Jeneba Sylvia Tarmoh (born September 27, 1989) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter who specializes in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. She is of

Sierra Leonean The demographics of Sierra Leone are made up of an indigenous population from 18 ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the south are the largest. About 60,000 are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra L ...

descent.

Prep

Tarmoh lives in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, where she attended Mt. Pleasant High School. Her parents, both nurses, immigrated to San Jose from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

shortly before she was born. While at Mt. Pleasant, she won both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

both her 2006 junior and 2007 senior years. She was also part of the 2007 CIF State Championship team from Mt.Pleasant High School.

College career

Tarmoh was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n for

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, helping them with back to back to back wins in the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships 2009–2011 seasons. She gave up her final year of eligibility to compete in the NCAA after she went professional, signing with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. She came in third at the 2011 USA National Outdoor Championships in the 200 m behind

Shalonda Solomon Shalonda Solomon (born December 19, 1985) is an American track and field sprinter. Her greatest international accomplishment is a silver medal in the 100 m at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup, while representing the Americas team. She qualified for ...

and

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprint (running), sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter was called the "Fastest woman alive" after running a 10 ...

, earning her a place on the

2011 IAAF World Championships The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

team.

Olympic career

On June 23, 2012, Tarmoh finished in a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

with

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 meter ...

for third place in the 100 m finals at the US Track and Field Olympic Trials. Tarmoh had initially been declared the third-place finisher immediately after the race but was dropped into a tie with Felix after officials reviewed images of the

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the fini ...

. The top three places qualified for the 2012 USA Olympic team for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

; however,

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

had no tiebreaker procedures in place at the time in the event of a tie for the final spot. After discussion, USATF officials decided that a runoff between the two sprinters would take place in the event that neither ceded her spot to the other. Tarmoh initially agreed to the runoff but later pulled out, ceding the spot to Felix. The event generated substantial criticism toward USATF officials for having insufficient procedures in place for breaking ties, as well as for forcing the runners to decide whether to participate in the eventual runoff. Tarmoh traveled to London as a reserve on the US team. She ran the second leg of the women's

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

in the qualifying round. Although she did not compete in the finals, she received a gold medal as the USA set a world record in winning the finals.

Personal Information

Tarmoh has also appeared in an episode of ''California On,'' where she was interviewed by comedian

Kassem G Kassem Gharaibeh (; born October 10, 1983) is an American Internet personality and host of '' Attack of the Show!''. His YouTube channel Kassem G hosts several hundred videos, most notably the ''California On'', ''Going Deep'' and ''Street Music' ...

Personal bests

References

External links

Texas A&M profile
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarmoh, Jeneba 1989 births Living people American female sprinters Texas A&M Aggies women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics American people of Sierra Leonean descent Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from San Jose, California World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Olympic female sprinters 21st-century American sportswomen NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Diamond League winners