Ottey through the Olympic years from 1980 to 2004

It was a commendable effort from the Jamaican born, Merlene Ottey, who now competes for Slovenia, as her eighth attempt to qualify for the Olympics was dashed when she finished second at a local meet in the Slovenian city of Maribor

She was close however, finishing 28 hundredths of a second outside the qualifying mark. It was told that the conditions at the meet was ‘bad’ and that hampered Ottey performance

Although 48 years old now, Ottey looks incredible fit for her age. She have been staying in Slovenia since 1999 and given a citizenship in 2002. No other female athlete has collected more medals or athletic accolades as Merlene Ottey.

In all she competed in 53 Olympic races, in 14 finals and won nine medals, three of which are silver and five bronze. A bronze was awarded to her last year, after US Marion Jones admitted to drug use. So the tally is now six bronze in total, a record

But the gold has always eluded her and albeit not qualifying for this summer Olympics, she has stated her intention to keep on running in international meets. Her Olympic debut started in 1980 Moscow Games, where she won bronze in the 200m and her last participation was the 2004 Athens games. I won’t be surprised if she goes for the 2012 London games

Note: For the 2004 edition Ottey ran under Slovenian colors