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29 August 2004: Ottey out for rest of the season
It was a hamstring injury after just thirty metres of the race that not not only ended Merlene Ottey’s appearance at an unprecedented seventh consecutive Olympic Games, but it ended the 44-year-old sprinter’s season as well. “A six-hour examination at the Athlete’s village on Wednesday discovered a partial hamstring rupture in Merlene’s left thigh”, said Dr. Rasto Stok, a physician for Slovenia’s Olympic delegation, adding that the injury may require surgery. Her trainer Srdjan Djordjevic said the Jamaican-born Slovenian will now undergo 14 days of rehabilitation before a decision is reached on whether she will undergo surgery. After the race, Ottey said she had intended a 100 percent effort in the race to ensure entry into the final.

Report from IAAF: http://www.iaaf.org/OLY04/news/Kind=2/newsId=27152.html

27 August 2004: Ottey correctly predicted Jamaica as relay winner
Veronica Campbell and the Jamaican relay team accomplished what Merlene Ottey never succeeded in doing: Winning Olympic gold. "Merlene is one of my role models and has always been my idol", said Campbell after the relay when she sat beside her teammates, Tayna Lawrence, Sherone Simpson and Aleen Bailey and talked about Ottey's influence on her and her generation. "She was up at the village yesterday and told us that we could break the national record and win the gold medal. It was a very grand gesture from her, an inspiration, and we all felt we must win it here for her tonight". Campbell and her colleagues fulfilled Ottey's predictions by sweeping to victory in 41.73 sec. - a national record indeed.

Report from IAAF: http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=27294.html

24 August 2004: Merlene Ottey injured in her last Olympic race
Merlene Ottey never finalised her 52nd race at the Olympics. Shortly after the start of the women's first 200 metre semifinal she slowed down having experienced an injury. She ruptured a muscle in her gluteus region. The exact extent of the damage will be determined in the next few days.
http://www.athens2004.com/ reports she following comment from Merlene Ottey afterwards: "It is nothing serious, I just felt something in my left glute. It is the same area where I had surgery last year. I hope it heals fast and I can be back on the track soon. I was actually really hoping to make this final, so this is disappointing for me".

The 200 metre semifinal marks the end of a fantastic Olympic career. Although you should never say never about Merlene Ottey - Beijing is only four years away and Merlene Ottey already indicated after the 100 metres that she will be back for the World Championships in 2005. At a press conference last week Merlene Ottey also said she intends to run at the European Championships in 2006. When asked if 2004 would be her final Olympics she laughed and said: "I have been asked that every time since Barcelona. I have said ‘yes’, sometimes, and ‘maybe’. This time I’m saying I just don’t know".

Here and now words are not enough to express the accomplishments of Merlene Ottey!
She has been an ideal for female athletes for more than 20 years and continues to be so for all women!

Legendary icon Merlene Ottey at the 2004 Olympics

Here is what IAAF writes on their webiste about the quarterfinal:
All eyes focused on Slovenia’s Merlene Ottey at the start of the fourth and final heat. Was this to be her last ever Olympic race? How often have we said that before? How often have we been wrong? Cydonie Mothersill of the Cayman Islands won the race, in 22.76, with the much-fancied Ivet Lalova of Bulgaria second. Ottey was edged into fourth by Jamaica’s Beverley McDonald, 22.99 to 23.07, but she’s through. We haven’t seen the last of her yet.

Based on her performance so far at these Olympics one can only say that Merlene Ottey is probably the most dedicated and focused athlete this world has ever known [Jakob Nielsen].

21 August 2004: Ottey misses 100 metre final by 0.03 seconds (10th overall)
In the 49th Olympic race of her career Merlene Ottey missed the 100 metre final by just 0.03 sec. It was American Latasha Colander who passed Ottey in the last 20 metres of the semifinal to book her own place in the final. By clocking 11.21 sec. Ottey finished 10th overall at the Olympics - just as she did last year at the World Championships. Merlene Ottey was phlegmatic about her narrow miss which she has endured many a time over her seven Olympics career: "I am disappointed because I was nearly there but it is how these things work out and I will be back next year at the world championships. There's no stress because since Atlanta where I lost the gold medal (in a photo finish with Devers) I said I was going to enjoy myself".

It is worth noting that of the 16 semifinalist from the 2000 Olympics only four (Ottey, Ferguson, Arron and Block) made it to the semifinal again in 2004 and back in 2000 who would have though that Merlene Ottey would be among them? This fact once again confirms Merlene's status as the greatest female track and field athlete ever. She has now been 25 years among the very best in the world and survived several generations of sprinters.

Veronica Campbell made the following comment about Merlene Ottey after the final: "She is my role model, a positive image on the Caribbean". On the fact that Merlene Ottey now runs for Slovenia she said: "She can decide whatever she wants to do".

http://www.athens2004.com/ reports the following comments from Merlene Ottey herself:
"What happened? The girls were better".
"I had a great start and I was confident I could make the final".
"I've have been accused of having slow starts. Now I had it right, but it wasn't enough".

Asked directly after the 100 metre semifinal Merlene Ottey confirmed: "Yes, I will be running the 200 metres".

20 August 2004: Merlene Ottey was second fastest in the heats!
Merlene Ottey kicked off her 7th Olympic campaign by running the second fastest time of all women in the heats this morning. Running in the 2nd heat Merlene Ottey got off to a slow start well behind 60 metre specialist Yuliya Nestorenko, but at the end of the race she once again showed her legendary and fantastic finish by closing in on Nestorenko, who won the race in 10.94 sec. (PB) 2 metres ahead of Ottey in 11.14 sec. The time is Merlene Ottey's second best time of the year and confirms the great form she has shown in her last races prior to the Olympic Games (at the end of July and beginning of August). Across all heats, Nestorenko's time was by far the quickest of all the women sprinters, but as can be seen from the table below the times of the 8 fastest women are very close - and Merlene Ottey was the second fastest!

Ottey said: "I feel fantastic. It was just the first round. It went well".

By running in Athens Merlene Ottey becomes the first track and field athlete to compete in seven Olympic Games, taking outright ownership of an honour she previously shared with the British javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson and the Romanian discus thrower Lia Manoliu. After the opening race Ottey stated herself: "For me, it's amazing that I've qualified to still be running. I didn't think I'd still be here 24 years later".

19 August 2004: Merlene's rankings
Merlene goes into tomorrow's Olympic track and field competitions with the following rankings:
100 metres - Season List: No. 15 (11.09 sec.)
100 metres - World Ranking: No. 26 (1210 points)
200 metres - Season List: No. 45 (22.90 sec.)
200 metres - World Ranking: No. 28 (1187 points)

Sprint / Relay - Olympic Previews: http://www.iaaf.org/OLY04/news/Kind=2/newsId=26820.html

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