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Taylor Ellis-Watson

Taylor Washington
Washington at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Birth nameTaylor Ellis-Watson
Full nameTaylor Washington
National teamUnited States
Born (1993-05-06) May 6, 1993 (age 32)
Philadelphia, Penn U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Weight142[1] lb (64 kg; 10 st 2 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and Field
Event400 meters
College teamArkansas
ClubAdidas
Turned pro2016
Retired2018
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4 × 400 m relay

Taylor Washington[2][3] (née Ellis-Watson) is an American track and field athlete. She was a member of the winning relay team for the United States Olympic team in the women's 4 × 400 meter relay for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Early life

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Taylor Ellis-Watson was born on May 6, 1993, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] Ellis-Watson began running at age 12, and she excelled in track as a high school student.[4][5] In 2011, she graduated from Springside School, which has since been renamed Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.[5]

Track and field Athletic Career

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Ellis-Watson first attended college at the University of Pittsburgh where she was named All-Big East Conference in track.[5] After two years, she transferred from Pittsburgh to the University of Arkansas seeking the increased competition that comes at an SEC track school.[4][5] In November 2013 and December 2014, Ellis-Watson had surgery on her left foot to repair a stress fracture. Ellis-Watson was an 11-time All-American at Arkansas and was part of the school's 2015 indoor track and 2016 outdoor track national championship teams.[4] Although she graduated from college 2015, Ellis-Watson began working towards her post-graduate degree in counseling and continuing to compete in the NCAA through 2016.[5]

At the 2016 Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, Ellis-Watson finished fourth in the 400 meters with a personal best time of 50.25.[4][5] She missed qualifying for the individual 400 meter .08 of a second. The result was still good enough to earn Ellis-Watson a spot on the U.S. 4 × 400 women's relay team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[4] At the Olympics, Ellis-Watson ran the second leg of the preliminary round of the 4 × 400 relay with a split of 50.81 seconds.[6] Although Ellis-Watson did not race in the finals, she won gold for being part of the winning relay team.[6]

Former Arkansas women's track and field team captain Taylor Washington (née: Ellis-Watson) was honored at the 2017 NCAA Convention which was held January 18–21, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.[7]

Taylor Washington placed 17th in 400 meters in 52.47 at 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[8]

Personal life

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As of 2016, Ellis-Watson is engaged to be married to fellow track athlete Wesley Washington.[5][9] The pair met while Ellis-Watson was a student at the University of Pittsburgh.[5]

Professional Career

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Team USA Track and Field Coaching

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Coach Taylor Washington, Darryl Woodson, Jeremy Wariner and Kyra Jefferson teamed to coach Team USA at 2025 World Athletics Relays where 4 of the 5 relays qualified for the 2025 World Athletics Championships.[10][11][12]

NCAA Coaching and Program Management

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In 2024, coach Taylor Washington returned to University of Arkansas to assist the Razorbacks.[13]

In July of 2019, Taylor Washington joined the University of Central Florida athletic staff as coordinator of executive operations.[14]

High School Coaching and Program Management

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In July 2017, Coach Taylor Washington developed many state qualifiers for cross country and track & field at Windermere High School and Montverde Academy in Florida.[15]

Ernst & Young

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In 2021, Washington specialized in program management, organizational change management, and training as a People Advisory Services Consultant at Ernst & Young.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Taylor Ellis-Watson". Team USA. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  2. ^ U.S. Track Athletes Win 3 Events On First Day Of Boost Boston Games Team USA KAREN PRICE JUNE 02, 2017, 11:07 P.M. (ET)
  3. ^ Adidas Boost Boston (June 2 & 4) - Track & Field News Track and Field News Jun 3, 2017
  4. ^ a b c d e Holt, Bob (2016-08-06). "Ellis-Watson wants to show she belongs in final". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Utescher, Tom (2016-07-05). "Former Springside sprinter bound for Rio". Chestnut Hill Local Philadelphia PA. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  6. ^ a b Joy, Ekema-Agbaw (2016-08-20). "One Team One Dream". Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  7. ^ Ellis-Watson To Be Honored At 2017 NCAA ConventionArkansas Razorbacks track and field December 2, 2016
  8. ^ 2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Results USATF.org
  9. ^ "Team USA Runner Ready for Competition". 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  10. ^ OLYMPIC MEDALISTS SET TO LEAD TEAM USATF AT WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS GUANGZHOU 25 USA Track & Field APRIL 23, 2025
  11. ^ MIXED 4X400 GOLD TOPS TEAM USATF PERFORMANCES AT WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS USA Track & Field MAY 11, 2025
  12. ^ First 40 relay teams qualified for WCH Tokyo 25 World Athletics MAY 10, 2025
  13. ^ Taylor Washington Bio 2024 Arkansas Razorbacks
  14. ^ Taylor Washington Returns To UA As Director Of Operations Arkansas Razorbacks February 21, 2024
  15. ^ 2018 Track and Field stats Windermere High School athletic.net
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