Table of Biography
Merlene Ottey is a former Jamaican-Slovenian track and field sprinter. Merlene Ottey is the current world indoor record holder for 200 meters with 21.87 seconds, set in 1993.
Early Life
Merlene Ottey was born on 10 May 1960, in Cold Spring, Hanover, Jamaica. According to her birth date, she is 63 years old under the zodiac sign Taurus.
Talking about her nationality, she holds Jamaican nationality while her ethnicity is not mentioned.
Regarding her family background, she is the daughter of Hubert Ottey (Father) and Joan Ottey (Mother). Her father is a farmer and her mother is a midwife.
Speaking about her siblings, she has six siblings: Ruthven Ottey, Hugh Ottey, Beverley Ottey, Janet Ottey, Desmond Ottey, and Yvonne Ottey.
Besides that, no further information regarding her relatives, grandparents, cousins, and other family members is available in the media.
Merlene Ottey – Education
Regarding her educational background, she attended Gurneys Mount and Pondside Schools before graduating from Rusea and Vere Technical High Schools.
After that, she went to the United States and graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1979.
Merlene Ottey – Net Worth 2024
Talking about her net worth, Ottey has earned a huge amount of money through her hard work and brilliance. As of 2022, Ottey enjoys a net worth of $110 million.
Awards and Achievements
Speaking about her awards and achievements, Ottey won the World Athlete of the Year and the Track & Field News Athlete of the Year awards in 1990. Moreover, she was the first female athlete to run 60 meters in under seven seconds (6.96 in 1992).
She holds the official World Masters Athletics world record in the 100 m and 200 m for the age groups W35, W40, and W45.
Likewise, Ottey became the coldest-ever female gold medallist when she won the 200 m at the age of 35 at the 1995 World Championships.
Furthermore, she holds the record for running the fastest women’s Indoor 200 meters, in 21.87 seconds.
Ottey has earned the most career Olympic medals (9 medals, 3 silver, and 6 bronze) in women’s track and field. She has also won the Jamaican Sportsperson of the Year (sportswoman) for 13 times.
Personal Life
Regarding her relationship status, Ottey was previously married to the American high jumper and 400 m hurdler Nathaniel Page also known as Merlene Ottey-Page during the mid-eighties.
However, their relationship didn’t last for a long time and ended in divorce. Nevertheless, there is no clear information regarding their separation.
Merlene Ottey – Scandal
Ottey had been part of the controversy in her career, and her bullying behavior came out when she vigorously replaced another athlete, Peta-Gayle Dowdie to compete in the Olympics.
The whole story stretches out when she finished 4th in the National Senior Trails. The rule was that the athlete who finished above 4th place would only be permitted to compete in the Olympics. However, her bullying behavior might also have caused her divorce.
Career
Talking about her career, Ottey began her career representing Jamaica in 1978 and continued to do so for 24 years.
Moreover, She has won 14 individual national titles and made 24 All-America awards. She won multiple NCAA titles in each of her five total seasons along with five combined indoor and outdoor titles in 1982 and four in 1981.
She was also a member of Nebraska’s indoor national championship teams in 1982, 1983, and 1984. However, Ottey still holds Nebraska’s top indoor marks in the 55- and 200-meter dashes and also the program’s top outdoor marks in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Moreover, Ottey represented Jamaica in the 1979 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in the 200 m.
She also became the first female English-speaking Caribbean athlete to win an Olympic medal in the 1980 Moscow games
In the 1982 Commonwealth Games, she won a gold medal in the 200 m and a silver medal in the 100 m. About a decade later, she won gold in both events in the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
Throughout her career, Ottey has won nine Olympic medals, which ties her with Allyson Felix for the most by any woman in track and field history. It includes three silver and six bronze medals. However, she has never won an Olympic gold medal.
Caption: Merlene Ottey after winning a medal source: Times of India.
Furthermore, she still holds the record for most World Championship medals in individual events, with 10. 13 of her medals at the Olympics and bronze in World Championships, making her the nickname “the Bronze Queen” in racing circles.
In 1993, Ottey was appointed an Ambassador at Large by the Jamaican government. In addition, she also was placed into Nebraska’s first Athletics Hall of Fame Class in 2015.
Body Measurements
Merlene Ottey is very pretty and beautiful, undoubtedly. She has a very perfect height and stands tall her height is about 5 feet 9 inches (175cm/1.75m) and weighs about 62 kg (137 lb). In addition, she has black pairs of beautiful eyes and black hair color.
Caption: Merlene Ottey posing for a photo with Usain Bolt source: Twitter.
Social Media
Merlene Ottey is active on her Instagram account @merleneottey with 4,291 followers. Besides that, she is not active on other social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.