Tayna Lawrence facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tayna Lawrence

Personal information
Born	17 September 1975 (1975-09-17) (age 49) Spanish Town, Jamaica
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Jamaica Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 4 × 100 m relay Silver 2000 Sydney 4 × 100 m relay Silver 2000 Sydney 100 metres

Tayna Lawrence (born 17 September 1975) is a retired Jamaican Track and field athlete. She was a sprinter, which means she specialized in running short distances very fast. Lawrence is most famous for winning an Olympic gold medal as part of Jamaica's relay team.

She was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and later attended Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

Olympic Career

Tayna Lawrence competed for Jamaica in two Olympic Games. She won a total of three medals, showing her incredible speed and teamwork.

Sydney 2000

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Lawrence had a fantastic performance.

• 100 Metres: She won a silver medal in the 100-metre race. She originally finished in third place. However, the first-place winner was later disqualified for breaking competition rules. This moved Lawrence up to the silver medal position.
• 4 × 100 Metre Relay: She also won a silver medal with her Jamaican teammates in the 4 × 100-metre relay. In this race, four runners each run 100 metres and pass a baton to the next person.

Athens 2004

Four years later, at the 2004 Athens games, Lawrence achieved her biggest goal. She and her teammates won the gold medal in the 4 × 100-metre relay. This made her an Olympic champion.

Overcoming Challenges

Being a top athlete isn't always easy. In 2001, Lawrence had to miss the World Championships because of stress fractures in her leg. A stress fracture is a tiny crack in a bone caused by overuse.

Later, she needed surgery on her leg in 2003. This meant she also had to miss the 2003 World Championships in Paris. Despite these setbacks, she worked hard to recover and returned to win her gold medal in 2004.

Personal Best Times

An athlete's "personal best" is the fastest time they have ever officially recorded in an event. Here are Tayna Lawrence's best times.

Videos

• Flotrack Videos of Tayna Lawrence

References

• Tayna Lawrence at World AthleticsLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

See also

In Spanish: Tayna Lawrence para niños