Me'Lisa Barber is an American sprinter. After graduating from

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

, she was the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

USA Outdoor Champion 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 ...

and the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

World Indoor Champion 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 ...

. She was also one of the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

World Champions in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

and one of the

World Champions in 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 ...

Life and career

Barber grew up in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

. Her 4 × 100 metre and 4 × 400 metre high school relays with her twin sister, Miki, at Montclair High School were both honored as All-American. Throughout her collegiate career, Barber won four SEC titles. In 2001, while attending the

, she won a gold medal 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 ...

in the

as part of Team USA. She was made co-captain of the South Carolina Gamecocks women's track and field team in 2002, when the team won at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the championships, she ran in place of her sister in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

due to her sister's injury. Barber graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2002 with a degree in business and retail management. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 meters relay as part of Team USA at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, and competed in the

with Team USA at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. During the 2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she won gold in the

and placed fourth 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 ...

. At the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiyski Sport are ...

, she won a gold medal in the

, running the fastest time of that season at 7.01 seconds. Barber left coach Trevor Graham in 2006 following his involvement in the

BALCO scandal The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was a San Francisco Bay Area business which supplied anabolic steroids to profes ...

. In 2009, Barber ruptured her Achilles tendon after a drunk driver rear-ended her car in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and stopped competing for several years. Barber runs a line of jewelry called The Honey Collection, a juice company, and a personal training company called Body Code. She and her sister also began doing motivational speaking tours in schools in 2018.

Public image

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

selected Barber as one of Montclair High School's four best athletes of all time.

References

External links

Me'Lisa Barber, USA T&F
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Me'lisa 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Livingston, New Jersey Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Montclair, New Jersey American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes American twins World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games South Carolina Gamecocks women's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from New Jersey Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportswomen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen