Mark Jelks facts for kids
Jelks at the 2010 Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  United States Nigeria |
| Born | 10 April 1984 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Sprint |
| Updated on 26 August 2016. | |
Mark Elliott Jelks was born on April 10, 1984. He is an American track and field athlete. Mark is best known for running the 100-meter dash.
He has run the 100-meter dash in 9.99 seconds. This is his personal best time. In 2007, he ran for the United States at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. Later, in 2014, Mark decided to run for Nigeria. He then competed for Nigeria at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Mark also competes in the 60-meter dash. He won a national title in this event in 2009. This was at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the 60-meter dash is 6.51 seconds.
Mark's Early Career
Mark Jelks was born in Gary, Indiana. He started competing in track and field when he was young. While at West Side High School in Gary, he became a four-time high school All-American. This means he was one of the best high school athletes.
In 2005, he qualified for six events at the state championships. These events included sprint races and relay events. He also competed in the long jump. After high school, he went to Texas Christian University. He also attended Kansas City Kansas Community College. Instead of competing in college, he became a professional athlete in 2005. He signed a contract with Nike.
Becoming a Professional Athlete
In his first year as a professional, Mark improved his running times. He ran the 60-meter dash in 6.63 seconds. He also ran the 100-meter dash in 10.02 seconds. For the 200-meter dash, his time was 20.58 seconds.
He competed in national events for the first time. He finished fourth in the 60-meter dash. This was at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He also placed fifth in the 100-meter dash. This was at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
In 2006, Mark did not perform as well. His best moment was reaching the semi-finals of the 200-meter dash. In 2007, he placed third at the Boston Indoor Games. He set a new personal record of 6.60 seconds for the 60-meter dash. He finished fourth in that event at the USA Indoors.
Later, he ran his best 100-meter dash time of the season. This was 10.04 seconds in the heats of the USA Outdoors. He then finished fourth in the final. Two other athletes, Trindon Holliday and Walter Dix, did not go to the World Championships. This gave Mark the chance to compete instead. He got injured in his first race at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. He finished last in that race.
Breaking Records
In 2008, Mark competed at the United States Olympic Trials. He ran the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds for the first time. He finished third in the quarter-finals with a time of 9.99 seconds. This was the fastest time ever by a high school athlete from Indiana. However, he was slower in the semi-finals. He was then out of the Olympic Trials.
Mark started 2009 by competing in Europe. He finished in the top three at several events. These included the PSD Bank Meeting and the BW-Bank Meeting. He also did well at the Athens GP. He won his first national title in the 60-meter dash. This was at the USA Indoor Championships. His winning time was 6.51 seconds. This time made him the fourth fastest in the world that year.
During the outdoor season, he won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. This was at the Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar. He reached the semi-finals at the USA Outdoors. His time was 10.06 seconds. At the Tsiklitiria meet in Athens, he was second in the 100-meter dash. He also set a personal best in the 200-meter dash. He won that race with a time of 20.28 seconds. A week later, he ran his season's best 100-meter dash. This was 10.04 seconds at the Vardinoyannia meet. Because he was one of the top 200-meter runners, he was invited to the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final. He finished seventh there.
Mark started the 2010 indoor season well. He won the 60-meter dash in Düsseldorf with a time of 6.56 seconds. However, he was later suspended from competing. This was because he did not report his location to the United States Anti-Doping Agency three times. This is against the rules for athletes. He received a two-year suspension. This lasted from August 2010 to 2012.
Competing for Nigeria
Mark Jelks changed his country of representation to Nigeria in 2014. He showed his talent right away in June 2014. He won the Nigerian national championships in the 100-meter dash.
About a month and a half later, Mark competed for Nigeria for the first time internationally. He reached the final of the 100 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
