Tonique Williams-Darling ( Williams; born January 17, 1976,
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...
) is a
Bahamian sprint athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
. She won the gold medal in the
400 meters
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 ...
at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
College
She attended the
University of South Carolina, graduating with a bachelor's degree from the
Moore School of Business
The Darla Moore School of Business is the official business school of the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1919, the Moore School is located in Columbia, South Carolina and currently enrolls over 5,500 undergraduate and 800 graduate stu ...
in 1999.
Professional
Williams-Darling had a breakout year in 2004. She started with a
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
at the
2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were re ...
in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, running a personal best behind
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's
Natalya Nazarova
Natalya Viktorovna Nazarova (russian: Наталья Викторовна Назарова, born May 26, 1979, Moscow) is a track and field Sprint (running), sprinter.
She was born in Moscow. Following a personal best time of 49.65 seconds ...
and
Olesya Krasnomovets
Olesya Aleksandrovna Forsheva (russian: Олеся Александровна Форшева (Красномовец), née Krasnomovets on 8 July 1979) is a retired Russian sprint runner who specialized in the 400 m and 4×400 m relay. She had ...
. Then in July, at the
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
meeting of the
IAAF Golden League
The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize, ...
, Tonique broke
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
world champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
Ana Guevara
Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (born March 4, 1977) is a Mexican former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and is the 7th fastest female 300-meter runner in the world, running 300 meters in 35.3 seconds on May 3, 2003. She ...
's 23 race winning streak in the 400 meter race.
At the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
Williams-Darling beat Guevara again. In a head-to-head final straight, she proved to be more powerful than the Mexican runner who had been hampered with injuries and trained only on a limited basis prior to the Games. Winning the race, she became the Bahamas' first individual
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
ist.
After the Olympics she secured the win in the overall Golden League-jackpot, cashing in US $500,000 after splitting the US $1M pot with
Christian Olsson.
She also won the gold medal in the 400 meters at
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...
, in a head-to-head race with American 400-meter specialist
Sanya Richards
Sanya Richards-Ross (née Richards; born February 26, 1985) is a retired Jamaican-American track and field athlete, who competed internationally for the United States in the 400-meter sprint. Her notable accolades in this event include being th ...
. At the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
, despite being the favourite, she was beaten unexpectedly both in her semi-final and the final by
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu , MBE (born 17 May 1984) is a British former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres, the event for which she is a former Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion.
The Olympic champion in 2008, and s ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, claiming silver instead.
Williams-Darling took the 2007 season off to nurse a hamstring injury and did not compete during the 2008 season.
In November 2012, she was elected as Public Relations Director of the
Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations
The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Bahamas. Current president is Rosamunde Carey.
She was elected on 28 November 2015 for the period 2015-2018. She becomes the fir ...
(BAAA) for the period 2012-2015.
[
]
In 2015 Williams-Darling served as senior director of event media services for the BTC/IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas.
Personal Life
She graduated from St. John's College, Bahamas. She is married to fellow Bahamian Track and Field athlete
Dennis Darling
Dennis Darling (born 6 May 1975 in Nassau, Bahamas) is a Bahamian athlete who specializes in the 400 metres. He is currently track and field Assistant Coach at Texas Christian University.
Darling competed in 400 metres at the 199 ...
and is the sister-in-law of former NFL wide receiver
Devard Darling
Devard Loran Darling (born April 16, 1982) is a former Bahamian-American wide receiver of American football. After playing college football at Florida State University and Washington State, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third r ...
.
Commemorations
In 2009 Williams-Darling was inducted into the University of South Carolina's Athletic Hall of Fame.
For her achievements to date, the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
Government honoured her by naming a major highway the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.
References
External links
Caribbean Net News- Surprise loss at the Commonwealth Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams-Darling, Tonique
1976 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Nassau, Bahamas
Bahamian female sprinters
South Carolina Gamecocks women's track and field athletes
Olympic athletes of the Bahamas
Olympic gold medalists for the Bahamas
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games
Pan American Games competitors for the Bahamas
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for the Bahamas
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
World Athletics Championships medalists
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
IAAF Golden League winners
World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
World Athletics Championships winners
Olympic female sprinters