Jessica Beard (born January 8, 1989) is an American sprinter who qualified for the 2009 IAAF World Championships in the

4x400-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 ...

and

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 o ...

. She won the gold medal with the relay team. She also was fifth in the 400 m at the

2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2006 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held from 15 August to 20 August at the Chaoyang Sports Centre in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. ...

and improved to win the silver medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships.

High school and college

In high school, she was a four-year letter winner for the

Euclid High School Euclid High School is a public high school in Euclid, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland in the northeast corner of Cuyahoga County. Originally named Euclid Senior High School, it was constructed in 1949 to replace the Euclid Central High S ...

track and field squad. She was state champion in the 400 meters for four straight years setting a new Ohio state record in 2007. She decided to go to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

on a track scholarship the following year.Jessica Beard Profile
.

. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. As a freshman, she got off to a fast start by placing fourth in the 400 meters at the NCAA Championships. Jessica also became the Big 12 Champion in the 400-meter dash, running her personal best time of 51.09 seconds and she was voted Big 12 freshman of the year.Jessica Beard Biography

USATF 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 a ...

. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. During her second year, she continued her success winning both the indoor and outdoor Big 12 title in the 400 meters and finished second in the 400 m at the NCAA Championships. Jessica set a new school record with a time of 50.56 that year.

Elite competition

Competing at the national level, in her 2009 track season Beard placed third in the 400 m at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

in Eugene, Oregon. That qualified her for the

World Championships 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, ...

taking place in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany later that year. At the championships Beard placed 13th overall in the women's 400 m and took home the gold as part of the 4 × 400 m relay.

References

External links

* * 1989 births Living people American female sprinters People from Euclid, Ohio Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Texas A&M Aggies women's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Ohio World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World record holders in athletics (track and field) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub