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Bio | Best Moment
| Action Shot
| Brenda Taylor |
2003 World Indoor 4x400 Bronze Medalist |
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© 2002, Tony Duffy |
| school/year |
Harvard/2001 |
| birth date |
February 9 |
| height |
5ft 8.5in |
| weight |
140 |
| hometown |
Boone, NC |
| major |
Cognitive Neuroscience |
| sport |
Athletics-400mH |
| training town |
San Diego, CA |
| coach |
Rahn Sheffield |
| personal best |
54.92 |
| ranking |
#7 in the world |
| outstanding achievement |
World Indoor Bronze Medalist, 4x400, 2003; US Outdoor 400mH Bronze Medalist, 2001, 2002 |
| career goals |
Medical degree and work in public policy |
Over the past two years, Brenda Taylor has hurdled to a place in among the world's elite runners. A success on and off the track, in 2001 Taylor was a World Championships semi-finalist and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard.
Though she did not begin running seriously until high school, Taylor excelled in sports from an early age. She competed in gymnastics, volleyball and swimming; but by high school, running took priority. Her introduction to hurdling came the summer before ninth grade when she went to a hurdling lesson with her twin sister. Taylor turned out to be a natural hurdler and just months later, won a state Junior Olympics title. She had a stellar high school career, winning three state championships in the 300m and 400mH, and earning All American honors three times.
At Harvard, Taylor excelled on and off the track. She won three ECAC titles, 23 heptagonal titles, and set Harvard records in nine different events. In her junior year she competed in the 400mH Olympic Trials, finishing 11th. The following year, Taylor was the Penn Relays and NCAA champion, and competed at the World University Championships. She capped off her collegiate career by receiving the Honda Cup as the top female collegiate track & field athlete. She also was on top academically, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in the honors psychology & biology program with a focus in cognitive neuroscience.
After graduation, Taylor moved cross-country to train in California. She finished third at the US Nationals, earning herself a trip to the 2001 World Championships, where she made the semi-finals. Taylor repeated her bronze medal-winning performance at the 2002 US Nationals. 2003 was a breakthrough season for Taylor including an indoor World Championships bronze medal and a 7th place world ranking in the 400 hurdles. Having recently signed with Nike, she is training six days a week to work on her hurdling technique and conditioning for the next competitive season.
Funding from DHAC/ The U.S. Athletic Trust will help Taylor to pay for the costs of this intensive training which she hopes will eventually lead to a spot on the 2004 Olympic team. In the future, she hopes to return to academia, attending medical school with a focus on public health policy.
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© 2002, Tony Duffy |
Recent Results
2004
4/11 Rafer Johnson Inv. 55.05
2003
World Indoor - Bronze
USA Champs - 4th
Zurich Golden League- 4th
World Final - 5th
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Future Plans
2004
Olympic Trials
Olympic Games
Olympic Medal
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