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]
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 400m 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]
| 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 | 100m hurdles | 13.66 w(wind: +3.4 m/s) |
| 2nd | 400m hurdles | 56.03 | |||
| 2004 | NACAC U-23 Championships | Sherbrooke, Canada | 5th | 100m 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 | |
The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
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