Andrea Blackett
Encyclopedia
Andrea Blackett is a Barbadian
athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles
. She is also an assistant women's track coach at her alma mater, Rice University
.
in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in managerial studies and Spanish, and she also holds a master's degree from the University of Houston
in hotel management.
' indoor 4x400 metre relay squad in 1997. Her highest individual finish came in a 2nd place effort in the 400 metres hurdles
in 1997.
Her greatest achievement in athletics is the gold medal
she won in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
in Kuala Lumpur
in a games record time. She also competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester
but was unable to retain her title.
Blackett represented Barbados in six IAAF World Championships
(1997–2007). She qualified for the final four times and in 1999
finished fourth. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, qualifying for the semi-final of the 400m hurdles and she competed in the 400m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She has also represented her country at the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
Blackett was also selected in the Bajan team for the 2008 Olympics
but was ruled out due to injury and retired from international competition.
Blackett has a personal best of 53.36 in the 400m hurdles, in Seville
which is also a national record for Barbados. She set the Barbados 100m hurdles record of 13.39 in 2003 in Liège.
She also has five medals from the Central American and Caribbean Championships and three from the Central American and Caribbean Games
.
at Rice University and served her native country of Barbados
as head track and field coach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
in November 1998.
alongside fellow hurdlers Deon Hemmings
and Natasha Danvers and how their Christian faith influenced their careers.
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
. She is also an assistant women's track coach at her alma mater, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
.
Education
Blackett graduated from Rice UniversityRice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in managerial studies and Spanish, and she also holds a master's degree from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
in hotel management.
Athletics career
As a collegian, Blackett earned a national title as a member of Rice OwlsRice Owls
The Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest.Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA. Rice was a member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996. Rice then joined the Western Athletic...
' indoor 4x400 metre relay squad in 1997. Her highest individual finish came in a 2nd place effort in the 400 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
in 1997.
Her greatest achievement in athletics is the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
she won in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in a games record time. She also competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
but was unable to retain her title.
Blackett represented Barbados in six IAAF World Championships
IAAF World Championships
IAAF World Championships may refer to any of the World Championship events organized by the IAAF:* IAAF World Championships in Athletics* IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics* IAAF World Cross Country Championships...
(1997–2007). She qualified for the final four times and in 1999
1999 World Championships in Athletics
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....
finished fourth. She competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, qualifying for the semi-final of the 400m hurdles and she competed in the 400m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She has also represented her country at the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
Blackett was also selected in the Bajan team for the 2008 Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
but was ruled out due to injury and retired from international competition.
Blackett has a personal best of 53.36 in the 400m hurdles, in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
which is also a national record for Barbados. She set the Barbados 100m hurdles record of 13.39 in 2003 in Liège.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | World Championships 1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations... |
Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
8th | 400mh |
| 1998 | Commonwealth Games 1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes... |
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million... , Malaysia |
1st | 400mh |
| 1999 | World Championships 1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29.... |
Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
4th | 400mh |
| Central American and Caribbean Championships 1999 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 1999 Central American Championships in Athletics were held in Bridgetown, Barbados.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-External links:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics... |
Bridgetown, Barbados | 1st | 400mh | |
| Pan American Games 1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23-August 8, 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Approximately 5,000 athletes from 42 nations participated at the games. The 1999... |
Winnipeg Winnipeg Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
2nd | 400mh | |
| 3rd | 4 x 400 m | |||
| 2003 | Pan American Games 2003 Pan American Games The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.... |
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River... , Dominican Republic Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries... |
3rd | 400mh |
| World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:... |
Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
6th | 400mh | |
| World Athletics Final 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final The 1st IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 13 September and 14 September 2003.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of the... |
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco.... , Monaco Monaco Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the... |
2nd | 400mh | |
| 2005 | World Championships 2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of... |
Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
6th | 400mh |
| World Athletics Final 2005 IAAF World Athletics Final The 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 9, and September 10, 2005.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary on September 3 as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.- Medal... |
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco.... , Monaco Monaco Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the... |
5th | 400mh |
She also has five medals from the Central American and Caribbean Championships and three from the Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games
The Central American and Caribbean Games are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial , typically in the middle year between Summer Olympics...
.
Personal bests
- 400 metres400 metresThe 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
- 54.01 s (2006) - 400 metres hurdles400 metres hurdlesThe 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
- 53.36 s (1999) - 100 metres hurdles100 metres hurdlesThe 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...
- 13.17 s (2000)
Coaching
Blackett coaches track and fieldTrack and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
at Rice University and served her native country of Barbados
Barbados at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Barbados sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.- Athletics:Competitors in athletics events could qualify for the next round of competition in two ways. Qualifying by right involved ranking high enough in their heat, and qualifying by result meant ranking high...
as head track and field coach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Honours
Blackett was awarded the 1998 National Sports Personality of the Year award for Barbados for her gold-medal winning achievement in the Commonwealth Games. She was also honoured with the Barbados Service StarOrder of Barbados
The Order of Barbados is part of the National honours system awarded by the government of Barbados, and presented by the Viceroy, which is the Governor-General of Barbados. It comprises four classes, two of which are awarded in two grades. It was instituted under Royal letters patent of Queen...
in November 1998.
In popular culture
Blackett featured in the 2003 documentary Running for God which followed her efforts to win at the 2002 Commonwealth Games2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
alongside fellow hurdlers Deon Hemmings
Deon Hemmings
Deon Hemmings is a former female 400 metres hurdler.Hemmings was the first ever Jamaican woman to win an Olympic Gold when she won the 400m Hurdles at the 1996 Olympics breaking the Olympic record which stood to 2004...
and Natasha Danvers and how their Christian faith influenced their careers.
External links
- Biography - Andrea Blackett Rice Owls