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}} Merlene Joyce Ottey OD (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-born Slovene track and field sprinter. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica but since 2002 has represented Slovenia, where she now resides. She is ranked fourth on the all-time list over 60 metres (indoor), sixth on the all-time list over 100 metres and fourth on the all-time list over 200 metres. Her world indoor record for 200 metres, set in 1993, still stands (as of 2015). Ottey has had the longest career as a top level international sprinter, which apparently has not yet concluded as she anchored the Slovene 4 × 100 m relay at the 2012 European Athletics Championships at the age of 52. A nine-time Olympic medallist, she holds the record for the most Olympic appearances (seven) of any track and field athlete and for winning the largest number of World Championships medals (fourteen).〔(Statistics book, Berlin 2009 ). IAAF. Retrieved on 13 August 2009.〕 Her career achievements and longevity have led to her being called the "Queen of the Track". Her proclivity for earning bronze medals in major championships also earned her the title of "Bronze Queen" in track circles.〔(Washington Post 20 August 2004 )〕 Ottey was formerly married to the American high jumper and 400 m hurdler Nat Page and was known as Merlene Ottey-Page during the mid-eighties.〔http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=slo/athcode=61432/index.html〕 ==Life and sprinting career== Merlene Ottey was born to Hubert and Joan Ottey in Cold Spring, Hanover, Jamaica. She was introduced to the sport by her mother, who bought her a manual on track and field. In her early school years in the 1970s, Ottey attended Gurneys Mount and Pondside Schools before graduating from Ruseas and Vere Technical high schools. There she frequently competed barefoot in local races. Ottey's inspiration came from listening to the track and field broadcast from the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where Donald Quarrie ran in the sprint finals. Her athletics career took off when she moved to the US and attended the University of Nebraska in 1979, where she joined the track team. She represented Jamaica in the 1979 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in the 200 m. She graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and married fellow athlete Nathaniel Page in 1984 and briefly used the name Merlene Ottey-Page. The couple later divorced. In the 1980 Moscow games, Ottey became the first female English-speaking Caribbean athlete to win an Olympic medal. Back in Jamaica, she was awarded an Officer of the Order of Nation, and the Order of Distinction for 'services in the field of sport'. In the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Ottey won a gold medal in the 200 m and silver medal in the 100 m. Nearly a decade later, in the 1990 Commonwealth Games, she won gold in both events. Ottey was named Ambassador of Jamaica after her gold medal win in the 1993 world championships. She has also been named Jamaican Sportswoman of the year 13 times between 1979 and 1995. Throughout her career, she has won nine Olympic medals, the most by any woman in track and field history (). These include three silver and six bronze medals. She has never won an Olympic gold medal, but lost by five thousandths of a second to Gail Devers in the 100 m Final at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta when they both recorded the same time of 10.94 seconds. This was not her closest finish to Devers – she recorded a time of 10.812 seconds to Devers' 10.811 seconds in the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart – still the closest finish at an international athletics meet. Her seven Olympic appearances from 1980 to 2004 are the most by any Track & Field athlete. The next highest is six, by javelin thrower and heptathlete Tessa Sanderson, discus thrower Lia Manoliu, and middle-distance runners Maria Mutola and João N'Tyamba. She won 14 World Championship medals between 1983 to 1997 —more than any other athlete, male or female – however, her failure to win many golds in major international competitions earned her the nickname "the Bronze Queen" in racing circles. She has won a total of three gold, three silver and eight bronze medals in the 4 x 100 m relay, the 100-m, and 200-m races. Ottey was appointed an Ambassador at Large by the Jamaican government in 1993. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Merlene Ottey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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