Milton Ottey

Milton Ottey
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
BornDecember 29, 1959
May Pen, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHigh jump
ClubYork Optimists/Toronto/Transamerica Life TC
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Canada
Commonwealth Games
1982 Brisbane High jump
1986 Edinburgh High jump

Milton Bruce Ottey (born December 29, 1959) is a retired Canadian high jumper who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics and won two Commonwealth Games gold medals.[1]

Biography

Ottey came to Canada at around the age of 7. He attended and graduated from high school in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). He received a full athletic scholarship from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), where he received his bachelor's degree in education.

He was the number-one-ranked high jumper in the world in 1982 and a 23-time indoor and outdoor national champion in the men's high jump event. In between his two Olympic appearances, Ottey won the British AAA Championships title in the high jump event at the 1985 AAA Championships.[2][3]

After retiring from active competition, Ottey spent several years coaching at various universities throughout the United States, including University of Texas at El Paso, Kent State University and University of New Mexico before moving back to Toronto, Ontario. Ottey is the owner and director OT Fitness Educational Services, inc. Ottey took over the reins of the UK kids core skills development program International Fun and Team Athletics (IFTA) in Canada. OT Fitness provide programs in schools that promote health and fitness to assist in the core skills development of children and teens. OT Fitness looks at the obstacles to a healthy lifestyle and helps kids jump over them, crawl under them, run around them and tackle them head on. Ottey resides in Scarbough with his wife and three children. He is a cousin of nine-time Olympic medallist Merlene Ottey.

Ottey was inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2012. These days, the 59-year-old owns and operates OT Fitness, a company that runs health and wellness programs for school-age kids.[4]

Ottey is currently an assistant track coach specializing in jumps at York University.[5]

Achievements

  • 7-Time Canadian National High Jump Champion (1981–84, 1986–88)
  • Won the NCAA & US National titles in 1982.
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing Canada
1979 Pan American Games San Juan, Puerto Rico 3rd High jump 2.19 m
World Cup Montreal, Quebec, Canada 5th High jump 2.10 m1
1981 World Cup Rome, Italy 5th High jump 2.15 m1
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 1st High jump 2.31 m
1983 Universiade Edmonton, Canada 15th High jump 2.20 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 9th High jump 2.24 m
1984 Olympic Games[6] Los Angeles, United States 6th High jump 2.29 m
1985 Universiade Kobe, Japan 4th High jump 2.26 m
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 1st High jump 2.30 m
1987 World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 7th High jump 2.28 m
1988 Olympic Games[6] Seoul, South Korea 17th (q) High jump 2.22 m
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 3rd High jump 2.23 m

1Representing the Americas

Note: Results with a q, indicate overall position in qualifying round.

References

  1. ^ "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  3. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  4. ^ "Black History Month: When Milt Ottey jumped, Canada soared". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  5. ^ "Black History Month: When Milt Ottey jumped, Canada soared". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Milt Ottey". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016.
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