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Olympian Gold Medalist
Melaine Walker earned her gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and set a new Olympic record time of 52.46 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. She went on to earn another gold medal in 2009 in the same event at the World Athletics Championships (formerly known as the International Association of Athletics Federations) in Berlin, Germany and is considered one of the elite hurdlers of her time. She competed in the World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea (2011) where she won a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles, and she later participated in the 2012 Olympics in London.
Melaine’s athletic career began in Jamaica at a very early age. Everywhere she went, she would run. Melaine recalls “My mom sent me to the shop, the corner store, whatever it is, I would just run and get back, and I would try to get there quick and get back even faster. When I returned, I would let her know that I was back. And she’d be like, oh my goodness, how did you get here so fast? So, that was always like a challenge for me to surprise her when I got back home, you know, for her to be startled and say like, ‘Oh my God!’”
By the time she got to the fifth grade, Melaine was the fastest girl in her primary school. Even at this early age she was competitive and sought to dominate every race. She won her primary school 100- and 400-meter track and field events and even, earned a scholarship to St. Jago High School.
While at St. Jago, Melaine began competing against older track runners. Her work ethic and competitive nature drove her to run with the older girls who instilled courage in her during moments of fatigue, to keep running and not give up. Melaine said, “Pushing herself to the limit helped her to grow stronger and build confidence in herself.” She began to win and in her third year, she became the fastest girl in her high school. She won all her races. She states, “It didn’t matter what race I ran; I won.” While at St. Jago High School, Walker set the junior national record in the 400-meter hurdles and won that event at the Penn Relays twice. Her high school track and field performance at St. Jago caught the attention of Essex County College’s late Head Coach Michael Smart, who offered her a track and field scholarship.
At Essex, Melaine continued her outstanding track and field performance under the tutelage of the late Head of Track and Field. In 2003, she won the NJCAA Indoor Track National Championship for the 60-meter hurdles and finished second in the 400-meter dash. In 2004, she repeated her national performance, winning her second national championship in the 60-meter hurdles and 2nd place in the 400-meter dash. She credits Coach Smart for her performance. Melaine states, “Essex is the foundation. Essex gave us all the experience we needed to go out and compete against D1 schools. “She won two national junior college championships (2003 and 2004) and eight junior college All-America honors and was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013. During her time at ECC, Melaine’s track and field accomplishments garnered national attention, and she was eventually offered and accepted a full scholarship to the University of Texas.
Melaine surpassed expectations with her stellar track and field career at the University of Texas. Under the training and guidance of Texas’ head coach, Beverly Kearney, she continued to improve her track and field performance in the outdoors 100m and 400m hurdles and 60m and 200m indoors. However, the 100-meter hurdles were always her favorite event. Her success in this event led to her becoming:
Melaine Walker’s track and field success started at a young age and continued throughout the rest of her career. Essex County College is proud to be a pivotal part of her amazing track and field career.
