USA Track & Field announces Youth Olympic Team

USA Track & Field announces Youth Olympic Team

6/20/2014

INDIANAPOLIS -- USA Track & Field named 17 athletes and two coaches to the 2014 U.S. Youth Olympic Team, pending approval from the United States Olympic Committee. The track and field competition at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games – which will take place Aug. 16-28 – will feature 16- and 17-year-old athletes.

U.S. nominations were allocated specifically to U.S. athletes placing highest in their events after the conclusion of three Americas Team Area Youth Olympic Trials - Track & Field events.

“We are proud to recognize the talented, young athletes, who will represent the United States on one of the grandest stages of international sport” said Max Siegel, CEO of USATF. “Not only will they showcase their abilities against the world’s best, but they will also gain a very meaningful cultural experience through the values of Olympism.”

Highlighting the selected athletes are Noah Lyles in the men’s 200 meters and Haley Showalter in women’s discus.

Lyles (Alexandria, Virginia) ran one of the most exciting races at U.S. Area Youth Olympic Trials - Track & Field in Miramar, Florida, where he won the 200m in a wind-legal 20.89 (+1.3). Lyles was the day’s only athlete to run a sub-21 in both the prelim (20.95 [+2.3]) and the final April 5. He returns to the international scene after last year competing for Team USA at the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Also at the U.S. trials event, Showalter, a 16-year-old thrower, won gold in the women’s discus with her toss of 46.77m/153-5. Her throw marked a personal best by more than a foot as she defeated the next closest competitor (44.66m/146-6) by more than six feet. Showalter also dominated women’s hammer throw, claiming gold by more than 17 feet with a throw of 63.29m/209-08.

Only one athlete per country earns a place in any single track & field event, and any athlete making the team may only compete in one individual event at the Youth Olympic Games in addition to a possible appearance on the 8x100m mixed relay team, during which time athletes will compete with other members of their continental associations.

The full roster is below.

Last Name First Name DOB Event Hometown
Lattin Amere 12-Jul-97 Men's 110m Hurdles Houston, Texas
Okoronkwo Chinne 26-Sep-97 Women's Triple Jump Lynnwood, Washington
Johnson Brandee 3-Apr-98 Women's 200m Suffolk, Virigina
Foster Rhesa 25-May-98 Women's Long Jump Fresno, California
Moffitt Janae 9-Jan-97 Women's High Jump Converse, Indiana
Fitzgerald Emma 1-Jul-97 Women's Javelin Throw Wayland, Mass.
Ellis Brittny 1-Sep-97 Women's 400m Gurnee, Illinois
Lyles Noah 18-Jul-97 Men's 200m Alexandria, Virigina
Merkley Tyler 17-Apr-97 Men's Discus Throw Rancho Cucamonga, California
Showalter Haley 3-Jun-97 Women's Discus Throw Highlands Ranch, Colorado
James Andrew 12-Jan-97 Men's 400m Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Marshall Myles 8-Dec-97 Men's 800m Kingwood, Texas
Brinson Kenneth 9-Apr-97 Men's Hammer Throw Atlanta, Georgia
O'Connor Janie 15-Apr-98 Women's 100m Watchung, New Jersey
Rasul Amir 10-Jun-98 Men's 100m Miami, Florida
Fisher Grant 22-Apr-97 Men's 1500m Grand Blanc, Michigan
Kimani Rushing 21-May-98 Women's 100m Hurdles Hallandale, Florida
Head Coach- Ron Williams
Assistant Coach- Norine Richardson

Athletes at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games will compete in 28 sports while also taking part in a Culture and Education program. At the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, the U.S. collected eight medals in track and field: three gold, two silver and three bronze.

Click here for more information on the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.


Christa Mann
Marketing & Communications Manager
USA Track & Field
317.713.4672