Tasha De'Anka Danvers (born 19 September 1977) is a British

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 bet ...

bronze medallist, who finished in third place in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. She was born in London to two athletes, Dorrett McKoy and Donald Danvers, who both moved to the United Kingdom from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

as children.

Athletics career

Danvers became the British 400 metres hurdles champion after winning the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1998 AAA Championships. In 1999, she represented Great Britain at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, between the Augus ...

with a time of 56.66 seconds in the heats. This failed to see her qualify through the rounds; however it gave her vital experience, which she took on to the following year at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. At the age of 23, Danvers made the final of her first Olympic games, finishing in 8th place, after going out too hard. The following year, she won the

400 m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, onc ...

at the

2001 Summer Universiade The 2001 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXI Summer Universiade, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, between 22 August and 1 September. Beijing also hosted the 1990 Asian Games. A total of 6,757 athle ...

. After regaining the AAA title at the 2002 AAA Championships she attended her first

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. She finished 7th in the final, behind the winner

Jana Pittman Jana Pittman (born 9 November 1982) is an Australian former athlete. During her athletic career Pittman specialised in the 400 metres run and 400-metre hurdles events. She is a two-time world champion in the 400 m hurdles, from 2003 and 2007. ...

of Australia. An athlete she would meet in the future,

Melaine Walker Melaine Walker (born 1 March 1983) is a Jamaican 400 metres hurdler. She was born in Kingston. Walker is the former Olympic 400 m hurdles champion.Lewis, Richard (2009-08-20)For Walker, World record assault next item on the agenda?". ''IAAF' ...

, finished in 4th place. That same year, she also finished 7th in the

2002 European Athletics Championships The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany. Men's results Track 1994 , 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 1 Dwain Chambers originally won the 100 m in 9.96 and was pa ...

. In 2003, she married her Coach, Darrell Smith, the nephew of sprint coach John Smith. From that season, she was styled as Tasha Danvers-Smith. Danvers reverted to her maiden name in 2008; the couple divorced the following year. Danvers-Smith missed her second Olympics, as she had taken time out for child-birth. This was criticised by many, including the British Olympic Medalist

Alan Pascoe Alan Peter Pascoe (born 11 October 1947) is a British former athlete who gained success in hurdles and competed at three Olympic Games. After his athletics career, he has been successful in events marketing and consulting. Early life and educ ...

, who called her "stupid", as most people thought she would never make a return to competitive athletics. She returned in 2006 to take a silver medal in the

, behind Pittman, as well as a seventh place in the final of the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. At the end of this year, she reached a career high of 6th in the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

rankings. While competing for the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), Danvers won several Pac-10 conference titles and competed in several events including the high jump and the 100 m hurdles. Tasha won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

title in 2000 her second year as captain of the

Women of Troy ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' presents commen ...

. She holds the USC school record in the 400 hurdles and on the

4x400 metres relay A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is 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 provi ...

while also showing up in the top 10 in the

100 metres 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 ...

and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. After the Sydney Olympics, she returned to Los Angeles to finish her degree in Music Business and joined the famed training group

HSI HSI may refer to: Government and politics * Croatian Syrmian Initiative, a political party in Serbia () * Hispanic-serving institution, an American college designation * Homeland Security Investigations, an American law enforcement agency * Human ...

. In February 2007, Danvers was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame. Returning to the world scene in 2006, Danvers won her first global medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, a silver and wo her third AAA title at the 2006 AAA Championships. She ended the summer as the sixth ranked hurdler in the world, setting the stage for her 2007 and 2008 seasons, and reclaiming her position as Britain's number one 400 m hurdler. In 2007 Danvers made her first World Championship final, in a near personal best, 54.08 s. She drew lane 2 in the final and took 8th, but finished the season with a strong run of races following Osaka, finishing the season ranked number 10 by Track and Field News. She remained the British number one for the 2nd consecutive year. Danvers-Smith also won a fourth and last British title at the 2007 British Athletics Championships. In 2008, Danvers' athletics season started badly. She had

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

problems, and tore her

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

on her first training session back from the Achilles tendon injury. At that year's British championships she recorded a disappointing time of 57.00 s, finishing in 2nd place far below her personal best. The race was won by the young athlete

Perri Shakes Drayton Peirresha Alexandra Shakes-Drayton (born 21 December 1988) is a British retired track and field athlete. After specialising in the 400 metres hurdles in the early part of her career, a knee injury at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2 ...

. When the Olympic team was announced the following week, many criticised the selection of Danvers, as Shakes Drayton was an improving athlete, and Danvers, in many people's opinions, had reached her peak. However, Danvers attended the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, winning her heat, and finishing 2nd in her semi-final, being the 4th fastest qualifier for the

final. Danvers was in lane 7, one inside of ones of the favourites Tiffany Ross Williams. On entering the final straight, Danvers found herself in 3rd place. A part of the race that had been disastrous for her in the past, seemed to be in her favour, as she stormed down the straight closing down on the athlete ahead of her. She won a bronze medal in the final, with a personal best of 53.84s, behind Melaine Walker of Jamaica and Sheena Tosta of the United States. Danvers missed the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

due to injury. In 2010, she was inducted into the

London Youth Games Hall of Fame The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games Hall of Fame was created in 2009 to recognise former London Youth Games competitors who have gone on to world class sporting careers and to celebrate the role the Games have had in their development. Since it ...

. In June 2012, Danvers retired because of a series of injury problems.

Other

Danvers is a keen artist an
member of Art of the Olympians (AOTO)
She started singing from an early age, and currently paints canvases. Her work is on sale at She is also a public speaker, coach and personal trainer, as well as becoming a prominent fitness model. As a youngster she competed for

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

in the

London Youth Games The London Youth Games is an annual multi-sport event held in London, England. The London Youth Games offer competitive opportunities for young people aged 7 to 18 (who live or go to school in London) across approximately 30 sports every year. ...

.http://www.londonyouthgames.org/page.asp?section=23§ionTitle=Hall+of+Fame Hall of Fame retrieved 19 February 2013 She has also been on The BBC's ''A Question of Sport''. In June 2015 Danvers appeared as a contestant on American TV show Bullseye. She reached the final stage, but failed to win when she rolled her buggy.

Performance at Major Games

*Danvers only competed in the final, and did not run a leg in the heat.

Personal Bests

;Best Marks :300 m, 37.80 (2000) :400 m, 52.89 (2008) :100 m hurdles, 12.96 (2003) :400 m hurdles, 53.84 (2008) :High jump, 1.82 m 1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danvers, Tasha 1977 births Living people Athletes from the London Borough of Lambeth British female hurdlers English female hurdlers British female high jumpers Olympic female hurdlers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games FISU World University Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade British Athletics Championships winners AAA Championships winners Black British sportswomen English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USC Trojans women's track and field athletes English female high jumpers People from Lambeth 21st-century English sportswomen 20th-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics