Home > Don Quarrie

Born in Kingston, Quarrie made the Jamaican 100 m team for the 1968 Summer Olympics as an 18-year-old, but he injured himself in training, and couldn't take part. The following year, he won a scholarship for the University of Nebraska, and moved to the United States. There, his sprinting capabilities slowly increased. At the 1970 Commonwealth Games, Quarrie won the gold medal in both the 100 and 200 m, surprising his more experienced competitors. Anchoring the Jamaican 4 x 100 m relay team, he pocketed a third Commonwealth title.

Quarrie repeated his sprint double the following year, at the Pan American Games in Cali. His time in the 200 m, a hand-timed 19,8, tied Tommie Smith's world record of 19,83, even though Quarrie's unofficial electronic time was 19,86. One of the favourites for the upcoming Munich OlympicsThe Games of the XX Olympiad were held in 1972 in Munich, West Germany. In the bid to organise the Olympics, Detroit, Madrid and Montreal were beaten. Games of the XX Olympiad Nations participating121 Athletes participating7,123 (6,065 men, 1,058 women) E, Quarrie again suffered from injuries at the Olympic Games. He did compete in the 200 m, but had to abandon his 200 m semi-final after pulling a muscle.

In 1974, Quarrie repeated his 1970 performance by grabbing the 100 and 200 m titles at the Commonwealth Games in ChristchurchChristchurch is a city on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The city is named after the cathedral college of Christ Church in the University of Oxford. Its Maori name is Otautahi from the Maori chief Tautahi who had a settlement on the ba, becoming the first athlete to retain the title in either event. The next season, he again tied the 200 m world record, 19,8. He also tied the 100 m record with a hand-timed mark (9,9) in 1976, one of only a few athletes to have held these records simultaneously. In 1976, Quarrie could finally compete at the OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the bid to organise the Olympics, Montreal defeated Moscow and Los Angeles, which would organise the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. Highl without injuries. He first made the 100 m, which he lead until overtaken by fellow-Caribbean Hasely CrawfordHasely Joachim Crawford (born August 16, 1950) is an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became the first Olympic champion of his country. Born in San Fernando, Trinidad, Crawford started with athletics at age 17. He debuted internationally in 1. In the 200 m, Quarrie lead the pack coming out of the turn, and held of all challenges to take the title in 20,22.

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games, won his third consecutive 100 m title, but was eliminated in the 200 m after a cramp attack. Quarrie's fourth OlympicsThe Games of the XXII Olympiad were held in 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was the first the Olympics were held in a socialist country. Moscow won out over Los Angeles for the right to host the games, though L. was to host the next Olympics. American-le, in MoscowMoscow ( Russian: Moskva capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 878. The city's population is rapidly increasing, with 11. 2 million inhabitants counted in 2004. The city is in the federal district called Central Russia (which is saw him being eliminated in the 100 m semi-finals. His title defence also failed, but he did make the final, and finished third, adding a bronze medal to his collection.

By 1984, Quarrie was no longer among the world's best in the individual sprint events, and it was therefore no surprise he was eliminated in the heats of the 200 m event at the Los Angeles OlympicsThe Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in 1984 in Los Angeles, United States. Los Angeles was the only city to bid to host the 1984 Summer Olympics. Games of the XXIII Olympiad Nations participating140 Athletes participating6,797 (5,230 men, 1,567 wome. However, he won a fourth Olympic medal with the Jamaican relay team, which finished second behind the United States.