Winners: Perdita Felicien, Athletics
Perdita Felicien competing in the final at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Victoria, BC.
Date: July 10, 2004
Collection: CP photo/Ryan Remiorz
2003 - Feature Story
Perdita Felicien wouldn’t turn 23 until the following day, but on August 28, 2003 she presented herself with the birthday present of a lifetime in winning the women’s 100m hurdles final at the World Track and Field Championships in Paris. The win made Felicien the first Canadian female track and field athlete to win a world title. The Pickering, Ontario hurdler did so in outstanding fashion, outfinishing race favourite Brigitte Foster of Jamaica to take the Gold medal in a Canadian record 12.53 seconds. Earlier in the year Felicien, a former Ontario high school champion and two-time Canadian champion, had served notice she was an international talent to watch, as she won her second straight NCAA 100m hurdles title for the University of Illinois, becoming just the third woman to win back-to-back titles in the discipline. She also earned the Silver medal behind Foster at the 2003 Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Career Highlights
- 2007 Silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan
- 2004 Gold medal in the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary
- 2003, 2007 Silver medals in the 100m hurdles at the Pan American Games
- 2003 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (Canada’s female athlete of the year)
- 2003 Gold medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Paris, France
A pair of Superfly G5 track shoes signed “P Felicien 100mh 60mh World Champ”.
Date: 2003-2004
Collection: Images © 2010 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto
Spikes and screw driver for tightening spikes on the sole of the shoe.
Date: 2003-2004
Collection: Images © 2010 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto
