Perdita felician biography

Perdita Felicien

Canadian hurdler

NationalityCanadian
Born () 29 August (age&#;44)
Oshawa, Ontario
Height5&#;ft 5&#;in (&#;m)
Weight lb (64&#;kg)
Sport&#;m hurdles
Turned pro
RetiredOctober 24, [1]
Personal best(s)&#;m hurdles: NR, Eugene,
Updated on July

Perdita Felicien (born August 29, ) is a Canadian retired hurdler.

Felicien is the World champion in the metres hurdles and World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles.

Biography Perdita Felicien is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the m hurdles at Sydney and Athens A time national champion in the m hurdles, Felicien also had several notable accomplishments internationally.

She also won silver medals at the World Championships, the World Indoor Championships, and twice at the Pan American Games. Her best time for the metres hurdles of secs from still stands as the Canadian record.

Early life

Born in Oshawa, Ontario, Felicien carries her mother's maiden name, whose origins are in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia.

Her mother named her "Perdita" after she heard the name on the TV game show, The Price is Right.

Felicien moved to Pickering, Ontario, where, as a student, she began competing in track and field events at her school. She was motivated to join the school's track and field team after receiving an Award of Excellence in the Canada Fitness Award Program in grade 3.[2][3] At first, she competed in the m dash, inspired by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin of Canada, later adding the m dash and long jump.

  • Felicien dedicated herself to hurdling at Pine Ridge Secondary School and won the Ontario high-school hurdling championship in That year she added the first of two consecutive Canadian junior championships. Her performance at a scholastic meet in Ohio brought offers of athletic scholarships from a number of U.S.

    universities, from which she chose the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she enrolled in the study of kinesiology.

    Career

    Coached by Gary Winckler, in her first year competing at the university level, Felicien earned All-American honors and in the m hurdles set the record for the fastest time by a freshman in NCAA history for the event.

    The following year she was ranked No. 1 in the &#;m hurdles by the NCAA for the entire outdoor season, and was the first Illinois athlete ever to win a national championship during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

    Perdita felician biography Perdita Felicien (born August 29, ) is a Canadian retired hurdler. Felicien is the World champion in the metres hurdles and World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles. She also won silver medals at the World Championships, the World Indoor Championships, and twice at the Pan American Games.

    Her performance earned her the first of three consecutive University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year awards, and she was voted the U.S. Track Coaches Association National Female Outdoor Athlete of the Year.

    An undefeated Felicien won her second consecutive &#;m hurdles national title in She became the first University of Illinois female athlete to be named the Big Ten Conference "Athlete of the Year", and also earned NCAA Female Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors.

    Felicien blossomed into a major force on the international hurdling scene, topping off her season by winning the women's &#;m Hurdles Final at the World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France. With that win, Felicien became Canada's first ever female world gold medallist and the first female in Illinois track & field history to win a gold medal in an individual event at the World Championships.

    She was named Canada's female athlete of the year – the first track athlete to capture that honor in 25 years.

    A much-anticipated showdown with hurdling great Gail Devers took place in March Felicien set a new record in defeating the three-time hurdles world champion in the 60&#;m hurdle final at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

    She chalked up six straight wins leading up to the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she was expected to win gold in the &#;m hurdles on August 24, especially after Devers pulled out with an injury.

    Perdita Felicien (born August 29, ) is a Canadian retired hurdler. Felicien is the World champion in the metres hurdles and World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles. She also won silver medals at the World Championships, the World Indoor Championships, and twice at the Pan American Games.

    Unexpectedly, in the event final, Felicien failed to clear the first hurdle and fell into the adjacent lane, knocking down the Russian competitor, Irina Shevchenko, and taking her out of the race and a chance at an Olympic medal, much to the obvious dismay of Shevchenko.

    Felicien returned to the track and had some success, winning medals at the world championships alongside her teammate Priscilla Lopes-Schliep.

    In , she won a silver medal at the world championships in the metre hurdles.

    Felicien did not compete in the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China due to a foot injury. In August , she was a guest commentator for CBC Television's Olympics coverage of hurdles.[4]

    During the summer of , Felicien relocated to the University of Calgary in Alberta to train under the tutelage of former national team head coach, Les Gramantik, and her old coach, Gary Winckler.

    She also partnered with Jessica Zelinka, ranked the sixth-best heptathlete in the world.

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  • Bio | Perditafelicien
  • Perdita Felicien - Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website
  • Perdita Felicien Biography - Pantheon
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    • In June , Felicien failed to qualify for the Canadian Olympic team for the London Olympics. She had finished third in the Canadian Olympic trials for track and field, in the m hurdles event, under protest. However, she false started, and was disqualified.[5]

    Felicien retired from competition in [6] She went back to school to study journalism, and was a writer/reporter with CHCH News in Hamilton, Ontario.

    She was part of the broadcasting team for the Toronto PanAm Games coverage. In , Felicien joined the CBC TV network broadcasting the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea and later the Tokyo Olympics ().

    Perdita felicien biography Perdita Felicien is the first Canadian woman to win an individual medal in track at the IAAF World Championships. She is a two-time Olympian and a world champion in the m hurdles () and indoor world champion in the 60 m hurdles ().

    Since , Felicien has been the host of All-Round Champion, a TV series produced by Marblemedia for TV Ontario and BYU TV.

    Charity

    Felicien is a supporter of Count Me In, the largest youth-run organization in Canada. She spoke at the Count Me In Conference in Toronto.

    She is also an active ambassador for Right To Play.

    Track & field accomplishments

    • Harry Jerome International Track Classic Winner the metre hurdles in secs.
    • Canadian National Champion (10th Title)

    • World Indoor Silver Medalist
    • 60m hurdles
    • Drake Relays Hall of Fame Inductee
    • Continental Cup Bronze Medalist

    • Canadian National Champion
    • World Championship Finalist

    • IAAF World Championships Silver Medalist m hurdles
    • Pan Am Games Silver Medalist
    • Canadian Track and Field Athlete of the Year
    • Ontario Female Athlete of the Year

    • Canadian National Champion
    • World Championship Semi-Finalist

    • World Indoor Champion in the 60&#;m hurdles
    • Olympic Finalist
    • Canadian National Champion
    • City of Pickering Civic Award
    • Canadian Track and Field Athlete of the Year

    • IAAF World Championships World Champion in the &#;m hurdles
    • Big Ten Champion in the 60&#;m and &#;m hurdles
    • Drake Relays Most Outstanding Athlete
    • Canadian Female Athlete of the Year
    • Canadian Track and Field Athlete of the Year
    • Canadian National Champion
    • Pan Am Games Silver Medalist
    • University of Illinois Athlete of the Year
    • Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year

    • NCAA Champion in the &#;m hurdles
    • University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year
    • Drake Relays Most Outstanding Athlete
    • NCAA Record holder in the 60&#;m hurdles, seconds
    • NCAA Champion in the 60&#;m hurdles
    • Big Ten Champion in the 60&#;m hurdles
    • All-American in the 60&#;m hurdles
    • Canadian National Champion
    • University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year

    • All-American in the &#;m hurdles
    • All-American in the 60&#;m hurdles
    • USTCA National Female Athlete of the Year
    • Big Ten Female Outdoor Athlete of the Year
    • University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year
    • Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year
    • World Track and Field Championship Semifinalist
    • Francophone Games Champion
    • University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year

    • Olympian
    • Big Ten Outdoor Freshman of the Year
    • All-American in the &#;m hurdles
    • Canadian National Champion

    • Canadian Junior Champion mh

    • Canadian Junior Champion mh
    • OFSAA mh Record Holder
    • OFSAA Champion mh
    • OFSAA Silver m
    • OFSAA Champion m

    OFSAA Silver Medalist m

    References