Perdita Felicien

Perdita Felicien (born August 29, 1980 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian hurdler in track and field athletic competition.

Early life

Felicien carries her mother's maiden name, whose origins are in the tiny 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, earning herself her school's "Athlete of the Year" award. 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.

Career

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, 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 announced that she would not be competing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, due to a foot injury.

In August 2008, Felicien became a guest commentator for CBC Television's 2008 Olympics coverage of hurdles. [ CBC Television, "Olympic Morning", 19 Aug 2008 ]

Track & Field accomplishments

2007
* 2007 IAAF World Championships Silver Medal 100mh

2004
* World Indoor Champion in the 60 m hurdles

2003
* World Champion in the 100 m hurdles
* Big Ten Champion in the 60 m and 100 m hurdles
* Drake Relays Most Outstanding Athlete

2002
*NCAA Champion in the 100 m hurdles
* University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year
* Drake Relays Most Outstanding Athlete
* NCAA Record holder in the 60 m hurdles, 7.90 seconds
* NCAA Champion in the 60 m hurdles
* Big Ten Champion in the 60 m hurdles
* All-American in the 60 m hurdles

2001
* All-American in the 100 m hurdles
* All-American in the 60 m hurdles
* USTCA National Female Athlete of the Year
* Big Ten Female Outdoor Athlete of the Year
* University of Illinois Female Athlete of the Year
* Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year
* World Track and Field Championship Semifinalist

2000
* Big Ten Outdoor Freshman of the Year
* All-American in the 100 m hurdles

Persondata
NAME = Felicien, Perdita
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = hurdler
DATE OF BIRTH = August 29, 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH = Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =