Ariana Washington (born August 27, 1996) is an American sprinter specializing in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 m 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 ...

. She represented the United States in the relay at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and earned a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships as part of the relay team.

Early life

Ariana Washington was born August 27, 1996 in

Signal Hill, California Signal Hill is a city in area in Los Angeles County, California. Located high on a hill, the city is an enclave completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach. Signal Hill was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil wa ...

. Washington attended

Long Beach Poly High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

where she participated in track and field. As a sophomore, her team the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits won the Penn Relays. Washington won state titles at 100 and 200 meters for her sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school.

Collegiate athlete

In her first year at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, Washington won

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 for 100 meters and 200 meters. She was the first freshman to win both titles.

Olympian

Washington raced in both the 100 and the 200 meter distances at the

U.S. Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...

for the

, finishing six and fifth respectively. Although she did not qualify as an individual at either distance, she was selected for the United States relay pool in the relay. The community of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

raised money to allow Washington's mother and brother to watch her compete in Rio de Janeiro.

Personal life

Washington met fellow Olympian

Clayton Murphy Clayton Murphy (born February 26, 1995) is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiat ...

over a game of Uno at the USA Track and Field Athletes Lounge in the Olympic Village at the

in Rio. They got engaged in 2018, and were married in the Napa Valley on December 7, 2019.

References

External links

* * * * *
Ariana Washington
at

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Ariana Living people 1996 births American female sprinters African-American female track and field athletes Track and field athletes from California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Oregon Ducks women's track and field athletes People from Signal Hill, California World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni