Donald O. Quarrie, CD
Donald O’Riley Quarrie was born on February 25, 1951, in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a five time
Olympian who has had remarkable success on the track & field stage worldwide. His illustrious
career spans over three decades and includes numerous championship titles and medals.
Donald’s stellar career began at the age of 17, and is one marked by major milestones and
accomplishments. Several decades later and even after his retirement, he still ranks in the top 20
fastest time ever recorded over 200m.He is the only male sprinter to ever win three back to back
championship titles at the Commonwealth Games,
In 1968, he entered his first Olympics game in Mexico City but had to withdraw due to injury,
He went to score major victories as highlighted below.
§ 1970 Commonwealth Games: (Edinburgh) gold: 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay,
§ 1971 Pan American Games: (California) gold, 100m; gold, 200m, the second fastest time
ever at 19.86, a national record which lasted for 36 years,
§ 1971:U.S. Championships: gold, 100m,
§ 1972 Olympics: he again suffered injury in the semi-finals of the 200m,
§ 1974 Commonwealth Games: (Christchurch) gold, 100m and 200m,
§ 1975 U.S. Track and Field Championships: gold, 100m first non-American to win,
§ 1975: Prefontaine Classic: gold, 220 yards; world record time of 19.9 seconds,
§ 1976 Olympic Games: (Montreal) silver, 100m; gold, 200m,
§ 1977: U.S. Championships: gold, 100m,
§ 1978: Commonwealth Games: (Edmonton) gold,100m,
§ 1980: Olympic (Moscow): bronze, 200m,
§ 1984: Olympics (Los Angeles): silver medal, 4x100m relay,
After his retirement from track and field, Quarrie embarked on a successful coaching career, with
a number of his Olympic athletes earning medals. He also spent a short time as a college track
and field coach at the University of Southern California. Quarrie also served as a consultant for
Nike as well as Fila and is a Certified Athletes Representative of USA Track & Field (USATF). He
served as the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Advertising Commissioner
for international track meets. He was a member of the Athletics Management Association and
represented a number of professional track and field athletes. In 2005, 2007 and 2009 Donald
served as the Technical Leader for the Jamaican National Team at the IAAF World Championships
and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2008, he was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame
in honor of his achievements in track and field. Despite his busy schedule, Donald took the time to
volunteer as a high school track and field coach, at St. Lucy’s High School.
Donald currently serves on the executive Board of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association
(JAAA), and serves as the Athlete Coordinator for the annual Kingston International Invitational. He
is still active as a coach and consultant and holds clinics and coaching sessions around the world,
working with the athletics federations of numerous countries.
He currently resides in California with his wife Yulanda. They have two daughters, Tara and Kira.
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