Tanya-Gee Blake (born 16 January 1971) is a Maltese-English retired middle-distance runner, who specialized in the

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 ...

and competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Biography

Born in England to a Maltese mother and American father, Blake held dual citizenship to compete internationally and represented Malta. Blake finished second behind

Diane Modahl Diane Dolores Modahl (née Edwards, born 17 June 1966) is an English former middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 metres. She won a gold medal in the 800 m at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, silver at the 1986 Commonwealth Games ...

in the 800 metres event at the

1998 AAA Championships The 1998 AAA Championships sponsored by Bupa, was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 24 to 26 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. The event served as the de facto na ...

. Blake recorded two more second place finishes behind

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...

at the

1999 AAA Championships The 1999 AAA Championships sponsored by CGU, was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 23 to 25 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. It was considered the de facto nat ...

and

2001 AAA Championships The 2001 AAA Championships sponsored by Norwich Union, was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 13–15 July at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England. It was considered the de fa ...

. Blake set a historic milestone as the first Maltese athlete to break a two-minute barrier and a national record in the 800 metres at the 2003

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

Grand Prix 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, ...

, United States, by registering her career best and an A-standard entry time of 1:59.56 it guaranteed her a spot on her adopted nation's team for the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In the women's 800 metres at the Olympics, unable to repeat her form from the Grand Prix a year earlier, Blake posted outside her national record of 2:19.34 and failed to advance further into the semifinals, as she was the last runner to cross the finish line in heat six. During her athletic career, Blake trained for the Zurrieq Wolves track and field team.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Tanya 1971 births Living people Athletes from London Maltese female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Malta English female middle-distance runners British female middle-distance runners English people of Maltese descent English people of American descent Naturalised citizens of Malta Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Malta Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Malta 21st-century English sportswomen 20th-century English sportswomen