Savatheda (Fynes) Coke takes over the helm of the Bloomfield College Men's and Women's Cross Country, Track and Field teams in 2022. Coke steps up after joining the Bears family in November of 2019 as an assistant coach in charge of sprints, hurdles and relays. The Abaco, Bahamas native is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 X 100 meter relay race and brings years of elite track and field performance, knowledge and experience to Bloomfield College.
From 2011-2013 Coke was the assistant track and field and cross country coach for New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) where she produced several Great West Conference finalists.
Coke served as volunteer sprints coach at the East Orange Track and Field Club of New Jersey in 2010 and for Columbia high school located in Maplewood, New Jersey during the 2008 season.
As an athlete, Coke was a specialist in the 100m, 200m, 60m and the 4 x100m relay sprints and represented her country, the Bahamas, on the international track and field stage. Coke participated in two Olympics and 4 Outdoor World Athletic Championships.
During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Coke led her 4 x100m relay team, dubbed ‘The Golden Girls’ to a gold medal victory. She also placed 6th in the 100m dash at the Sydney Games. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Coke ran the 3rd leg of her team’s 4 X 100m relay race which placed second to earn a silver medal behind USA.
In 1999 Coke was part of the Bahamas’ 4 X 100m relay team that captured Gold at the IAAF World Championships in Seville, Spain. She also won a Bronze medal in the 100 meters during the IAAF World Championships held in historic Athens, Greece in 1997.
Coke is presently the Bahamas national record holder in the 60m dash with a time of 7.01 seconds (set in 1999) and in the 50m dash with a time of 6.05 seconds (set in 2000).
During her collegiate career, Coke was an NCAA outdoor and indoor champion on numerous occasions. She captured her first outdoor title in the 200m in 1995 with a time of 23.63 seconds. After transferring to Michigan State University (MSU) she enjoyed her most successful season in 1997 when she captured four titles in the Big Ten Championships. Coke won both the 55 and 200m titles at the Indoor Championships and added the 100 and 200m titles at the Outdoor Championships. After the season she earned the George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year award at MSU.
Coke graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology in 1998 and was inducted into the Michigan State University Hall of Fame in 2018.
Coke is married to Paston Coke, together they share three children; two sons and a daughter.
