Winger, Taiwo, Heath, Anderson & Henry receive USATF Foundation grants...
INDIANAPOLIS—Five athletes with ties to the state of Washington were recently named by the USA Track & Field Foundation as recipients of the foundation’s Elite Athlete Development grants.
The five athletes named by the foundation are Kara Winger, Jeremy Taiwo (left/photo by Paul Merca), Garrett Heath, Jeshua Anderson, and Britney Henry.
Vancouver native Winger, who made the finals in the javelin at last year’s world championships in Beijing, received a $5000 Stephen Schwarzman Grant in recognition for her success at the international level and for having excellent potential to be a medal contender at the Rio Summer Games.
Receiving a $5000 Elite Athlete Development grant from the foundation are world championship decathlon team member and University of Washington alum Jeremy Taiwo and last year’s USA fourth place finisher in the 5000, Garrett Heath of the Seattle-based Brooks Beasts.
Jeshua Anderson (400 hurdles), a Washington State alum who made the finals at the USA championships last year, received a $3000 grant.
Hammer thrower Britney Henry, a native of Spokane, was one of three women in her event to receive a $10000 grant as part of the foundation’s Adopt an Athlete program.
In a release from the foundation, director Mark Quinn said, “This is a tremendous group of athletes, all of whom have achieved success in both their professional and personal lives. A few of them won medals at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, and several others were very close. Even with their records of achievement, funding for these and other elite level track & field athletes in the U.S. is difficult to sustain. The stakes are the highest in an Olympic year, and we hope that these grants will help all of them continue to train and perform at a high level.”
The Foundation provides assistance to athletes that meet its grant application criteria, including income thresholds and performance standards.
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