Shamier Khalia Little
Birth dateMarch 20, 1995 (age 31)
Birth placeLouisville, Kentucky, U.S.
HometownChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height5 ft 7 in
EmployerAdidas
SportAthletics
EventHurdles
CollegeteamTexas A&M
Turnedpro2016
Pb

Shamier Little (/ʃəˈmɪər/ shə-MEER; born March 20, 1995) is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 metres hurdles. As a 20-year-old college sophomore at Texas A&M University, Little was the 2015 US champion. She then went on to win the silver medal in her signature event at the 2015 and 2023 World Championships. In July 2021, she became the fifth fastest woman of all time at the event.

Early life

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Little is the child of athletic parents, her father a football cornerback and her mother a star basketball player and high jumper at Eastern Kentucky University. Shamier began participating in youth track and field as an 8 year old.[1] She made her first appearance at the national level at the 2004 USATF Youth Championships as a 100 meter sprinter running for the University of Chicago Youth Track Club.[2] She regularly participated in all comers track meets.[3] Later Little ran for the Country Club Hills Gazelles both in USATF [4] and AAU competitions.[5][6] None of her early youth competitions could be labeled exceptional.

At Robert Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Chicago, Little got more serious setting the IHSA Class 2A records in 100 meters hurdles, 200 meters and 400 meters.[7] She won the 2011 AAU Junior Olympics at 400 hurdles.[8] In 2012, she won the Arcadia Invitational in the 400 meters,[9] which she repeated in 2013.[10] She won the Junior National Championships in 400 hurdles,[11] which qualified her for the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics, but she did not finish the final, falling over the last hurdle while in medal contention.[12] In 2013, Little tried 100 meters hurdles and 400 at the National Championships, finishing off the podium in both.[13]

Career

After high school, Little chose to go to Texas A&M University. As a freshman, she won the NCAA Championships at 400 hurdles and helped her team get second place in the 4 × 400 meters relay. Later that summer, she won the 2014 World Junior Championships in the 400 hurdles.[14]

In 2015, before winning the overall national championship, she repeated as NCAA Champion, running the #1 time worldwide to that point in the season.[15][16] The National Championship offered Little an invitation to run in the 2015 Pan American Games, where she took the gold medal.

In 2016, Little won a third consecutive NCAA 400 m hurdles champion title.[17]

In October 2024, it was announced that she had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.[18]

Achievements

All information taken from World Athletics profile.

Personal bests

Event[19]Time (m:)sWindVenueDateNotes
200 meters23.02+1.5 m/sBaton Rouge, LA, United States29 April 2023
400 meters49.68Monaco21 July 2023
400 meters indoor50.57Fayetteville, AR, United States21 February 2021
600 meters indoor1:24.65Fayetteville, AR, United States13 January 20238th woman all time
100 meters hurdles13.77+0.4 m/sBaton Rouge, LA, United States3 May 2014
400 meters hurdles52.39Stockholm, Sweden4 July 20215th woman all time[20]

International competitions

2012World Junior ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain6th (sf)400 m hurdles[note 1]
2014World Junior ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States1st400 m hurdles55.66
1st4 × 400 m relay3:30.42
2015Pan American GamesToronto, Canada1st400 m hurdles55.50
1st4 × 400 m relay3:25.68
World ChampionshipsBeijing, China2nd400 m hurdles53.94
2017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom11th (sf)400 m hurdles55.76
2018NACAC ChampionshipsToronto, Canada1st400 m hurdles53.32'
Continental CupOstrava, Czech Republic2nd400 m hurdles53.86
2022World ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States4th400 m hurdles53.76
2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary2nd400 m hurdles52.80
2024Olympic GamesParis, France1st4 × 400 m relay3:15.27
2nd4 × 400 m mixed3:07.74
2026World Indoor ChampionshipsToruń, Poland1st4 × 400 m relay3:25.81
  1. ^ Little timed 57.46 s in the semi-finals. It would have been third result in the final.

Circuit wins

400 metres hurdles wins, other events specified in parentheses

National and NCAA titles

References

  1. ^ "Shamier Little – Track and Field". Texas A&M Athletics – 12thMan.com. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Results – USATF Illinois Association Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships". Usatf.org\accessdate=2015-07-01.
  3. ^ "UCTC Meet Results 6-23-05". Uctc.org. June 23, 2005. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Events - 2007 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "2007 AAU National Jr. Olympic Games - 7/28/2007 to 8/4/2007 : Knoxville, Tennessee : Performance List". Image.aausports.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "2009 AAU JO Games - 8/1/2009 to 8/8/2009 : Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa : Performance List". Aauathletics.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "IHSA Girls Track & Field Event Records". Ihsa.org. May 18, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "2011 Results - AAU JO Ntl Championships Day 5 2011-08-03 LA - DyeStat.com TFX - The Internet Home of High School Track, Field and Cross Country". Parser.dyestat.com. August 3, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  9. ^ "2012 Results - Arcadia Invitational 2012-04-07 CA - DyeStat.com TFX - The Internet Home of High School Track, Field and Cross Country". Parser.dyestat.com. April 7, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  10. ^ "2013 Results - Arcadia Invitational 2013-04-06 CA - DyeStat.com TFX - The Internet Home of High School Track, Field and Cross Country". Parser.dyestat.com. April 6, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  11. ^ "2012 USA Junior Championships - 6/15/2012 to 6/17/2012 : Bloomington, Indiana : Results". Usatf.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  12. ^ "Shamier Little 400m hurdles IAAF World Junior Championships Oregon 2014". iaaf.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  13. ^ "USA Track & Field – Results – Full". Usatf.org. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  14. ^ "400 Metres Hurdles Result - IAAF World Junior Championships 2014". iaaf.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  15. ^ "400 Metres Hurdles - women - senior - outdoor - 2015". iaaf.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  16. ^ "Women 400 Meter Hurdles SR". Flashresults.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  17. ^ "2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - 6/30/2016 to 7/10/2016 Eugene, Oregon Results". usatf.org. July 10, 2016. Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "Grand Slam Track Adds Ten New Talents to Its Star-Studded Roster". FloTrack. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Shamier LITTLE". doha.diamondleague.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  20. ^ "All time Top lists – 400 m hurdles Women – Senior Outdoor | until July 4, 2021". World Athletics. Retrieved 2021-07-04. Change filters for other age / territorial / time range