FIU track star adds Olympic Gold to her victories

FIU alumna and five-time All-American Tayna Lawrence (far right), representing her native Jamaica, on Friday won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics as a member of the 4x100-meter relay.

FIU alumnae and track star Tayna Lawrence '99 captured a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics as a member of the 4x100-meter relay for her native Jamaica .

The win marks the third Olympic medal for the 29-year-old, five-time All-American runner. Lawrence ran the opening leg on the winning relay adding a gold medal to the silver and bronze she won in 2000.

“This is great,” Lawrence said in an interview after the victory. “A second Olympic Games and a second
medal. This is better because it's gold.”

The West Indian Times dubbed Lawrence and teammates Sherone Simpson, Aleen Bailey and Veronica Campbell “The Fabulous Four.” The women's performance marked the first time a Jamaican spring relay team has ever taken the gold at the Olympics, according to the Jamaican press. Inside the Athens Olympic Stadium, the public address system played Bob Marley's “One Love.”

“I thank God that he placed me here with these talented girls and we won gold,” said Lawrence .

The team recorded the fifth fastest time in history, 41.73, but they are not ready to retire after this victory. Lawrence, who in 2000 became the first FIU alumnus to win in the Olympic games, has weathered a debilitating stress fracture in her back and a hamstring injury. She says she will focus on staying healthy for the next competition.

“If we stay healthy, no one can beat us in the coming years,' she told the Times. “Our only enemies are our injuries.”