| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Perdita Felicien |
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| Women's athletics | ||
| Competitor for Canada | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2003 Paris | 100 m hurdles |
| Silver | 2007 Osaka | 100 m hurdles |
| World Indoor Championships | ||
| Gold | 2004 Budapest | 60 m hurdles |
| Silver | 2010 Doha | 60 m hurdles |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Silver | 2003 Santo Domingo | 100 m hurdles |
| Silver | 2007 Rio de Janeiro | 100 m hurdles |
| Continental Cup | ||
| Bronze | 2010 Split | 100 m hurdles |
Perdita Felicien (born August 29, 1980 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a Canadian hurdler.
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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. At first, she competed in the 100m dash. Inspired by the success of World and Olympic champions Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin from Canada, Felicien dedicated herself to hurdling and won the Ontario high-school hurdling championship in 1997. She repeated as the Ontario champion in 1998 and that year 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.
In 2003, an undefeated Perdita Felicien won her second consecutive 100 m hurdles national title en route to becoming the first University of Illinois female athlete to be named the Big Ten Conference "Athlete of the Year" while earning NCAA Female Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors. Felicien blossomed into a major force on the international scene in hurdling, topping off her season by winning the women's 100 m Hurdles Final at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France. With her win, Felicien became Canada's first ever female world gold medallist and the first female in Illinois track & field history to win a gold medal in an individual event at the World Championships. She was named Canada's female athlete of the year – the first track athlete to capture that honor in 25 years.
In March 2004, in a much-anticipated showdown with hurdling great Gail Devers, Perdita Felicien set a new record in defeating the three-time hurdles world champion in the 60 m hurdle final at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary. She chalked up six straight wins leading up to the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she was expected to win gold in the 100 m hurdles on August 24, especially after Devers pulled out with an injury. Unexpectedly, in the event final, Felicien failed to clear the first hurdle and fell into the adjacent lane knocking down the Russian competitor, Irina Shevchenko and taking her out of the race and a chance at an olympic medal, much to the obvious dismay of Shevchenko.
Felicien has returned to the track, and has had some success, winning medals at the world championships, alongside her teammate Priscilla Lopes-Schliep. In 2007, she won a silver medal at the world championships in the 100 metre hurdles.
On July 14, 2008, Felicien did not compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, due to a foot injury. In August 2008, Felicien was a guest commentator for CBC Television's 2008 Olympics coverage of hurdles. [1]
In June, 2011, Felicien relocated to the University of Calgary in Alberta to train under the tutelage of former national team head coach, Les Gramantik and her old coach, Gary Winckler. She has also partnered with Jessica Zelinka, ranked the sixth-best heptathlete in the world.
2011
2007
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
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