Akala Garrett (born May 10, 2005) is an American track and field athlete. She won gold medals at the 2022 World Junior Championships in the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 10, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Hurdling, Sprinting | |||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best | 400 mH: 56.16 (Cali 2022) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
editGarrett attended Harding University High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is coached by her mother, former track athlete LaSonja Collins.[1]
Career
editGarrett was the Gatorade's North Carolina Girls Track & Field Player of the Year in 2021,[2] and 2022.[3] She won the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles at the 2022 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, running 10.91 for the 100 m hurdles and 57.47 for the 400 m hurdles. She had won the 400 m hurdles the year previously also.[4]
She won the 2022 World Junior Championships in the 400 m hurdles and dedicated the win to her former high school principal, Eric Ward.[5] Her time of 56.16 was a world leading U20 time.[6] She finished half a second ahead of nearest rival, Hanna Karlsson of Sweden.[7] She doubled up and also won gold in the 4x400 m relay at the event in Cali, Colombia.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Harding High sophomore hurdler Akala Garrett is in a class by herself". Thecharlottepost.com.
- ^ "Akala Garrett growing into Harding University High School star". bvmsports.com. July 20, 2021.
- ^ "Harding's Akala Garrett repeats as Gatorade NC Player of the Year in girls track". Highschoolot.com.
- ^ "So focused': Charlotte high school athlete to compete on world stage". News.yahoo.com.
- ^ "AKALA GARRETT HONORS LATE UNCLE WITH 400-METER HURDLES TITLE AT WORLD ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS". Runnerspace.com.
- ^ "Yemi Mary John storms to world junior 400m gold". Athletics Weekly. August 5, 2022.
- ^ "5 best USA athletes at World Athletics U20 Championships 2022 so far". Sportskeeda.com. August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Charlotte high school track star adds 'world champion' to long list of accolades". WBTV.com.