Marsha Mark-Baird (born January 20, 1974, in

Point Fortin Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of ...

) is a track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, specializing in the

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

. She represented her nation

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004), finishing twenty-second in Sydney and twenty-fifth in Athens with a then national record and her personal best score of 5962 points. Leading up to her Olympic career, Mark-Baird also picked up a silver medal in heptathlon at the

1998 Central American and Caribbean Games The 18th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Maracaibo, Venezuela from August 8 to August 22, 1998, and included 31 nations and a total of 5,200 competitors. Mascot The mascot for the Games was a goajira boy, Wayuuchon. Sports 31 ...

in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Career

A convert to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, Mark-Baird started competing in the heptathlon upon her admission to

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Desmond Ricks, American football player * ...

in 1993. Two years later, she transferred to

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, on a

sports 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 ...

, training as a member of the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

track and field squad under the tutelage of head coach Craig Poole. While competing for the Cougars, Mark-Baird placed ninth in the heptathlon at the outdoor NCAA Championships and had contributed to a stalwart, runner-up finish for the women's track and field team at the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, on her junior year. After graduating from BYU with a master's degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, Mark-Baird emerged herself to be part of the world elite in heptathlon. Her first major global outing came at the

in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where she attained a personal record of 5706 points to take home the silver medal for

Olympic Games

On her Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, Mark-Baird became the first ever athlete from Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the

, finishing in twenty-second with 5627 points. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Mark-Baird qualified for her second Trinidad and Tobago team in the women's heptathlon. Leading up to her second Games, she improved her personal best score to 5934 at the track and field meeting in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

during her 2004 season, that got her past the IAAF Olympic "B" standard. Mark-Baird put up a startling effort in the javelin throw to accumulate a Trinidad and Tobago record total of 5962 points, but slipped to twenty-fifth overall from her position in Sydney four years earlier.

Retirement and comeback

After the 2004 season, Mark-Baird announced her retirement from the sport to focus on both her personal life and social work endeavors. Upon watching U.S. swimmer

Dara Torres Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Ga ...

and fellow sportsman and table tennis player Dexter St. Louis compete at the age of 41 in

Beijing 2008 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 ...

, Mark-Baird sought her sights of planning an Olympic comeback. In early 2015, she began to train and compete again in heptathlon for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Masters

In August 2015, Mark-Baird competed in her first World Masters Championships in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She earned individual gold in the W40

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, and anchored the victorious women's over-35 4 × 100 m relay with Ayanna Hutchinson, Dawnelle Stafford and Sasha Springer.

Personal life

Mark-Baird currently resides in

, with her husband and personal manager Gregory Baird, and three of their sons, Mark, Ty, and London (whose name was linked to her Olympic comeback plans). Since her admission to college in 1993, Mark-Baird continues to serve full-time as a member of

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* * *
Profile – Best of Trinidad

BYU Cougars Athlete Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark-Baird, Marsha 1974 births Living people Trinidad and Tobago heptathletes Trinidad and Tobago female athletes Olympic athletes for Trinidad and Tobago Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games People from Point Fortin Sportspeople from Provo, Utah Brigham Young University alumni BYU Cougars women's track and field athletes Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Trinidad and Tobago Competitors at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Commonwealth Games athletes for Trinidad and Tobago