Talitha LaNae Clark Diggs (born August 22, 2002) is an American track and field athlete, world champion, and professional Adidas athlete. She has established herself as one of the premier 400-meter runners of her generation. While at the University of Florida, Talitha won multiple NCAA championships, including the 2022 NCAA Outdoor and Indoor 400 m titles. She is also the American indoor record holder in the 400 m event. She is also a USA Champion, World Champion, multi-time SEC Champion, and two-time NCAA Academic Athlete of the Year. These achievements solidify her legacy as one of the most dynamic and well-rounded athletes in collegiate track and field history. Talitha's success reflects her storied lineage: she is the daughter of four-time Olympian Joetta Clark and the granddaughter of the late Dr. Joe L. Clark, the renowned educator who inspired the movie ''Lean on Me.'' Her family legacy includes aunts Hazel Clark, a three-time Olympian, and Jean Miles-Clark, a five-time Olympian, as well as her uncle JJ Clark, a celebrated coach who served as head coach of Team USA at the 2004 Olympic Games. While at the University of Florida, Talitha's extraordinary talent and dedication helped the Gators win multiple team championships. Her collegiate career was marked by dominance in both individual events and relays, earning her numerous All-American honors and making her a key figure in the highly competitive SEC, where she claimed multiple titles across various events. Talitha’s academic excellence matched her athletic success, as she was honored multiple times as SEC Academic Athlete of the Year and NCAA Academic Athlete of the Year. In December 2024, Talitha graduated summa cum laude with dual degrees in International Studies and Political Science, a minor in Asian Studies, and proficiency in Spanish and Mandarin. An avid reader and passionate learner, she enjoys exploring topics that broaden her global perspective. Beyond the track and classroom, Talitha serves as an ambassador for various brands, using her platform to inspire young people to pursue their dreams in sports and academics. With aspirations to make a significant impact in the sports industry on a national and global scale, Talitha continues to honor her family’s legacy while blazing her own trail of excellence.

Career

Diggs won the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

race at the

2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held in Eugene, Oregon organized by USA Track and Field. It was serving as the national championships in track and field for the United States. The results of the event determined qualificati ...

to qualify for the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. Prior to this, she won the 2022 NCAA Outdoor championship and NCAA indoor championship representing the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. She was the second woman in NCAA history to win the USA championships, and NCAA outdoor and indoor championships in the same season. She was the fifth- fastest collegiate 400m runner in history at the time having run 49.99 to win the NCAA Outdoor Championships. On February 25 at the SEC Indoor Championships in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, Diggs broke the North American and NCAA indoor 400 m records with a time of 50.15 seconds, putting her joint eighth on the respective world all-time list. Previous NCAA record of 50.33 s was set just 90 minutes earlier by

Rhasidat Adeleke Rhasidat Adeleke ( , ; born 29 August 2002) is an Irish sprinter. She was the silver medalist in the 400 m at the 2024 European Championships. Adeleke was the first Irish woman to break the 50-second barrier in the 400 metres. She holds seve ...

. Competing at the

2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from July 6–9, 2023. They served as USA Track & Field's (USATF) national championships in track and field for the United States. The results of the ...

, in Eugene, Oregon, she finished third in the final of the 400 m. She was selected for the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in August 2023. Selected for the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, she qualified for the final of the women's 400 meters where she finished in fifth place. She was part of the

4 × 400 m 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

relay team which won the silver medal in Glasgow. She was runner-up over 400 metres at the 2024 Diamond League Shanghai on 27 April 2024.

Personal life

Her mother Joetta Clark Diggs also represented her country at

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

in major championships between 1988 and 2002, including four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. She is the niece of both

Hazel Clark Hazel Mae Clark (born October 3, 1977) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters middle distance race. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, 2004 and 2008. She has won six national titles and two USA O ...

and two-time Olympic 4 × 400 m champion and American

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

record holder

Jearl Miles Clark Jearl Atawa Miles Clark (née Miles; born September 4, 1966, in Gainesville, Florida) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 and 800 meters. She held the American record in the women's 800 m at 1:56.40. She competed for th ...

Achievements

Circuit performances

National and NCAA titles

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

** 400 meters:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships are the annual collegiate track and field competitions for women athletes representing Division I institutions organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). I ...

** 400 meters:

NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

** 400 meters:

Personal bests

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

indoor – 7.15 (

Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

2023) *

100 meters 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 ...

– 11.27 (+1.8 m/s,

Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

2022) *

200 meters 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 ...

– 22.64 (+0.2 m/s,

Oxford, MS Oxford is the 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis. A college town, Oxford surrounds the University of Mississippi or "Ole Miss". Founded in 1837, the city is nam ...

2022) ** 200 meters indoor – 22.61 (

2023) *

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

– 49.93 (

Eugene, OR Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. The se ...

2023) ** 400 meters indoor – 50.15 (

2023) North American record, =8th all time

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diggs, Talitha 2002 births Living people American female sprinters African-American track and field athletes 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American sportswomen Florida Gators women's track and field athletes Saucon Valley High School alumni Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners American people of Liberian descent NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners