“I have the 4×1 relay gold medal; now I want the individual [Olympic] gold, and that keeps me hungry,” says Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, looking to represent her country at yet another Olympics: London 2012. The 34-yr-old Bahamian has a lifetime best of 10.91 seconds in the 100m and 22.19 in the 200m, and was a member of the Bahamian Golden Girls sprint relay team ten years ago at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
With close to 20 years of international competition under her spikes, Ferguson-McKenzie’s accomplishments include the 2002 Commonwealth 100m (10.91) and 200m (22.20) champion, and the 2001 Edmonton World Championships 200m gold medalist. Her collection of medals, trophies and ribbons began when she was a teenager at the Carifta Games. At the collegiate level, she was the NCAA 100m and 200m champion at the University of Georgia (UGA) and was the 1999 Pan American Games 200m gold medalist. More recently, Ferguson-McKenzie had a tremendous 2009 season, running the 100m in a season best 10.97 and capturing 200m bronze at the 2009 Berlin Championship.
So, Caribbean TrackLife International chatted recently with the hardworking, mentally strong, humble sprinter, who spoke candidly about her career as well as the current state of the sport in the Caribbean.
“I have been running track all of my life,” she told us. “I have traveled the world and I have been to many Olympics and World Championships.” And in reflecting on her career, she remarked that she has won many and has lost many. Yet, she feels the victories are so satisfying that they outweigh the losses. Ferguson-McKenzie said she lives by her belief that she should not disappoint others, especially her teammates. This creed in her head has served her well, as her only Olympic gold medal came by way of the 4×1 relays, a team effort.
Ferguson-McKenzie’s journey began when Andre Longhart, her elementary school physical education teacher, spotted her talent. “In elementary school, I started competing in the pentathlon and then the heptathlon. I did not care for the 800m and some of the other events, but I had the raw speed, and by high school [St. Andrew School, Nassau] I had transitioned into running only the 100m and the 200m,” she recalls.
Collegiate Champion
Going to UGA was a major adjustment for Ferguson-McKenzie. It was surreal,” she reflected. “I was so naïve because I thought at first that everyone was studying all the time. But later, I found out that people were partying and having a good time. However, she was not into the party scene and found UGA a “wonderful experience for me.” Going to college in the US on a scholarship was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her. Not wanting to disappoint her mother, she studied, trained and competed. At the same time, her UGA experience taught her how to be an individual. “I still remain an individual and never a follower,” she says.
The hardworking sprinter believes if she didn’t deliver, she would not have deserved her scholarship. In her freshman year (1995), she qualified for the NCAA’s and finished 3rd in both the 100m and the 200m. While UGA made a big deal about what she did, she felt that it wasn’t good enough. In her four years at UGA, she was a 20-time All-American and a four-time NCAA individual champion, while earning a degree in biology. Today, Ferguson-McKenzie still holds the UGA school records in both the 100m (10.97) and 200m (22.19).
Her first Olympic experience was the 1996 Atlanta Games, right in her backyard. Wanting to shine, she made it to the semi-finals of the 100m, even though she was disappointed. The then 20-yr-old took her losses as a lesson. The relay was the turning point in her life. Finishing second in the 100m at the 1996 Bahamian Olympics Trials, Ferguson-McKenzie was a lock-in for the Bahamian 4×1 relay team.
“[But] one of my teammates thought that I was too young to run on the team so I was allowed to run only in the preliminary stage,” she remembers. “I was stressed out and disappointed.” The Bahamian team took relay silver behind the USA. Ferguson-McKenzie turned that negative stress into positive energy and vowed never to be in that position again. True to her word, she has anchored every Bahamian Olympic and World Championships 4×1 relay team since 1996.
The Golden Experience
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Bahamian team, anchored by Ferguson-McKenzie, copped gold in the 4×1 relay, beating a solid USA team in the process. The squad of Sevatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis and Ferguson-McKenzie became the first Caribbean women sprint relay team to strike gold at the Games.
Ferguson-McKenzie recalled how they got it together and made it happen in Sydney. “I was the youngest on the team, and I was running scared on the anchor. I was zoned out,” she said. “I knew I was up against Marion Jones (USA), but when I got the baton and started running I could hear a pin drop. I felt as if I was standing outside of my body and watching myself run. That was a defining moment for me. I get goose bumps whenever I watch the video replay of that race.”
At the 2001 Edmonton World Championships, Ferguson-McKenzie took silver in the 200m behind winner Marion Jones. Jones was later disqualified and Ferguson-McKenzie’s medal upgraded to gold. Although she was awarded the gold medal, Ferguson-McKenzie feels that she did not get it in the complete way, as she wasn’t given the opportunity to stand atop the podium and hear the Bahamian national anthem play.
Commonwealth 2002 and Beyond
A year later, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, the then 26-yr-old Ferguson took the sprint double, stopping the clock at 10.91 second in the 100m and 22.20 in the 200m. Her time of 10.91 remains a lifetime best. In 2003, Ferguson-McKenzie sustained an ankle sprain that limited her from competing. In 2004, she returned to the track and captured 200m bronze at the Athens Olympics. In 2005, she had two surgeries that prevented her from competing. She did not win a medal at the 2007 World Championships or the 2008 Beijing Olympics. However, at the 2009 Berlin World Championship, she took bronze in the 200m and was a member of the silver medal Bahamian 4×1 relay team.
Ferguson-McKenzie believes that the current dominance of Caribbean sprinters started with the exploits and accomplishments of the Bahamian Golden Girls in 2000: “After we won gold in Sydney, Caribbean athletes started thinking differently. Our performance really inspired and motivated them.” She further believes that today the Bahamas is doing much better and now has many athletes competing on the circuit. She reminds us also, that at the 2009 Berlin Championships, her country used two veterans (Chandra Sturrup and her); a rookie (Sheniqua Ferguson); and a quarter-miler (Christine Amertil) to take silver in the women’s 4×1 relay behind Jamaica.
“The Jamaicans are just taking it to a whole new level,” Ferguson-McKenzie said. “Even the Trinidadians are now able to field a competitive women’s 4×1 relay team. It is amazing to me that the best sprinters in the world come from the Caribbean.”
She Listens to her Body
But how does Ferguson-McKenzie manage to remain competitive for so long? “I listen to my body,” she explains. “I do everything in moderation. I eat relatively healthy – in regular small portions. I cheat on my diet once a week and I do not take supplements.”
In an effort to stay competitive even longer, she joined Coach Lance Bauman — former coach of Veronica Campbell-Brown, based in Florida — in May 2010, after spending seven years with Coach Amy Deem at the University of Miami.
In September 2010, Ferguson-McKenzie was inducted into the University of Georgia’s Circle of Honor. In commenting on the award, she said, “I am really thankful for the award. It is very impressive to have my name etched in history. Whenever I step on the track to compete, I know that I am representing both UGA and the Bahamas.”
While her goal now is to compete for the next three years, Ferguson-McKenzie has made a mental note that life is short, so she takes nobody or nothing for granted. Coming from humble beginnings, yet managing to rise to a successful career, Ferguson-McKenzie knows well and believes that “it’s not where you come from that’s important; it’s where you’re going.” With this in mind, she’ll be heading to London with that belief as part of her motivation. -Edited by Desmond Palmer