In the final weekend of the Rio Olympic Games, local track and field star, English Gardner, won a gold medal as part of the women’s 4 x100 m. relay. Gardner, 24, born in Philadelphia and raised in Vorhees Township, N.J., is a 2010 graduate of Eastern Regional High School in South Jersey. On Saturday, Aug. 22, she helped the U.S. defend its 4x100m. gold medal from the 2012 games in London.
Read on to discover five fun facts about this newly local crowned Olympic champion:
1.) Right before the Olympic 4×100 m. final on Saturday, English Gardner realized that she only packed one pair of her running spikes. Teammate, Allyson Felix (a 6-time Olympic gold medalist), loaned Gardner a pair of spikes. The shoes were half a size too big, but, “there’s nothing that double socks couldn’t fix,” Gardner said in an article published by NBC New York.
2.) Gardner finished 7th in the individual 100 m. finals at the 2016 Olympics.
3.) According to the USA Track and Field Web site, English Gardner says that her mother knew that she (English) would become something great before she was born and wanted to give her a name that would be hard to forget.
4.) Gardner ran for the University of Oregon and was a five-time NCAA Champion, winning two 100 m. titles, two 4×400 m. titles, and an indoor 60 m. dash title.
5.) Gardner is sponsored by Nike.
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