DES MOINES, IOWA — Olympic silver medallst sprinter Lorraine Fenton of Jamaica will make her 2004 outdoor debut competing in the women's invitational 200-meter dash at the Drake Relays April 24 at Drake Stadium.

Fenton has been ranked No. 2 in the world in the 400 in the last four years, dating back to her silver medal effort at the Sydney Olympics in 2002. Fenton ran a personal best of 49.30 for a Jamaican national record at the 2002 Monaco Grand Prix, which also was the second fastest time posted in the world in 2002. She broke her previous personal best in the 400 of 49.58 at the 2000 Olympics when she finished runner up to Kathy Freeman of Australia. Fenton also anchored Jamaica to a silver medal in the 4x400 relay at the 2000 Olympics.

Fenton is coming off a banner season in which she won the 400 at four Grand Prix meets (Turin, Lausanne, London, Berlin) while finishing second in the 400 at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships in Paris, France and the Grand Prix final. Fenton ran a season best of 49.43 at the World Outdoor Championships which also was the second fastest time in the world in 2003. She also ran a 49.38 anchor leg to lead Jamaica to third-place in the 4x400 relay at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships.

She also earned a silver medal in the 400 at both the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. She also ran a 49.95 anchor leg to give Jamaica its first ever gold medal in the 4x400 relay at the 2001 World Championships. Jamaica's winning time of 3:20.65 was a national record and also the fastest 4x400 relay time posted in the world in 2001.

“Lorraine (Fenton) is one of the top women's sprinters in the world,” said Drake Relays director Mark Kostek. “She really burst onto the scene at the 2000 Olympics and continues to get better every year. I know she is really excited to be returning here.”

She has been ranked in the top 10 in the world in the 400 since 1997. She has won the 400 at the 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 Jamaica National Championships.

Fenton, 30, owns a personal best of 22.63 in the 200 in a 2001 IAAF meet in Cassel, Germany. Fenton was named Jamaica's 2001 Sports Personality of the Year and she is the only Caribbean woman to ever run below 50 seconds in four consecutive seasons.

Fenton was inducted into the 2002 Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame. She was named the outstanding women's performer at the 1997 Drake Relays as a senior at Lincoln (Mo.), an NCAA Division II school after winning the invitational 400, while also anchoring Lincoln to a victory in the combined women's university-college division 4x200 relay and the college division 4x400 relay. Lincoln set a Drake Relays record in the college division 4x400 relay of 3:39.40, shattering the previous mark by more than nine seconds.