Trinidadian sprinter and artist
Magnolia Howell (born 1993) is a former professional track and field sprinter and current writer and fine artist. Representing Trinidad and Tobago, she won the gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships.
Biography
Born in Sacramento, California but raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Howell started running at eight years old.[1][8] She moved to Omaha, Nebraska and attended Westside High School, where she was a state champion in both the 100 m and 200 m.[1][9]
In college she competed for the Long Beach State 49ers track and field team, setting a school record in the 4 × 100 metres while studying print journalism.[2] After graduating, she began to focus more exclusively on running.
At the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Howell competed in the 4 × 100 m, 4 × 400 m, and individual 200 m for Trinidad and Tobago. In the 200 m, Howell did not qualify for the finals, but she won the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay leading off for teammates Michelle-Lee Ahye, Ayanna Hutchinson, and Semoy Hackett. Howell was the only athlete from that team to also compete in the 4 × 400 m finals, where her team won the bronze medal.[10][11]
At the 2012 NAAATT Trinidadian Olympic trials, Howell finished 6th in the 100 metres, narrowly missing an Olympic berth.[3]
In 2014, Howell began to train at Drake Stadium under famed athletics and former Nike coach Bobby Kersee.[5] Following her professional rise, she competed in the 2014 and 2015 IAAF World Relays, both times representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 4 × 400 m. At both championships, Howell's team finished 4th in the 'B' finals, posting an overall best mark of 3:33.21 at the 2014 edition.[12]
Howell competed at the 2016 NAAATT Trials in the 400 m, but did not qualify for the 'A' final and missed out on another Olympic team spot.[3] Following this setback, Howell took a year off from the sport and started an art company, Art On The Run,[13] before moving to Austin, Texas to be coached by Darryl Woodson in preparation for the 2020 Olympic cycle.[1][14] She stated that one of her goals was to break Janeil Bellille's Trinidadian record in the 400 m of 51.83 seconds.[14]
After the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 postponed the Olympics back one year, Howell retired from the sport and focused exclusively on writing and art.[1] As an artist under the pen name Magnolia Lafleur, she has shown her work in Los Angeles-area galleries and has sold to international clients.[6][15] As a journalist, she is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and has worked for the Press-Telegram, the Grunion Gazette, the Long Beach Post,[16] the Palisadian-Post,[17] and the Orange County Register.[18]
Statistics
Personal bests
References
External links
