Torri Edwards

Torri Edwards (born January 31, 1977)[1] is an American sprinter. She competes in 100 and 200 meters, winning an Olympic medal in 4×100-meter relay in 2000. In 2003, she won six medals in major international competitions, including one World Championship gold. Edwards competed in the 100 m at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Torri Edwards
Personal information
NationalityUnited States
Born (1977-01-31) January 31, 1977
Fontana, California
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)100 meters, 200 meters,
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m: 10.78 s 200 m: 22.18 s
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 4x100 m relay
World Championships
2003 Paris100 m
2007 Osaka4x100 m relay
2003 Paris200 m
2003 Paris4x100 m relay
World Indoor Championships
2003 Birmingham 60 metres
World Athletics Final
2003 Monaco100 metres
2003 Monaco200 metres

Early career

Edwards states that she began sprinting when she joined her school team in junior high .[1] Edwards was an average sprinter when she attended Pomona High School, with her best state meet finish ever coming her senior year when she was fourth in the 200m. Edwards would then attend the University of Southern California.[2]

That track season, she won the Pac-10 titles in both the 100 m and 200 m for USC.[1] She states:

Not until I got to college did I realize that I could be good,...Winning the Pac-10 titles gave me a big boost in confidence, and I found myself setting higher and higher goals.[1]

Doping ban

She was banned for two years effective from July 18, 2004, missing the 2004 Summer Olympics. In August 2004, Edwards appealed the ban, and an arbitration panel acknowledged that Edwards "conducted herself with honesty, integrity and character ... she has not sought to gain any improper advantage or to 'cheat' in any way."[3] In November 2005, her two-year ban was shortened to 15 months when the World Anti-Doping Agency downgraded nikethamide infractions to maximum one-year suspensions.[1] The drug had come from pills she had taken at a meet in Martinique to combat a minor illness. Though arbitrators decided Edwards had taken the drug inadvertently, saying in their ruling that she had conducted herself with "honesty, integrity and character," they did not overturn the suspension, because the glucose tablets given to her by her doctor contained a warning for athletes advising that the pills could cause a positive doping test.[1] Therefore, Edwards did not take performance enhancement drugs to improve her performance.[1][4]

However, since Edwards was a teammate of Marion Jones in the 2000 Olympic 4×100 meters relay, she was stripped of her medal following Jones's admission to using steroids during the games, though she and 6 other members of the 2000 team would successfully appeal this decision in July 2010.[5]

Personal bests

2008 Olympics

At the 2008 Olympic finals for the women's 100 meters, Edwards stated that she thought she had false started and apparently hesitated, believing that the officials were going to call a false start.

Edwards eventually finished eighth place with a time of 11.20, an under-par performance for the American sprinter, who has a best time of 10.78. Edwards states:

I thought I moved before the gun,...I kind of hesitated because I expected to hear a second gun. It threw me off a lot. It's pretty tough.

However, Edwards actually had a reaction time of 0.179 seconds, which was not the fastest or the slowest of the eight runners.[6] It is possible, therefore, that Edwards had not applied enough pressure on the blocks to trigger a false start warning, however she twitched her upper body, but possibly left her feet solid."[7]

Another disappointment came in the 4×100 m relay when the American team dropped the baton in the semi-final due to a misunderstanding between Edwards, on the top bend, and Lauryn Williams on the anchor leg. Williams picked up the baton to finish the race in last place, but the USA was disqualified because she had had to run out of her lane in order to retrieve the baton.

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2000 Summer Olympics Sydney, Australia 3rd 4×100 m relay DQ - doping by Marion Jones
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 2nd 60 m
World Championships Paris, France 1st 100 m 10.93 PB
2nd 200 m
2nd 4×100 m relay
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 3rd 100 m
3rd 200 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 8th 100 m

Coaching career

Torri Edwards was named head track coach at Kentucky State University in August 2015.

She worked 2 seasons with the UK track and field programs.

Coach Edwards served as an assistant coach in the Riverside Community College track and field program. While serving as an assistant at RCC, Edwards helped the men's track and field team capture conference and state titles in 2012 and 2013.

Edwards most recently worked as a volunteer assistant at Cal Poly Pomona the past two years. She helped Angela Garcia reach the NCAA Division II National Championships in just her first collegiate season of track and field. Garcia also earned All-West Region honors for her work in the 100- and 200-meter events.

See also

References
  1. MSN (2008). "Athletes > Torri Edwards> Bio". NBC Beijing Olympics 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  2. USC OLYMPIANS: 1904-2008, USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 26, 2008.
  4. USADA Sanctions. USADA. Retrieved on 2015-01-23.
  5. "US relay runners win Olympic medals appeal". ESPN. Associated Press. April 10, 2008.
  6. 100 Metres - Women's Final. IAAF. 17 August 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2008
  7. When is a false start not a false start?. Reuters India. August 18, 2008. Retrieved August 24. 2008
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