Lorraine Fenton (JAM) (© Getty Images)
Lorraine Fenton, the Jamaican women’s 400m record holder, has decided to hang up her spikes and has announced her retirement.
Fenton has been among the most consistent runners over one lap of the track during the last decade. Among her many accomplishments, Fenton won silver medals over 400m at the 2000 Olympic Games and also the 2001 and 2003 IAAF World Championships.
Additionally, she was the all-important anchor leg on the Jamaica 4x400m team that took the 2001 IAAF World Championships gold medals. Her last medal at a major championship came at the 2005 IAAF World Championships, her fifth appearance at the event, when she reached the semi-finals of the individual 400m and won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay
"I celebrated my 33rd birthday last month and that was an appropriate time for reflection coming, as it did, at the end of the season," said Fenton.
"I have had a very good career, some wonderful moments, but I'm a competitive person and realised that it was unlikely that I was going to be in contention again for an individual medal at the very highest levels."
“I think it is now time to look forward and pass on my best wishes to the current generation of 400m runners especially my fellow Jamaicans. My national record of 49.30 seconds (which she set in 2002) gives them something to strive for,” added Fenton.
Her 2000 Olympic Games silver medal, and she also got a 4x400m relay silver medal in Sydney, is particularly meaningful to her.
“The Olympics are something special to Jamaicans. There is a huge heritage with Jamaica’s 400m men at the Olympics so to become the first woman to get a medal over that distance was an incredible feeling that has stayed with me ever since.”
Problems started for Fenton in 2004 when she suffered a hamstring injury in the early part of the year and didn't race all season.
"I missed the whole of 2004 and have never quite been able to get back to the same level again even though I am proud of what I have been able to do in the last two years.
"If I could have stayed injury free I think I could again have got another Olympic medal in Athens. I know how much I wanted to get a gold medal after three successive silvers," reflected Fenton.
She was also frank on how she would like to be remembered.
“I think as someone who always produced their best when it counted. I ran personal bests at the 1999 World Championships and 2000 Olympics and then season’s bests at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. I was always competing for the medals and always gave my best at the major championships until I got injured in the early part of 2004.”
Fenton’s spikes may have been put back in the bag one last time but she will not be lost to the sport. She is currently studying for a Physical Therapy Certificate in the United States and intends working with athletes when she qualifies next spring.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
Fenton has been among the most consistent runners over one lap of the track during the last decade. Among her many accomplishments, Fenton won silver medals over 400m at the 2000 Olympic Games and also the 2001 and 2003 IAAF World Championships.
Additionally, she was the all-important anchor leg on the Jamaica 4x400m team that took the 2001 IAAF World Championships gold medals. Her last medal at a major championship came at the 2005 IAAF World Championships, her fifth appearance at the event, when she reached the semi-finals of the individual 400m and won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay
"I celebrated my 33rd birthday last month and that was an appropriate time for reflection coming, as it did, at the end of the season," said Fenton.
"I have had a very good career, some wonderful moments, but I'm a competitive person and realised that it was unlikely that I was going to be in contention again for an individual medal at the very highest levels."
“I think it is now time to look forward and pass on my best wishes to the current generation of 400m runners especially my fellow Jamaicans. My national record of 49.30 seconds (which she set in 2002) gives them something to strive for,” added Fenton.
Her 2000 Olympic Games silver medal, and she also got a 4x400m relay silver medal in Sydney, is particularly meaningful to her.
“The Olympics are something special to Jamaicans. There is a huge heritage with Jamaica’s 400m men at the Olympics so to become the first woman to get a medal over that distance was an incredible feeling that has stayed with me ever since.”
Problems started for Fenton in 2004 when she suffered a hamstring injury in the early part of the year and didn't race all season.
"I missed the whole of 2004 and have never quite been able to get back to the same level again even though I am proud of what I have been able to do in the last two years.
"If I could have stayed injury free I think I could again have got another Olympic medal in Athens. I know how much I wanted to get a gold medal after three successive silvers," reflected Fenton.
She was also frank on how she would like to be remembered.
“I think as someone who always produced their best when it counted. I ran personal bests at the 1999 World Championships and 2000 Olympics and then season’s bests at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. I was always competing for the medals and always gave my best at the major championships until I got injured in the early part of 2004.”
Fenton’s spikes may have been put back in the bag one last time but she will not be lost to the sport. She is currently studying for a Physical Therapy Certificate in the United States and intends working with athletes when she qualifies next spring.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF