Angella Issajenko

Issajenko, Angella
Angella Issajenko, sprinter (b in Jamaica 28 Sept 1958). Known as "Angella Taylor" for most of her athletic career since 1978, Issajenko has been one of Canada's outstanding international sprinters. She has won medals at Commonwealth, Olympic, Pan-American and World University games, in addition to other prestigious championships. A Canadian senior record holder since 1980, she has received several athletic awards, including the CFTA Phil Edwards Memorial Award for Top Track Athlete (1982); Sport Excellence Award (1983), and the Velma Springstead Trophy for Female Athlete of the Year (1980 and 1982). In 1985 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. In June 1987 she won the women's 100 m at the Olympic International meet in Athens, Greece, and in August 1987 she won her 7th Canadian championship in 8 years in the 100 m event. The scandal that followed the disqualification of Ben JOHNSON for drug use at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul led Issajenko to give some of the most extraordinary testimony at the DUBIN INQUIRY. Her detailed accounts of drug use among track and field athletes shocked the public. She was banned from competition, then reinstated, and then placed on probation, though she has raced since.

Author GERALD REDMOND