Neil Gardner
![]() Neil Gardner winning the 1996 NCAA Championships - 400M Hurdles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Kingston, Jamaica | 8 December 1974||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 155 lb (70 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Running | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Sprinting(400 meter hurdles) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Neil Anthony Gardner(born 8 December 1974) is a former Jamaican athlete who specialized in the 400 meters hurdles event.[1]As a junior athlete (under 20 years of age) Gardner found much success at the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association National Boys' Championships where he was awarded the Victor Ludorum (Champion Athlete) three years in a row, 1991–1993. Gardner also excelled in theCARIFTA Games,winning several medals between 1989 and 1993.
In 1993, Gardner was awarded a track and field scholarship to theUniversity of Michiganin Ann Arbor, Michigan to compete in the Jumps and Hurdles. While at Michigan, Gardner won three Big Ten titles and was runner-up on six occasions. In his junior year 1996, Gardner won theNCAA Outdoor Championshiptrack and field 400 m hurdle championship title in a time of 49.27 seconds.[2]In 1997, Gardner went on to become the first person in the history of the NCAA to win the NCAA championship titles in both the400 m hurdle event (outdoors)as well as the55 m hurdle event (indoors),which he did in a time of 7.18 seconds.[3]
His personal best time of 48.30 in the 400 m hurdles at the Olympic game in 1996, ranked Gardner among the top 10 performers of all time for the NCAA as well as the Central American and Caribbean region. This time was also a varsity record for theUniversity of Michigan.Gardner is ranked 6th among Jamaican 400 m hurdlers of all time.[4]
The Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships
[edit]Gardner represented Jamaica in the 1996Olympic gamesin Atlanta, Georgia where he was a semi-finalist in the 400m hurdle event.[5]Gardner ran 48.59 seconds in the preliminaries and was the 6th fastest qualifier overall for the semifinals. Gardner ran 48.30 seconds in his semifinal heat, placing fifth in a four way photo finish, just missing the fourth place qualifying spot by 0.02 seconds. The second, third and fourth-place finishers each was credited with the same time of 48.28 seconds. Gardner's time would have placed him third in the other semi-final and would have guaranteed him a spot in the final. Had Gardner competed in any other Olympic Game, in any other year, his time would have not only qualified him for the finals, but would have won on many occasions.
In 2001, Gardner was a semi-finalist in the 400 meters hurdles at the 8thIAAF World Championships in Athleticsin Edmonton, Canada again representing his native, Jamaica.[6]
Academic years and later career
[edit]Gardner received a full athletic scholarship to attend the University of Michigan in 1993. Gardner graduated from Michigan with a 3.24 GPA in Biochemistry in December 1997. Gardner then returned to Jamaica in January 1998 where he competed professionally in track and field until 2005. Gardner was the first recipient of a scholarship through theWorld Olympians Associationand theWorld Federation of Chiropractic,to study chiropractic atParker College of Chiropractic.Gardner graduated from Parker College in August 2009 with a 4.0 GPA,summa cum laudeas the class valedictorian. He also received two Bachelor of Science degrees in Anatomy and Health & Wellness. Dr. Neil Gardner opened hischiropracticclinic, Gardner Chiropractic & Wellness Center, in December 2009 in Richardson, Texas. He recently moved back to Jamaica to open his clinic, Gardner Chiropractic & Neurology Ltd. in Kingston, Jamaica.
Honors and awards
[edit]Gardner was inducted into the University of Michigan Men's Track & Field Hall of Fame in May 2007.[7]In March 2010, Gardner was named High School Athlete of the Decade for the 1990s, by the Inter-Secondary School Sport Association, Kingston, Jamaica.[8]
Dr. Neil Gardner is the 2011 recipient of the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence.[9]
Accomplishments and Major Competition results
[edit]ISSA National Boy’s Championships Results
[edit]Year | Event | Results |
---|---|---|
1988 | High Jump | 2nd |
1989 | High Jump | 1st |
1990 | High Jump | 2nd |
1991 | High Jump | 1st(record) |
1991 | Long Jump | 1st(record) |
1991 | 110m Hurdles | 1st(record) |
1991 | 4 × 100 mrelay | 1st |
1992 | High Jump | 2nd |
1992 | 110m Hurdles | 1st |
1992 | Heptathlon | 1st |
1993 | High Jump | 2nd |
1993 | Long Jump | 2nd |
1993 | 110m Hurdles | 2nd |
1993 | Triple Jump | 1st |
1993 | 4 × 100 mrelay | 2nd |
CARIFTA Games results
[edit]Year | Venue | Event | Results | Time/Measurement |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Barbados | High Jump | 3rd | |
1990 | Jamaica | High Jump | 3rd | |
1991 | Trinidad | Triple Jump | 3rd | 14.97 |
1991 | Trinidad | 110m hurdles | 3rd | 14.73 |
1992 | Bahamas | High Jump | 3rd | 2.05 |
1992 | Bahamas | 110m hurdles | 2nd | 15.04 |
1993 | Martinique | High Jump | 2nd | 2.05 |
1993 | Martinique | Triple Jump | 2nd | 15.62 |
1993 | Martinique | 110m hurdles | 1st | 15.04 |
Pan American Junior Championships results
[edit]Year | Venue | Event | Result | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Winnipeg, Canada | 110m hurdles | 3rd | 14.30 |
NCAA Championships
[edit]Year | Venue | Event | Result | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Eugene, Oregon | 400m hurdles | 1st | 49.27 |
1997 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 55m hurdles | 1st | 7.18 |
26th Olympic Games
[edit]Year | City | Event | Phase | Unit | Rank | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Atlanta | 400m hurdles | Semi-finals | Heat 2 | 5th | 48.30 |
1996 | Atlanta | 400m hurdles | Round One | Heat 7 | 4th | 48.59 |
8th IAAF World Championships
[edit]Year | City | Event | Phase | Unit | Rank | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Edmonton | 400m hurdles | Semi-finals | Heat 2 | 6th | 49.57 |
2001 | Edmonton | 400m hurdles | Round One | Heat 4 | 1st | 49.29 |
Other Major Competitions
[edit]Year | Venue | Event | Results |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Stockholm | 400m hurdles | 49.74 |
1998 | Thessaloniki | 400m hurdles | 48.92 |
1999 | Nassau | 400m hurdles | 50.68 |
2000 | Nassau | 400m hurdles | 49.50 |
2001 | Kingston | 400m hurdles | 48.71 |
2001 | Monaco - Herculis | 400m hurdles | 3rd |
2003 | Luzern | 400m hurdles | 49.07 |
2003 | Golden Spike | 400m hurdles | 5th |
2003 | Meeting de Madrid | 400m hurdles | 5th |
2003 | Portugal | 400m hurdles | 1st |
2004 | Oregon | 400m hurdles | 49.80 |
References
[edit]- ^IAAF Biography
- ^University of Michigan Athletics
- ^"NCAA Indoor Championships Results".Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2012.Retrieved19 August2010.
- ^Jamaican Athletics Ranking
- ^26th Olympic Games
- ^Jamaican's 8th IAAF World Championships Team
- ^"University of Michigan Men's Track & Field Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon 6 August 2010.Retrieved20 August2010.
- ^Inter-Secondary School Sports Association Award
- ^Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence.
- ^ISSA National Boy's Championships Results
External links
[edit]- 1974 births
- Living people
- Athletes from Kingston, Jamaica
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Jamaican male hurdlers
- Olympic athletes for Jamaica
- Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes
- Jamaican chiropractors
- Parker University alumni
- Jamaican Athletics Championships winners
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
- NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners