 Sharika Nelvis Boost Boston Games 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1990-05-10)May 10, 1990 (age 34)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Arkansas State Red Wolves | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | 60 m hurdles 100 m hurdles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Hurdles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University team | Arkansas State University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on March 22, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sharika Renea Nelvis (born May 10, 1990) is an Americanhurdler. In 2014, she wasNCAAindoor andoutdoor sprint hurdles champion. After graduating fromArkansas State University that summer, Nelvis turned professional and topped the indoor world list in 2015. Nelvis represented the United States at the2015 World Championships in Athletics in100 m hurdles and the2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in60 m hurdles. Nelvis won the women's60 metres hurdles with a time of 7.70 at2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and repeated in2019.
Nelvis was born inMemphis, Tennessee on May 10, 1990.[2][3] She had a difficult childhood; both of her parents died before she'd turned eight, and after her grandmother had a stroke Nelvis was taken in by an aunt and separated from three of her four siblings.[4][5]
Nelvis took up track and field insixth grade, competing first in thesprints and then also the hurdles and thelong jump;[5] in addition, she played volleyball, softball and basketball.[4] She became a leading track athlete atNorthside High School, winning four events at the 2009class AAA Tennessee state championship meet.[6]
After graduating from high school, Nelvis briefly attendedSouthwest Mississippi Community College, but found it did not suit her; she left almost immediately and transferred toArkansas State University, having been recruited by its assistant track coach, fellow Memphis native Jason Brooks.[4][5]
Nelvis missed the 2009–10 track and field season due to ineligibility resulting from her transfer, but after that, she developed rapidly under the coaching of Brooks and Arkansas State's head track coach Jim Patchell.[5][7] In 2011, she was named theSun Belt Conference's top freshman both indoors and outdoors.[4] Over the next three years Nelvis won Sun Belt championships in the sprints, hurdles and long jump; she was named the conference's top track and field athlete indoors and outdoors in 2012 and again in 2013.[2][8] She broke 13 seconds in the100 m hurdles for the first time at the 2013NCAA championships, winning her semi-final in 12.84 (+1.3); in the final she ran 12.92 and placed sixth, her first points finish in an NCAA meet.[8]
In 2014, hersenior year, Nelvis developed into America's top collegiate hurdler. She becameNCAA indoor champion in the60 m hurdles (7.93) and outdoor champion in the 100 m hurdles (12.52w), both times defeating a field that includedJasmin Stowers.[8] Nelvis was named Sun Belt Female Athlete of the Year and won theHonda Sports Award for the best collegiate female track and field athlete in the nation;[7][9][10] she was also short-listed for theBowerman, but lost to middle-distance runnerLaura Roesler ofOregon.[11]
Nelvis started competing as a professional in 2015.[12] After losing her first race she remained unbeaten during the 2015 indoor season, winning seven consecutive races; her winning time inMalmö (7.83) was her personal best and the fastest time in the world that winter, one-hundredth of a second ahead of Stowers.[8][12][13]
Outdoors, Nelvis made herDiamond League debut inDoha, placing second to Stowers in a personal best 12.54.[8] She then scored her first Diamond League victory inRome, improving to 12.52 as Stowers,Brianna Rollins andSally Pearson all crashed; the win moved her into an early lead in the 2015Diamond Race.[14][15] Nelvis entered thenational outdoor championships as one of the favorites, and won her heat in a world-leading 12.34 (+1.9); the time moved her up to seventh on the world all-time list and third on the national all-time list.[16][17] She also led the field in the semi-finals (12.37); in the final she only placed third in 12.59, andmade the American team at 2015 US Outdoor Track & Field Championships for theWorld Championships inBeijing by one-hundredth of a second.[18][19]
Nelvis won her first US title in the women's60 metres hurdles with a time of 7.70 at2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships where she set theNACAC &American record and earned a spot onTeam USA at2018 Birmingham World Championships where she placed 4th in 7.86.
