Mark McKoy

Born in Guyana, Mark McKoy spent his youth in England before moving to Canada as a teenager. McKoy came to the international athletics scene in 1982 by winning a gold in the 110 hurdles and silver in the 4x100 relay at the Commonwealth Games. In 1983 McKoy finished fourth at the first World Championships and repeated this finish at the 1984 Olympics. In 1986 McKoy repeated his victory in the 110 hurdles at the Commonwealth Games and turned his 4x100 m relay silver into a gold medal, but he was a disappointing seventh at the 1987 World Championships. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics McKoy finished seventh, after badly crashing into a number of hurdles. Following the stripping of teammate Ben Johnson’s 100 metre gold medal due to a positive drug test, McKoy made a premature departure from Seoul prior to the 4x100 m relay in which he was to compete. McKoy subsequently admitted to using drugs at the Dubin Enquiry and was given a two-year suspension. McKoy made a comeback at the 1991 World Championships, finishing again fourth in the 110 hurdles. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics McKoy seemed to finally be on the verge of ending his string of fourth-place finishes at major international championships. In the final McKoy got his usual fast start and simply ran away from the field. Despite slamming into the last hurdle, he still had enough momentum to easily win the gold medal. During his two-year suspension McKoy moved to Austria, becoming an Austrian citizen in 1994, and finished his athletics career competing for his newly-adopted country.

Personal Best: 110H – 13.08 (1993).