English Gardner recorded one of her biggest wins in years Saturday at the USATF Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.
Gardner, a 2010 Eastern graduate and Olympic gold medalist on the U.S. 4-by-1 team in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, ran a wind-legal 11.22 to win the “B” race over 2022 U.S. 200 champ Abby Steiner, 2021 Olympic 200 bronze medalist Gabrielle Thomas and Jamaican relay Olympic gold medalist Briana Williams.
There was an “A” race won by two-time 4-by-1 World Champion Melissa Jefferson but her time was 11.27, slower than Gardner’s winning time.
Last time Gardner won a major meet with this sort of loaded field was on Sept. 2, 2018, when she ran 11.11 to win the Padova Meetin at Citta di Padova in Podoav.
It was her fastest wind-legal time since an 11.13 in May 2023 at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix at Flora Duffy Stadium at the Bermuda National Sports Center in Devonshire.
Gardner, 32, is No. 10 in world history with her 10.74 to win the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., her home track when she ran for Oregon.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 