Tiffany Townsend (born 14 June 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 ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

er who competes in the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standard SI prefix for a hundred is " hecto-". 100 is the b ...

and

200-meter dash 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 has personal records of 11.13 and 22.26 seconds for the events, respectively. She won medals for the United States in age category competitions, taking a relay gold at the

2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2008 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz in Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 8 and 13 July 2008. Previously Bydgoszcz hosted ...

, two gold medals at the

2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 6th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in Miramar, Florida, United States, at the Ansin Sports Complex on July 9–11, 2010. A detailed report on the results was given. Medal summary Detailed results can be found on t ...

, and two silver medals at the

2011 Summer Universiade The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, labels=no), also known as the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=, s=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, labels=no) and Shenzhen 2011, was hosted in Shenzhen, Gua ...

. She competed collegiately for

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

and was third in the 200 m at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her highest international ranking for the 200 m is third, achieved in the 2013 season.

Career

Early life and family

Born in

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistica ...

to Tyrone Townsend and Vicki Seymour, she grew up in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Bell County. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is ...

. She has two brothers and is the cousin of Olympic sprinter

Dannette Young Dannette Louise Young-Stone (born October 6, 1964, in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American former track and field athlete. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul as a member of the 4 × 100 metres relay team. Four years later ...

. Townsend began to establish herself as a sprinter at

Killeen High School Killeen High School is a public high school located in Killeen, Texas and classified as a 6A school by the University Interscholastic League. It is one of six high schools in the Killeen Independent School District, which is located in western B ...

with

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

state records of 11.21 seconds for the 100 m and 22.84 seconds for the 200 m in 2007. At the USATF Junior Olympics she was runner-up in the 100 m and winner of the 200 m. She also performed well in her studies, qualifying for a scholarship from the Texas Scholar program.Tiffany Townsend
Baylor Bears. Retrieved on 2015-02-11.

College career

Following her graduation from high school she stayed in-state and enrolled at

to study

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

. In her first indoor season for the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

collegiate team she earned

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 honours for the tenth-place finish in the 200 m at the 2008

NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate indoor track and field competitions for women organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for athletes from institutions that make up its th ...

. She was eighth in that event at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and also won All-American honours for top four placings with both the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay teams. A win in the 200 m at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships brought her selection for the

, where she came fifth in the 200 m final and won a gold medal as part of a 4×100 m relay team led off by

Jeneba Tarmoh Jeneba Sylvia Tarmoh (born September 27, 1989) is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is of Sierra Leonean descent. Prep Tarmoh lives in San Jose, California, where she attended Mt. Pleasa ...

. She ran a 200 m personal record of 22.75 seconds at the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

Outdoor Championships.Tiffany Townsend Progression
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-11. The following year she had top three places in both short sprints at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and ran a school a personal record of 11.13 seconds for the 100 m at the

Texas Relays The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is an annual track and field competition held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The University of Texas serves as host for the event, held on either the last weekend of March or first weekend of April. E ...

. At the 2009 NCAA Outdoor meet she was fifth in the 200 m as well as a top-five placer in both the relays. Her 2010 season was highlighted by four podium finishes at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in the individual sprints and relays, then a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor 200 m. At the

she took two gold medals, winning the 200 m and the 4×100 m relay (again running with Jeneba Tarmoh). In her final year at the university she reached the 200 m podium at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships, running a personal record of 22.58 seconds to take third and end the competition with a career total of 17 All America honours. This time ranked her twelfth in the world that year for the discipline. After the end of the college season she represented the United States at the 2011 Universiade in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and won two silver medals, one in the 200 m and one with the 4×100 m relay team.

Professional career

After graduating from

, she started sprinting professionally and gained a sponsorship deal with

adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. She made her debut on the

2012 IAAF Diamond League The 2012 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2012 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 11 May in Doha, Q ...

circuit at the

Shanghai Golden Grand Prix The Shanghai Diamond League is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China, as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. Fr ...

, taking sixth in the 200 m.200 Metres - women - senior - outdoor - 2012
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-11. She has a season's best in the 100 m in April, running a time of 11.22 seconds. She entered the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, was eliminated in the 200 m semi-finals, her run of 22.96 seconds being her best effort that year. Townsend again failed to gain selection for the senior championships in 2013, as at the

2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champion ...

she was a 100 m semi-finalist and came seventh in the 200 m. The following month, however, she propelled herself towards the top of the international rankings with a 200 m time of 22.26 seconds to narrowly finish behind

Murielle Ahouré Murielle is a feminine given name. People with the name include: * Murielle Ahouré (born 1987), Ivorian sprinter * Murielle Celimene, a representative of Martinique at Miss Earth 2004 * Murielle Magellan (born 1967), French writer and theater dir ...

at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events. Herculis is now part of the Diamond League. Editions World records Over the course of its histo ...

Diamond League meeting. By the end of the season this time had only been bettered by

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (''née'' Fraser; born December 27, 1986) is a Jamaican track and field Sprint (running), sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 60 metres, 100 metres, 100 m and 200 metres, 200 m. She is widely regarded as ...

and Ahouré – the top two finishers in the event at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013; ) was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10 to 18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russia ...

. With no major events to aim for in 2014, she fell back down the rankings – her best of 22.72 seconds being enough for 27th in the world. Townsend ran the 200 meters in 23.16 to place 10th and did not make a final at the

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

. Townsend earned bronze in the 4x200 meters at

2017 IAAF World Relays The 2017 IAAF World Relays was the third edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. It was held April 22–23, 2017, in Nassau, Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a ...

. Townsend earned a lane in the 100 meters and 200 meters respectively ran 11.25 in 22nd place and 23.17 in 17th place at the

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium (Sacramento), Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field ...

Personal records

100-meter dash 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 ...

– 11.13 (2009) *

– 22.26 (2013) *

60-meter dash 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) – 7.23 (2011) *

(indoor) – 22.90 (2011) * 300-meter dash (indoor) – 36.74 (2015)

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Tiffany Living people 1989 births American female sprinters Sportspeople from Killeen, Texas Sportspeople from Lake City, Florida Track and field athletes from Florida Track and field athletes from Texas African-American track and field athletes Baylor Bears women's track and field athletes Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen