Anson Henry (born March 9, 1979) is a retired

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

sprinter of Jamaican descent who specialized in the

100 metres 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 ...

. He was born in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

, Canada.Athlete biography: Anson Henry
beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 26, 2008 His personal best time is 10.12 seconds, achieved in May 2006 in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. He also has 20.52 seconds in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a 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 the race. A slight ...

and 6.59 seconds in the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

. He blasted onto the track scene when he was the bronze medalist at the 2002

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Indoor

Track and Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

Championships while representing

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

. Henry finished only behind silver medalist Leonard Scott and gold medalist

Justin Gatlin Justin Alexander Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He is the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 and 2017 World Champion in the 100 meters, the ...

who later tested positive for

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

s. Talk of moving Henry up to the silver medal position went unconcluded. He would later be a favorite at the

Outdoor

Championships, but due to a muscle cramp in the 100 m final Henry hobbled across the line in an unexpected 8th-place finish. Henry still remains the

record holder in the 60 m (6.65), 100 m (10.04 w, 10.17) and 200 m (20.52). At the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

he won the bronze medal in the 100 metres, as the original winner Mickey Grimes was stripped of the gold medal after testing positive for

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and sympathomimetic agent that is often used to prevent hypotension, low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred ...

. At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

he finished sixth in the 100 metres and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay. He won a relay silver medal at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

and also finished 7th in the 100 m. Later on in 2007 Henry would have an impressive 10th-place finish overall in the 100 m dash at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. This was the best finish by a Canadian sprinter at any major championships in the 100 m since

Bruny Surin Bruny Surin (born July 12, 1967) is a Canadian former track and field athlete, who was the winner of a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2008 he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 1 ...

won bronze at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, Spain. He also competed at the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

without reaching the final. In

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

he competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed 4th in his heat behind

Francis Obikwelu Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, GOIH (born 22 November 1978) is a retired Nigerian-born Portuguese sprinter, who specialized in 100 metres and 200 metres. He was the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the 100 metres. In the same race, he ...

Obinna Metu Joseph Obinna Metu (born 12 July 1988, Ogidi) is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres. His personal best time is 10.11 seconds, achieved in June 2012 in Calabar. He finished eighth at the 2006 World Junior Championships. At ...

and

Walter Dix Walter Dix (born January 31, 1986) is a retired American sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the seventh-fastest 200-meter runner ever with a best of 19.53 seconds, and has broken the 10-second barrier in t ...

. He improved his time to 10.33 in the quarter-finals, but failed to qualify to the semi-finals as he finished only in seventh place. Together with

Hank Palmer Hank Palmer (born 16 March 1985) is a Canadian sprinter. He was born in Montreal. Palmer's best place to date was a fourth place at the 2004 World Junior Championships. He is uncommonly known by his self-appointed nicknames Black Phoenix and Leg ...

Pierre Browne Pierre Browne (born January 14, 1980) is a Canadian sprinter of Barbadian descent. He represented Canada for the 100 and the 200 meters dash in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games, and the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.Jared Connaughton Jared Neal Connaughton (born July 20, 1985) is a Canadian former track athlete who specialized in the 100m and 200m. He is now a physical education cross country, and track and field coach at Fort Worth Country Day in Fort Worth, Texas. Biograp ...

he also competed at the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

. In their qualification heat they placed second behind

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, but in front of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Their time of 38.77 was the fourth out of sixteen participating nations in the first round and they qualified for the final. There they sprinted to a time of 38.66 seconds, which was the sixth time. Henry is now a commentator for

CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...

Early years

Anson Henry attended Dunbarton High School. Mainly a basketball player through the majority of his high school years, Henry gave track and field a try in his senior year. He was successful in becoming an

OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

100 m Bronze Medalist, and later became the Canadian National Junior Champion in the 100 m dash. He had a personal best in high school of 10.40 s. Later he was 1 of 9 junior athletes selected from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to compete at the

IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the yea ...

Annecy, France Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed the "Pe ...

. He finished in 9th place.

College career

Anson Henry received a full

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to attend

. While struggling with injury throughout his early years, which delayed his flourish as a collegiate athlete until his senior year. In that year he set a new WSU 60 m record of 6.65 seconds at the

Indoor

Championships and had a 3rd-place finish. He would later set the 100 m school record of 10.17 as he won the 2002 Mt. SAC Relays 100 m dash. With the

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Championships being held at WSU, Henry pulled off the double as he won both the 100 m dash (10.29 s, -1.4 w) and set a new school record in the 200 m Dash of 20.52 s (-0.9 w). He entered the

Outdoor

Championships as a heavy favorite, and looked great through the qualifying rounds but pulled up mid race with a hamstring cramp, leaving him crossing the line lame in an 8th-place finish. Henry's accomplishments in the year of 2002 awarded him

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and also

Western Region Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Henry still remains the only sprinter at WSU to be both an Indoor and Outdoor

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Anson 1979 births Living people Canadian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Black Canadian sportsmen Black Canadian track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Toronto Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics