Ashley Spencer (born June 8, 1993) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who competes in the 400 metres and the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

. 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

Born June 8, 1993 in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Spencer attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, where she ran for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

and won 2

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles. She then attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

, where she ran for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

. Her uncle is

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

, the 1995 Pan American Games silver medalist in the high jump.

International career

At the 2012 World Junior Championships Spencer won gold medals in both the 400 meters and the 4x400 meter relay. At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Spencer finished third in the 400m. This finish assured her selection for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. 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 The 16th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held between March 17 and 20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon, United States. The event did not feature Russia. Following a WADA investigation into widespread and institutional doping practice ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Later that year at the United States Olympic Trials, she finished second behind

Dalilah Muhammad Dalilah Muhammad (born February 7, 1990) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2016 Rio Olympics champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, becoming at the latter the second-fastest ...

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

in 52.64.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Ashley 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