Monica Hargrove (born December 30, 1982) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 200- and

400-meter dash The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

. She won the silver medal at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena. The announcement by the IA ...

as part of the

4×400-meter relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team, and also set a world best in the sprint medley relay at the Penn Relays that year.

College career

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, she began her amateur track career at Georgetown University. There she was selected as an All-American in 2002, 2003 and 2004 for her part in Georgetown's sprint medley relay team. She competed for the Georgetown Hoyas in the Big East Conference, forming part of the outdoor champion

4×400 meter relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team in 2002, and winning the indoor 500 meter race in 2003. In 2004 Hargrove suffered a number of injury setbacks and, after graduating with a degree in psychology, she took on a volunteer counselor role at a high school track and field camp.Profile - Monice Hargrove
. Indiana Hoosiers. Retrieved on 2009-09-11. She stated that the presence of performance-enhancing drug use had made a professional track career less appealing to her. However, motivated by the atmosphere in the camp, she return to her track career in mid-2005.

Professional career

The 2006 season represented a breakthrough into the elite level of competition in the United States. She finished fourth in the 400 meters at the US indoor championships and was selected for the US relay team at the

. Running with

Debbie Dunn Debbie Dunn (born 26 March 1978) is an American sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. Originally from Jamaica, she attended Fairmont Heights High School in Maryland, then Norfolk State University, and became an American citizen in 200 ...

Tiffany Williams Tiffany Williams (née Ross; born 5 February 1983 in Miami, Florida) is an American hurdler who is a former US 400m hurdles champion in 2007 and 2008. She had a standout collegiate career at the University of South Carolina, as SEC champion 3 y ...

, and

Mary Danner Mary Wineberg (née Danner, born January 3, 1980) is an American track and field athlete from Cincinnati, Ohio.Pro ...

, she won the silver medal in 3 min 28.63 seconds, her first major medal in international competition. She experienced more team success that year, setting a world best of 3:37.16 in the sprint medley relay at the Penn Relays with Rachelle Boone-Smith, Lauryn Williams, and

Hazel Clark Hazel Mae Clark (born October 3, 1977) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters middle distance race. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, 2004 and 2008. She has won six national titles and two USA Oly ...

. In 2007, she won 400 m at the

Boston Indoor Games The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a n ...

, setting an indoor best of 52.85 seconds. She also had fifth-place finish at the

Reebok Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. First started in 2005 as the Reebok Grand Prix and then Adidas Grand Prix, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix ev ...

in 2007. She competed in Europe in the summer of 2008, taking third at the

DN Galan BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of th ...

, and fourth at the London Grand Prix and DecaNation meetings.Profile Monica Hargrove
The-Sports. Retrieved on 2009-09-12.

2009 season

Hargrove won the 600 meter race at the Millrose Games, narrowly beating

Aliann Pompey Aliann Tabitha Omalara Pompey (born 9 March 1978) is a Guyanese sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. She has represented Guyana at the Summer Olympics on four separate occasions (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012). She has competed at the Worl ...

. Success continued in the relay events, as she set a world leading time in the 4×400-meter relay with

Natasha Hastings Natasha Monique Hastings (born July 23, 1986) is an American 400 meter track and field sprinter. Career Hastings began her track career at a very early age and made a first place win at the USATF Junior Olympics in the 400 metres in the Youth Gi ...

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 me ...

and Sanya Richards at the 2009 Penn Relays. This time was only bettered by the medal winning teams at the World Championships that year. A sixth-place finish at the national track and field championships in June meant that she had not qualified for the US team at the 2009 World Championships. She was a prominent fixture on the European athletics circuit, competing at IAAF Golden League and Super Grand Prix meets. This included a win at the 2009 DecaNation competition, and second-place finish at the Athens Grand Prix, where she set a new 400 m best of 50.39 seconds. Near the end of the 2009 season, Hargrove was among the top twelve 400 m runners (and the fifth fastest American) that year. As one of the top ranked runners on the

IAAF World Athletics Tour The IAAF World Athletics Tour was an annual global circuit of one day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Formed in 2006, it comprised two separate levels of athletics meetings: t ...

, she was entered in the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

.2009 World Athletics Tour Standings

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(2009-09-06). Retrieved on 2009-09-12.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

*
College career stats
from Direct Athletics
Video interview
from Flotrack {{DEFAULTSORT:Hargrove, Monica 1982 births Living people American female sprinters Georgetown Hoyas women's track and field athletes Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Track and field athletes from Connecticut African-American track and field athletes World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen