Aleen Bailey (born November 25, 1980 in Saint Mary) is a
track and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
sprintSprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
specialist, competing internationally for
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. She competed in the
2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
and won the
gold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
as a member of the
4 x 100 m relay teamThe 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...
. Bailey trains in
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
,
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
under
Curtis FryeCurtis Frye is the head coach for the University of South Carolina Track and Field teams. He served as an assistant coach for the United States women's track and field team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.Fry's coaching specialties are the hurdling events, sprints, and relays...
and is the sister of the reggae star
CapletonCapleton is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. He is also referred to as King Shango, King David, The Fireman and The Prophet. His record label is called David House Productions...
.
Bailey graduated from the
University of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
, where she competed during her Junior and Senior season after transferring from Barton County Community College.
In the 2003
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Outdoor track and field championships, Bailey won the
100The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
and
200 metersA 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
, both times defeating heavily favored Muna Lee of
LSULouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. She was also a member of the 4 x 100 m championship team at the 2002 outdoor championships.
Bailey competed for her native Jamaica at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she placed 5th in the
100 metersThe Women's 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 20, 2004 and August 21, 2004.-Records:...
and 4th at the
200 metersThe women's 200 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium between August 23 and August 25-Records:...
. She teamed with 200 m champion
Veronica CampbellVeronica Campbell-Brown C.D is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. A five-time Olympic medallist, she is the reigning World and Olympic 200 metres champion...
,
Tayna LawrenceTayna Lawrence is a Track and Field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 x 100 meter relay race....
, and
Sherone SimpsonSherone Simpson is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She is a gold medalist in the 4 x 100 meter relay from the 2004 Olympics and silver medalist in 2005 World Championships and now is the silver medalist in the individual event at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
to win the
4 x 100 mThe women's 4×100 metres relay was one of 23 track events of the athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens. It was contested at the Athens Olympic Stadium, from August 26 to August 27, by a total of sixteen national teams comprising 65 athletes....
relay.
At the
2005 World Championships in AthleticsThe 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
she won (together with Daniele Browning,
Sherone SimpsonSherone Simpson is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She is a gold medalist in the 4 x 100 meter relay from the 2004 Olympics and silver medalist in 2005 World Championships and now is the silver medalist in the individual event at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
and
Veronica CampbellVeronica Campbell-Brown C.D is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. A five-time Olympic medallist, she is the reigning World and Olympic 200 metres champion...
) a
silver medalA silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
. At the
2007 Pan American GamesThe athletics competition at the 2007 Pan American Games was held at the Flamengo Park and Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro between 22 July and 29 July 2007...
she finished fifth in the 200 m and won a gold medal in relay.
Bailey represented
Jamaica at the 2008 Summer OlympicsJamaica competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. This is, by far, Jamaica's best showing at the Summer Olympics.-Medalists:-Men:-Women:* Athletes ran in heats only...
in
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. She competed at the 4 x 100 m relay together with
Shelly-Ann FraserShelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, OD is a Jamaican sprinter, who specializes in the 100 m. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser is the reigning Olympic champion over 100 m, clocking a time of 10.78...
,
Sheri-Ann BrooksSheri-Ann Brooks is a Jamaican sprinter, who specializes in the 100 metres.Brooks represented the Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She competed at the 4 x 100 metres relay together with Shelly-Ann Fraser, Aleen Bailey and Veronica Campbell-Brown...
and Veronica Campbell-Brown. In its first round heat, Jamaica placed first in front of
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The Jamaica relay's time of 42.24 seconds was the first time overall out of sixteen participating nations. With this result, Jamaica qualified for the final, replacing Brooks and Bailey by
Sherone SimpsonSherone Simpson is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She is a gold medalist in the 4 x 100 meter relay from the 2004 Olympics and silver medalist in 2005 World Championships and now is the silver medalist in the individual event at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
and
Kerron StewartKerron Stewart is a Jamaican sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is the 2008 Jamaican national champion in the 100 m clocking 10.80s. She defeated World Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the process and now is the 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist after she...
. Jamaica did not finish the race due to a mistake in the baton exchange.
Her personal bests are:
100 m: 11.04
200 m: 22.33
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