Ashley Spencer (athlete)
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1993 |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 128 lb (58 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 400m hurdles |
Medal record | |
Ashley Spencer (born June 8, 1993) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. In the 400m hurdles, she is the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. In the 400m, she is the 2012 World Junior Champion and the 2016 World Indoor silver medalist. She is coached by 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Tonya Buford-Bailey.
Early life[edit]
Born June 8, 1993, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Spencer attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she ran for the Illinois Fighting Illini and won 2 NCAA titles. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she ran for the Texas Longhorns. Her uncle is Steve Smith, the 1995 Pan American Games silver medalist in the high jump.
International career[edit]
At the 2012 World Junior Championships Spencer won gold medals in both the 400 meters and the 4x400 meter relay.[1]
At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Spencer finished third in the 400m.[2][3] This finish assured her selection for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.[4] At the World Championships she ran 51.48 in the 400m heats to qualify for the semifinals, where she was eliminated running 51.80. She went on to win a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay, along with Jessica Beard, Natasha Hastings and Francena McCorory.
Spencer won a silver medal in the 400m in 51.77 and a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. Later that year at the United States Olympic Trials, she finished second behind Dalilah Muhammad in the 400m hurdles in a personal best of 54.02, to earn selection for the Rio Olympics. She also finished seventh in the 400m final at the trials in 51.09. At the Rio Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles in a personal best time of 53.72 seconds.
In June 2017, Spencer moved into the world all-time top 25 when she improved her 400m hurdles best to 53.11 seconds, finishing fourth at the U.S. Championships, in a race won by Dalilah Muhammad in 52.64.
References[edit]
- ^ Hersh, Philip (July 15, 2012). "Another track gold for Illini's spencer". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Thursday Track - June 20 Results". USA Track & Field. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019.
- ^ "2013 USA Track & Field Championships Results". Retrieved March 6, 2024 – via flipsnack.com.
- ^ "Team USA Named for World Championships in Moscow". USA Track & Field. July 29, 2013. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
External links[edit]
- Ashley Spencer at World Athletics
- Ashley Spencer at legacy.USATF.org (archived)
- Ashley Spencer at Team USA (archived)
- Ashley Spencer at Olympics.com
- Ashley Spencer at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Living people
- 1993 births
- American female sprinters
- World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Illinois Fighting Illini women's track and field athletes
- Track and field athletes from Indianapolis
- Texas Longhorns women's track and field athletes
- World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
- World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
- World Athletics Championships winners
- Track and field athletes from Indiana