Perdita Felicien
 |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born |
29 August 1980 Pickering, Ontario |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | 100 m hurdles |
| Turned pro | 2003 |
| Retired | October 24, 2013 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 100 m hurdles: 12.46 NR, Eugene, 2004 |
|
Medal record
|
|
| Updated on July 2012. | |
Perdita Felicien (born August 29, 1980 in Pickering, Ontario) is a retired Canadian hurdler. Felicien is a former world champion in the 100 m hurdles and multiple medalist at both the indoor and outdoor world championships. She has won two silver medals at the Pan American Games in the event as well. The Canadian record in 100 m hurdles was set in 2004 and continues to be held by Felicien today. She was the first Canadian woman to ever win a medal at the World Championships.
Felicien carries her mother's maiden name, whose origins are in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. Her mother named her "Perdita" after a contestant on the television game show, The Price Is Right.
Felicien grew up in Pickering, Ontario, where, as a student, she began competing in track and field events at her school. She was motivated to join her school's track and field team after receiving an Award of Excellence in the Canada Fitness Award Program in grade 3. At first, she competed in the 100m dash, inspired by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin of Canada, 200m dash and Long Jump. Felicien dedicated herself to hurdling at Pine Ridge Secondary School and won the Ontario high-school hurdling championship in 1998. 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.
Coached by Gary Winckler, in her first year competing at the university level, Perdita Felicien earned All-American honors and in the 100m 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 100 m hurdles by the NCAA for the entire outdoor season and was the first Illinois athlete to ever win a national championship during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. 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.
...
Wikipedia