| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1979-02-09)February 9, 1979 (age 46) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Brenda Taylor (born February 9, 1979)[1] is an Americantrack and field athlete who specialises in the400 meter hurdles. She reached the final of the event at the2004 Summer Olympics. She also competed at the2001 World Championships in Athletics and won a medal at the2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the4×400-meter relay.
Taylor is aHarvard University medical graduate and won the hurdles at the 2001NCAA Championships representing theHarvard Crimson track team.[2]
Taylor was born inSt. Louis, Missouri and grew up inBoone, North Carolina. She graduated fromWatauga High School in 1997, and then competed collegiately for theHarvard Crimson, studyingpsychology andbiology atHarvard University. She finished seventh in the 400 m hurdles at theNCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2000. Taylor's greatest college achievements came in her final year at Harvard when she ran a personal best of 55.88 seconds to win the NCAA final. She improved her best to 55.46 at a meeting inZagreb and then went on to reach to podium at the 2001USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning thebronze medal. As a result of these achievements, Taylor received the 2000–01Honda Sports Award as the top women's collegiate track athlete.[3][4][5]
Taylor's performance at the national championships gained her selection into the2001 World Championships in Athletics. Taylor finished sixth place in her semi-final. The following year, she was again third place in the 400 m hurdles at the national championships. Taylor began the 2003 season with a fourth-place performance in the400 metres at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships. This earned her a place on the4 × 400-meter relay team at the2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where an American team ofMonique Hennagan,Meghan Addy, Taylor andMary Danner took the bronze medal.[6]
In the outdoor season, Taylor came first at theMt. SAC Relays and again finished third at the Outdoor U.S. Championships. However, she encountered the more illicit side of track and field at the championships as she was offered thebanned substancemodafinil. She claimed that she was "the only person that didn't take it".[7] One of her competitors,Sandra Glover, was among those later banned for taking the drug at the championships.[8] Taylor was chosen to compete at the2003 Pan American Games and she finished fourth behindAndrea Blackett in the400 m hurdles final. Taylor attended track and field meetings in Europe, coming third in Zagreb and taking fourth at theWeltklasse Zurich in a personal record time of 54.92 seconds.[3] She qualified for the2003 IAAF World Athletics Final and finished in fifth place, running 54.93 seconds.[9]
Taylor reached the pinnacle of her athletic career in 2004, beginning with a win at the Mt. SAC Relays in a meet record time,[10] and a personal best beating run of 54.36 seconds for second atGolden Spike Ostrava. At the 2004United States Olympic Trials she improved even further, finishing as runner-up toSheena Johnson with a time of 53.36 seconds.[3] Gaining her first ever berth on the Olympic team, Taylor set her sights on the2004 Athens Olympics. Taylor reached theOlympic hurdles final and took seventh place with a run of 54.97 seconds.[11] She closed the season with a bronze medal at the2004 IAAF World Athletics Final. Her new best time of 53.36 ranked her as the fifth fastest 400 m hurdler of2004.
Taylor has a twin sister, Lindsay Taylor, who competes in thepole vault.[12] Taylor abruptly stopped competing in professional athletics after 2004.[9]
Source[1]
| Event | Time (sec) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 metres hurdles | 53.36 | Sacramento, California, United States | July 11, 2004 |
| 400 metres | 52.56 | San Diego, California, United States | March 22, 2003 |
| 100 metres hurdles | 13.19 | San Diego, California, United States | June 19, 2004 |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 14th (semis) | 400 m hurdles | 56.52 |
| 2002 | NACAC U-25 Championships | San Antonio, Texas, United States | 2nd | 400 m hurdles | 57.65 |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:31.69 |
| Pan American Games | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 4th | 400 m hurdles | 55.27 | |
| World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 5th | 400 m hurdles | 54.93 | |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 7th | 400 m hurdles | 54.97 |
| World Athletics Final | Monte Carlo, Monaco | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 55.00 |
