Savatheda Fynes Coke (born October 17, 1974) is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. She is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 x 100 meter relay race. Some sources spell her first name "Sevatheda".

Career

She graduated Physiology and Exercise Science at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, Michigan, USA. She missed the 2001 World Championships due to injury. She had a minor car accident prior to the 2000 Olympic trials, which limited her training. At the World Championships in 1999 she was eliminated in semifinals due to an injured hip flexor. In 1996 a hamstring injury kept her out of the 100 m at the Atlanta Games. She was a member of the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

team that won gold at the 1999 World Championships. After that performance the team of Fynes,

Pauline Davis-Thompson Pauline Elaine Davis-Thompson (born 9 July 1966) is a former Bahamian sprinter. She competed at five Olympics, a rarity for a track and field athlete. She won her first medal at her fourth Olympics and her first gold medals at her fifth Olymp ...

Debbie Ferguson Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (born 16 January 1976) is a former Bahamian sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics. Ferguson-McKenzie is assistant coach of track and field at University of ...

Chandra Sturrup Chandra Lavon Sturrup (born September 12, 1971) is a Bahamian track and field sprint athlete. Career She is a 100 m specialist and the Bahamian record holder for the women's 100 m with a personal best of 10.84 set in Lausanne, Switzerland on ...

and

Eldece Clark-Lewis Eldece Clarke-Lewis (born 13 January 1965) is a Bahamian sprints athlete. She was a part of the Bahamian team that won the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics 4 × 100 metres relay. She also ran in the preliminary rounds in the 2000 Olympics ...

were dubbed the Golden Girls. When they won the relay again at the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

they showed the world why they had earned that name. The girls returned home from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to a six-day fanfare of festivities in their honor, from receptions and parades to monetary awards and land grants. Central Bank has even been commissioned to mint a commemorative gold coin to honour their victory. She earned an athletic scholarship to

Southern University at New Orleans Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Southern Univer ...

, but later transferred to

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

and then to

. She was forced to sit out the 1996 season because she was a transfer. She attended an indoor meet that year and stayed in a hotel room paid for by Michigan State. That being a violation, she lost her final season of eligibility in 1998, and her coach lost her job.

Coaching career

In 2010, Fynes Coke worked as an assistant coach for the NJIT Highlanders track and field team.

Personal bests

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 ...

: 10.91 seconds in Lausanne 1999 *

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 ...

: 7.01 seconds in Maebashi 1999 * 50 metres: 6.05 seconds in Liévin 2000

Achievements

References

External links

*
Bahamas Olympic Bio

Picture of Savatheda Fynes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fynes, Savatheda 1974 births Living people People from Abaco Islands Bahamian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Olympic athletes for the Bahamas Olympic gold medalists for the Bahamas Olympic silver medalists for the Bahamas Pan American Games competitors for the Bahamas Commonwealth Games gold medallists for the Bahamas Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for the Bahamas Michigan State Spartans women's track and field athletes Southern Lady Jaguars track and field athletes Eastern Michigan Eagles women's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners NJIT Highlanders track and field Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics