LaTasha Colander (born August 23, 1976, in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

) is a retired

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 events ...

sprinter who competed internationally for the United States. In 1994, on athletic scholarship, Colander enrolled at, and later graduated from, the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. In 1994, in the

100 m hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is ...

, Colander was the USA Juniors champion, and placed second in the World Junior Champs. Yet soon, she switched to sprints. In 2000 and 2001, she was the U.S. champion in the 400 m. In April 2000, her team set the women's world record in the 4 × 200 m relay, a record standing over 15 years onward. In the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, Colander won a gold medal in the

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. Upon her teammate

Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...

's 2007 admission of illegal doping, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

stripped the whole team's medals; in 2010, however, by a successful appeal, all team members except Jones had their medals restored. Colander missed the 2001 World Championships because of a

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

injury. In 2003, she switched concentration to the 100 m, and won the 2004 US Olympic Trials in this shorter event. At the 2005 World Championships, she placed fifth in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. In 2000, Colander had established the LC Treasures Within Foundation, its mission to strengthen kids, families, and the world through education, sports, and spirituality. In 2014, Colander was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

Achievements

References

External links

LaTasha Colander
at

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

* * * 1976 births Living people American female hurdlers American female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Portsmouth, Virginia Track and field athletes from Virginia North Carolina Tar Heels women's track and field athletes Woodrow Wilson High School (Portsmouth, Virginia) alumni African-American female track and field athletes Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field World Athletics record holders (relay) USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub