Angella Taylor-Issajenko, CM (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Taylor; born September 28, 1958) is a Canadian coach and former sprinter. She won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay in

Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. At the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

she won seven medals, including the 100 metres title in Brisbane 1982 and the 200 metres in Edinburgh 1986.

Career

Taylor was born in Jamaica on September 28, 1958. Her breakout performance came at the 1979

Pan Am Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, where she took a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

in the

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

, and set

national records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as ...

of 11.20 and 22.80 respectively. Despite Canada's boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, she dominated post-Olympic competition in the summer of 1980, winning several meets, and finishing second in the 100 m to

Marlies Göhr Marlies Göhr ( Oelsner, born 21 March 1958 in Gera) is a former East German track and field athlete, the winner of the 100 metres at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. She ranked in the top 10 of the 100 m world rankings for twe ...

, and third in the 200 m behind

Bärbel Wöckel Bärbel Wöckel ( Eckert; born 21 March 1955) is a former East German sprinter. She never ran a world record in the individual disciplines. However, she ran several world records as part of relay teams with Doris Maletzki, Renate Ste ...

at the final stop in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. She was the 200 m champion at the

Liberty Bell Classic The Liberty Bell Classic was a track and field athletics event organized by the Athletics Congress as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott and held at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 16 and 17, 19 ...

(which was an alternate to the boycotted Olympics). She lowered her national records to 11.12 for the 100 m and 22.55 for the 200 m by the end of the 1981 season. Taylor was the 1982 Commonwealth 100 m champion in 11.00, a Commonwealth record and Games record, and anchored Canada to a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

, holding off

Raelene Boyle Raelene Ann Boyle (born 24 June 1951) is an Australian retired athlete, who represented Australia at three Olympic Games as a Sprint (running), sprinter, winning three silver medals, and was named one of 100 Australian Living Treasures, Nation ...

. She also took a bronze in the 200 m and won a silver as part of the 4 × 100 m relay. Once again she improved upon the Canadian records for 100 m (11.00) and 200 m (22.25), She injured her

sciatic nerve The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals. It is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the right lower limb. It is the longest and widest ...

in the off-season training for the 1983 season, which troubled her for the rest of her career. In 1983, she won a bronze in 100m at the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

held in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. She also won silver in the 4 x 100-metre relay. After finishing a disappointing seventh in the 100 metres at the world championships, she opted out of the relay. Taylor won an Olympic silver medal as part of the Canadian 4 × 100 m relay team in 1984. In 1985, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. She also gave birth to her first child. In 1986, now known as Angella Issajenko, she was again Commonwealth Champion, this time in the 200 metres. She also won a bronze in the 100 m and a silver as a member of the 4 × 100 m relay team. Issajenko broke the world 50 m record indoors with a 6.06 clocking in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1987. She won a silver medal in 1987 World Indoor Championships in a tight finish with

Nelli Cooman Cornelli "Nelli" Antoinette Hariëtte Cooman (born 6 June 1964) is a former Dutch athlete of Surinamese origin. At the 60 metres, she is two-time World indoor champion, six-time European indoor champion and former world record holder, running ...

, both women were timed in 7.08, but after a photo finish the judges gave the Championship to Cooman, who looked to have crossed the line with her shoulder first. In the summer of 1987, she again broke the national record for 100 m with a time of 10.97 and finished fifth at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Between 1979–1987, she was ranked inside the world's top ten in the 100 metres six times, and in the 200 metres three times. Taylor-Issajenko was a part of the doping regime of George Astaphan, the physician who supplied Ben Johnson with

stanazolol Stanozolol ( abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceutical ...

. After Issajenko's training partner Johnson tested positive for

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American ph ...

in 1988, she testified in the Dubin Inquiry and gave a detailed account of widespread substance abuse in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

which included her reading from her diary. She later told her story to writers

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

and Karen O'Reilly for her biography ''Running Risks'' which was a detailed tell-all of her sprinting experiences and her dealings with performance-enhancing drugs. Today Issajenko is a single mother of four grown children. As of 2008, she works full-time with learning-disabled grade school students and has returned to track and field as a coach based out of the city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's track and field center on the

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

campus.https://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/504755 Ben Johnson scandal still haunts track world Personal bests: 100m – 10.97, 200m – 22.25, 400m – 51.81 .

Achievements

* 10 Times Canadian National 100 metres Champion 1979–84, 1986–88, 1992 * 8 Times Canadian National 200 metres Champion 1979–84, 1986–87 Note: In 1987, at the World Indoor Championships, Issajenko ran 7.08sec to win the silver medal behind Dutch Sprinter,

. Then in 1989, after her admittance of long term drug use at the Dubin inquiry, the IAAF stripped her of this medal and promoted the Bulgarian

Anelia Nuneva Aneliya Nuneva-Vechernikova (; born June 30, 1962) is a retired sprinter from Bulgaria who competed mainly in the 100 metres. In the final of the 100 m at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games she was drawn in lane four alongside the favorite, Florence G ...

to the silver medal position and fellow Canadian

Angela Bailey Angela Bailey (28 February 1962 – 31 July 2021) was a Canadian track and field athlete. She was the Canadian record holder in the 100 metres with her personal best of 10.98 seconds in 1987. She also holds the 200 metres indoor national rec ...

to bronze.
Note: At the World Cup in 1979 and 1981, Taylor-Issajenko was representing the Americas continent.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor-Issajenko, Angella 1958 births Living people Canadian female sprinters Black Canadian track and field athletes Doping cases in athletics Canadian sportspeople in doping cases Jamaican emigrants to Canada Members of the Order of Canada Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Track and field athletes from Ontario Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Pan American Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Black Canadian sportswomen Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for Canada FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportswomen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics

Career

Achievements

See also

References