Tyra Gittens

Tyra Gittens
Personal information
Birth nameTyra Gittens
Born (1998-06-06) 6 June 1998 (age 26)
Tunapuna–Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Sport
SportTrack and Field
Event(s)Long jump, High jump, Heptathlon
Turned pro2022

Tyra Gittens (born 6 June 1998) is an Olympic athlete from Trinidad and Tobago.[1] Gittens set 6 national records for Trinidad and Tobago indoor records in Pentathlon 4746 points, high jump 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in), and long jump 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in), Trinidad and Tobago outdoor records in Heptathlon 6418 points, high jump 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), and long jump 6.96 m (22 ft 10 in).[2]

Her hometown is Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, and she went to high school in Nashville at The Ensworth School before attending Texas A&M University to complete a BA Degree and University of Texas at Austin to pursue a master's degree.[3]

In July 2017, Gittens broke her own national junior heptathlon record in winning the Pan American Combined Events Cup in Ottawa, Canada, gaining 5,490 points in the seven-discipline event to improve on the 5,337-point standard she had established in 2016.[4]

Competing in the long jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships Gittens finished 19th in the qualifying heats with a best jump of 6.44m.[5] Gittens has had an ongoing Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for treatment for ADHD. However, a failure to complete the application for a renewal of the TUE correctly led to a positive test for methylphenidate/ritalinic acid at the World Championships and a six-month doping violation ban.[6]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Trinidad and Tobago
2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham, Great Britain 11th Long jump 6.27 m (20 ft 7 in)
14th High jump 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
World Athletics Championships Eugene, United States 19th Long jump 6.44 m (21 ft 2 in)
2021 Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan 10th Long jump 6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
2018 NACAC Championships Toronto, Canada 4th Long Jump 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla, Colombia 8th Heptathlon DNF
2017 Pan American U20 Championships Trujillo, Peru 4th heptathlon 5229 points
3rd Long Jump 6.22 m (20 ft 5 in)
CARIFTA Games U20 Willemstad, Curaçao 1st heptathlon 4854 points
2nd long jump 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Canadian Athletics Championships U20 Ottawa, Canada 1st heptathlon 5490 points
2016 New Balance Nationals Outdoor Greensboro, North Carolina 2nd heptathlon 5164 points[7]
2015 AAU Junior Olympic Games Norfolk, Virginia 2nd Heptathlon 4904 points
1st High Jump 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
5th Long Jump 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)

NCAA

Gittens is an 18-time NCAA Division 1 All-American, 3-time NCAA Champion, 5-time Southeastern Conference Champion, and 20-time All-SEC honoree.

Gittens won silver in the women's long jump at the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.[8] She did however win gold in the heptathlon, despite the fact she injured her ankle in the days before the event.[9]

In June 2021, she was named to the US Track and Field Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) National awards list, winning the Women's National Field Athlete of the Year award, as they stated that with ,,,her win at the SEC event she had become the third best performer in collegiate history in the heptathlon.[10]

In Texas on 14 May 2021 at SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she jumped 6.96m to place her inside the top 10 for the year so far and set Trinidad and Tobago records in Heptathlon 6418 points, high jump 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in), and long jump 6.96 m (22 ft 10 in).[11] Her performance at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships (SEC) in Texas, as well as attaining the Olympic standard for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the long jump, she won silver in the women's high jump competition with a height of 1.89m, she missed out on qualifying for the heptathlon at the 2020 Olympics on that day by just two points, accumulating 6,418 points in winning the seven-discipline event.[12]

In Fayetteville, Arkansas on 11 March 2021 at NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, she jumped 6.68m to place her inside the top 10 for the year so far and set Trinidad and Tobago records in Pentathlon 4746 points, high jump 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in), and long jump 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in).[13]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing Texas Longhorns
2022 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships University of Oregon 9th High Jump 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
3rd Long Jump 6.57 m (21 ft 7 in)
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field 3rd High Jump 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
3rd Long Jump 6.57 m (21 ft 7 in)
2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Birmingham CrossPlex 2nd High Jump 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
11th Long Jump 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 2nd High Jump 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
5th Long Jump 6.29 m (20 ft 8 in)
Representing Texas A&M Aggies
2021 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships University of Oregon 3rd High Jump 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
2nd Long Jump 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in)
1st Heptathlon 6285 points
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 2nd High Jump 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
4th Long Jump 6.56 m (21 ft 6 in)
24th 100 m hurdles DNF
1st Heptathlon 6418 points NR
2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships University of Arkansas 1st High Jump 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
3rd Long Jump 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in) NR
1st Pentathlon 4746 points NR
SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships University of Arkansas 1st High Jump 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
1st Long Jump 6.62 m (21 ft 9 in) former NR
5th Pentathlon 3818 points
2020 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships[14] University of New Mexico All-American Pentathlon
All-American Long Jump
All-American High Jump
SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 3rd High Jump 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
4th Long Jump 6.27 m (20 ft 7 in)
1st Pentathlon 4391 points
2019 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships University of Texas at Austin 16th High Jump 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
2nd Heptathlon 6049 points
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 2nd High Jump 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
3rd Long Jump 6.53 m (21 ft 5 in)
2nd Heptathlon 5793 points
2018 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships University of Oregon 9th Long Jump 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in)
8th Heptathlon 5748 points
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships University of Tennessee, Knoxville 3rd High Jump 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
5th Long Jump 6.47 m (21 ft 3 in)
1st Heptathlon 6074 points
2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 8th Pentathlon 4197 points
SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships Texas A&M University 7th High Jump 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
5th Pentathlon 4121 points

[15]

References

  1. ^ "Tyra GITTENS | Profile". worldathletics.org.
  2. ^ Trinidad and Tobago outdoor records National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad & Tobago
  3. ^ "Tyra Gittens - Track and Field". Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com.
  4. ^ "Golden Gittens breaks T&T record". Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee.
  5. ^ "Gittens misses spot in Worlds long jump final". 23 July 2022.
  6. ^ Porter, Wayne (April 3, 2023). "T&T's Tyra Gittens completes 6-month ban". Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ^ 2016 New Balance Nationals Outdoor results
  8. ^ "Tyra Gittens bags NCAA long jump silver". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. June 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "Tyra Gittens takes heptathlon gold at NCAA Track and Field Champs". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. June 13, 2021.
  10. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago's Tyra Gittens cops Women's National Field Athlete of the Year award". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. June 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "Long Jump - women - senior - outdoor - 2021". worldathletics.org.
  12. ^ Reporter, WIC News (May 19, 2021). "Trinidad and Tobago's Tyra Gittens prepares for Tokyo Olympics".
  13. ^ "Long Jump - women - senior - indoor - 2021". worldathletics.org.
  14. ^ 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships start list Flash Results
  15. ^ Tyra Gittens University of Texas & Texas A&M results TFRRS