the Year by the voting panel at Track and Field News. In March 2009, she became the ninth high school athlete and third woman on the cover of Track and Field News magazine.
Jennifer Lynn Suhr is an American former pole vaulter. She has been an Olympic and World champion, has been ranked #1 in the World, has been the #1 American pole vaulter since 2006, and has won a total of 17 US National Championships. She holds the world indoor pole vault record at 5.03 m. She holds the American women's pole vault record indoors. In 2008, she won the U.S. Olympic trials, setting an American record of 4.92 m and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. She won the gold medal at the London Olympics on August 6, 2012. Track & Field News named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
Carmelita Jeter is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter was called the "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal best of 10.64 seconds at the 2009 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. In the 100 m, she was the 2011 world champion and the 2012 Olympic silver medalist.
Natasha Monique Hastings is an American 400 meter track and field sprinter.
LaShauntea Moore is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100- and 200-meter dash. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, reaching the 200 m semi-finals. She was also the NCAA outdoor champion in the event that year.
Brenda Taylor is an American track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 meter hurdles. She reached the final of the event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She also competed at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and won a medal at the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 4×400-meter relay.
Shalonda Solomon is an American track and field sprinter. Her greatest international accomplishment is a silver medal in the 100 m at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup, while representing the Americas team. She qualified for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics by winning the 200 m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Her 22.15 in winning that race was the world-leading time for 2011. While running in the World Championships, she ran far slower than at the National Championships, finishing a fourth-place in the 200 m behind Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, and American teammates Carmelita Jeter and defending champion Allyson Felix. Later in those championships, she won a gold medal by serving on the American 4 × 100 m relay team in the preliminary rounds, being replaced by Felix in the final. She has a distinct head bob while running, something noticeable since high school.
Francena Lynette McCorory is a retired American track and field athlete, known primarily for running the 400 meters. She was the 2011 World bronze medalist in the 400 meters and was a member of the gold medal-winning 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic 4 x 400 m relay teams. She was the IAAF 400 meter Indoor World Champion in 2014. McCorory retired in 2021.
Dalilah Muhammad is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2016 Rio Olympics champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, becoming at the latter the then-second-fastest woman of all time in the event with her personal best of 51.58 seconds. Muhammad was second at both the 2013 and 2017 World Championships to take her first gold in 2019, setting the former world record of 52.16 s. She was the second female 400 m hurdler in history, after Sally Gunnell, to have won the Olympic, World titles and broken the world record. At both the 2019 World Championships and Tokyo Games, she also took gold as part of women's 4 × 400 metres relay team.
Passion J. Richardson is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events.
Kristi Castlin is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. Her personal best for the event is 12.50 seconds, set on July 8, 2016, during the finals of the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, in which she qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics by placing 2nd. She was the 2012 American champion in the indoor 60 metres hurdles and represented the United States at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She shares the world record for the shuttle hurdle relay, with her time of 50.78 seconds set in 2013.
Raevyn Rogers is an American middle-distance athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the fourth fastest woman in U.S. history in the event. At the 2019 World Championships, Rogers came from seventh with 100m remaining in the race to place silver over USA teammate Ajeé Wilson in bronze. She earned a world indoor title as a member of national 4x400 m relay squad that took gold at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.
Lynna Irby-Jackson is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100m, 200m, and 400m dash events. At the 400m dash, she set an all-time world record at the age of 12 running 54.57 before becoming the fastest American 400m high school runner in the last 20 years. She gained 16 national titles from Jr Olympic and Youth National meets. Irby has won silver medals in the event at both the 2015 World Youth Championships and the 2016 World Junior Championships.
Wadeline Jonathas is an American track and field athlete. She won gold medal in the women's 4 × 400 meters event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and finished in 4th place in the 400 meters, in 49.60 seconds. Jonathas represents United States in women's 400 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.