Athlete Bio
Queen Quedith Harrison Clay
With a name like Queen you cannot be afraid to take charge and throughout her life, Queen Harrison has never been afraid to be FIRST. Whether it's the first skrawny 6th grader to beat the seniors, the first professional athlete in her family or becoming her university's, Virginia Tech, first female Olympian. At 19 years old, she was the youngest athlete on the 2008 USA Olympic track team and hasn't stopped running ever since. Queen’s path to success was unconventional and not without its challenges but with her outstanding work ethic and passion to be great, she was able to hurdle all the obstacles in front of her.
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Queen leapt into the Virginia Tech track record books and into the hearts of many. After coming off the 9th hurdle in 5th place, Queen adjusted her stride to avoid fellow competitor Miriam Barnes, who had fallen into Queen’s lane, and made up almost 10 meters to finish 2nd, securing her spot on the USA Olympic Team bound for Beijing, China as the youngest team member. Queen’s campaign into the history books did not end there, however. Deciding to continue her collegiate eligibility after her Olympic stint, during Queen's final year as a Virginia Tech athlete, Queen took Gold medals in the HURDLE TRIFECTA, 60-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships, becoming the first and only female athlete in NCAA history to sweep all three events at the national meets. As a result of her efforts that season, Queen was awarded with the highest honor for a collegiate track and field athlete, the Bowerman Award. During the 2013 season, Queen had her best post-collegiate season thus far. She started off the season strong, winning the Drake Relays against a competitive field. She then went on to capture first place at the Monaco Diamond League, beating current Olympic Champ, Sally Pearson. At the USA Outdoor Championships Queen finished with a personal best of 12.43 posting the 2nd fastest time in the world for the season and clinching her spot on the USA World Team. Queen was also named #21 in Bleacher Report’s 2013 '101 Most Beautiful People in Sports'. After finishing a strong 2013 season, Queen was ranked 5th in the world in the 100mH, after the World Championships held in Moscow, Russia. In 2014, Queen finished 2nd at the USA Championships in the 100mH by only .02 seconds and finished the 2014 seasons ranked #2 in the world. Queen has the potential and her eyes set for 2016 Olympic Team in Rio.
