2018 Hall of Fame Inductee: Savatheda (Fynes) Coke
9/25/2018 10:04:00 AM | Track and Field
Michigan State will induct five new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame this Thursday, Sept. 27. Here's a look at one of the five members of the 2018 class.
Savatheda (Fynes) Coke
Track & Field (1996-97)
Coopers Town, Bahamas
Her success has been global from a humble beginning in the Bahamas to collegiate success at Michigan State and international accomplishments in the Olympics. Savatheda (Fynes) Coke has been a winner at every level. Intertwining dominating at both the collegiate level and the international scene, Coke made the most of her time at Michigan State.
While entering the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame was not an accolade that she was expecting, Coke is honored to be joining some of the all-time greats in Spartan history.
"I am really excited to be entering into the Michigan State Hall of Fame. I think that it is a great honor that they have chosen me to be a part of this. I always have to thank MSU for supporting me," Coke said.
Coke transferred to Michigan State in 1996 after one season at Eastern Michigan. During her one season at EMU, she won an amazing five MAC titles. She also captured her first NCAA Outdoor title in the 200m in 1995 with a time of 23.63 seconds.
Despite the fact that her time at Michigan State was brief, she made a lasting impact on the Spartan track and field program. Her 1997 season ranks among the most accomplished in Michigan State track and field history.
In the Big Ten Championships, she won four titles during the stellar 1997 campaign. She won both the 55 and 200m titles at the Indoor Championships, and the 100 and 200m titles at the Outdoor Championships.
Coke is the only Spartan track and field athlete to win three national championships, including two during the 1997 outdoor season. She captured the NCAA indoor title in the 55m, with a time of 6.65. Coke was also the NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Champion for the 100m and 200m, clocking 11.04 and 22.61 seconds, respectively. She is one of only two Big Ten athletes along with Nebraska's Merlene Ottey to capture the NCAA title in the 100m and the 200m in the same season. Her two outdoor titles allowed her to score 20 of Michigan State's 24 total points, leading the Spartans to a ninth-place finish, the highest NCAA finish in program history.
"I was excited about the meet in 1997, especially to be in the NCAA Championships. It was such an honor to compete for Michigan State. It was really a thrill to be a part of the MSU program. To be able to be the champion in both the 100m and the 200m was amazing. I was happy for Michigan State and us as a team," Coke explained.
In total, Coke earned four All-America honors in 1997, being recognized in the indoor 200m in addition to her three national titles.
The Coopers Town, Bahamas, native still holds the Michigan State indoor record in the 55-meter dash (6.65) and the 200-meter run (23.24), which were both set in 1997. While Coke knows that several of her records still stand, she is sure that a Spartan around the corner is waiting to see these records fall.
At the conclusion of the 1997 outdoor season, the All-American earned Michigan State's highest honor: the George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year award. She is one of just 11 MSU track and field athletes to earn the accolade along with Leah O'Connor (2015), Beth Rohl (2013), Emily McLeod (2011), Nicole Bush (2009), Jamie Krzyminski (2003), Susan Francis (1994), Misty Allison (1992), Odessa Smalls (1987), Judi Brown (1983) and Molly Brennan (1982).
During her well-decorated tenure as a Spartan, Coke spent much of her time doing a balancing act between her time with her MSU squad and her Bahamian teammates. She seamlessly went from the Atlanta Olympics to East Lansing to the Sydney Olympics. She never once lost sight of one of her goals: a degree from MSU.
"It was really easy to go back and forth from competing for the Bahamas and for Michigan State. Once you set goals for yourself, for me everything kind of fell into place. Education always comes first and athletics was second. So I had to try balancing both of them. So it was a matter of me focusing and dedicating myself to both track and academics," Coke said.
She went on to win silver in the 4x100m relay at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and the following year won bronze in the 100m at the 1997 World Championships. She is the first Bahamian to win a medal in that event.
Following the completion of her Michigan State career, she continued to see her star rise. Despite a string of injuries, she was determined to return to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
"It was because of Michigan State that I was able to have these opportunities. It is because of MSU that I was able to compete at the Olympics for the second time. I am definitely grateful to Michigan State for even giving me that chance," she said.
The 2000 season was the pinnacle of her professional career. She placed seventh in the 100m at the Olympics in Sydney. Coke and her 4x100m relay team of Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis-Thompson and Debbie Ferguson were affectionately known as the "Golden Girls" en route to winning the Gold medal for the Bahamas in the relay with a time of 41.95.
Coke was fast out of the blocks and gave her team a commanding lead that no one caught. She, as well as her teammates, returned home to the Bahamas with much fanfare.
"It is always an honor to represent either your school or your country. We were just happy to be able to represent the Bahamas. The warm welcome that we got when we returned I did not expect. It made us feel like all of the hard work that we put into training and the disappointments of injuries or whatever else were worth it. The team supported us and the country supports us the same way that Michigan State was supporting me," Coke said.
The injury bug continued to plague Coke after the Olympics and she was eventually forced to hang up her spikes in 2008.
Despite her retirement, she did not say good bye to her beloved sport of track and field. She continues to stay involved in the sport through coaching at both the high school and college levels.
"I really have to acknowledge the coach at the time, Coach Darroll Gatson. He definitely helped us a great deal. I think he worked really hard when it came to helping us to get to where we were. I think that he made a lot of sacrifices for us to get there," Coke said. "And then of course there were my teammates. Shermaine McKenzie was always there to encourage me when I was down about something or riddled with injuries. She was there any time something wasn't going well. She was always there to keep my spirits uplifted."
Her hard work and sacrifices are rewarded as she join an illustrious group of Spartans in the 2018 Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.