Don Quarrie

Don Quarrie

Personal information
Full name	Donald O'Reilly Quarrie
Born	(1951-02-25) 25 February 1951 (age 73) Kingston, Jamaica
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 10.07 (1976) 200 m – 19.86 (1971)[1][2]
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Jamaica Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 200 metres 1976 Montreal 100 metres 1980 Moscow 200 metres 1984 Los Angeles 4x100 m relay Pan American Games 1971 Cali 100 metres 1971 Cali 200 metres 1971 Cali 4 x 100 metres Commonwealth Games 1970 Edinburgh 100 metres 1970 Edinburgh 200 metres 1970 Edinburgh 4 x 100 metres 1974 Christchurch 100 metres 1974 Christchurch 200 metres 1978 Edmonton 100 metres Representing Americas IAAF World Cup 1977 Düsseldorf 4 × 100 metre relay
Updated on 28 December 2015

Donald O'Riley Quarrie CD (born 25 February 1951) is a Jamaican former track and field athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s. At the 1976 Summer Olympics he was the gold medallist in the Olympic 200 meters and silver medallist in the Olympic 100 meters. In all, he competed in five Olympic Games and won four Olympic medals during his career.

He nearly equalled the 200 meters world record in 1971, coming within .03 seconds of the time set by Tommie Smith in 1968. He has a personal best of 19.86 seconds set in Cali, Colombia on 3 August 1971. As of 2024, this remains the track record.

He won 100 metres/200 metres sprint doubles at the 1970 Commonwealth Games, 1971 Pan American Games, and 1974 Commonwealth Games. He was the first male to defend either the 100 m or 200 m title at the Commonwealth Games and a 100 m win at the 1978 Commonwealth Games makes him the only person to have won that title three times. He won nine gold medals in the sprints at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics from 1971 to 1981.

He has received recognition both on and off the field. He was a five-time winner at the Jamaican Sportsperson of the Year and a statue of him is positioned at the entrance to Jamaica's National Stadium. There is also a school (Donald Quarrie High School) that bears his name in Eastern Kingston. Reggae artists have paid respect to his achievements with songs including "Tribute to Donald Quarrie", one by Joe Gibbs and The Guerrillas and one by Bongo Herman.