2019 World Champs Bios
2019 World Champs Bios
2019 World Champs Bios
USA
110 Hurdles
Washington ties: Born in Seattle; lived in Puyallup before
moving to Arizona. Mother Joey Knudson still lives in the
area.
Twitter & Instagram: @devonallen13
IAAF PROFILE: https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/united-states/devon-
allen-264226
He’s raced sparingly during the outdoor season, running 13.33 to finish fifth at the Nike Prefontaine
Classic at Stanford, 13.35 to finish seventh at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on 5 July, and 13.43
to take fourth at the Istvan Gyulai Hungarian GP meet on 9 July.
The former University of Oregon wide receiver and kick return specialist won his second US national title
in 2016 at the US Olympic Trials after winning the NCAA championship on his home track. He went on to
finish fifth in the finals of the Olympics in Rio, running 13.31. He earned his third national title last year in
Des Moines, and was ranked #6 in the world in 2018 by Track & Field News.
TRACKING DEVON
Amos was added to the German team after the September 6 deadline by the IAAF in order to fill the field
of 45 runners needed to run the proper number of heats.
Bartelsmeyer ran his personal best of 3:36.29 in finishing sixth at the Brooks PR meet at Husky Track in
June. This season, he finished sixth in the 3000 at the European Championships, won the Festival of
Miles race in his hometown of St. Louis, finished sixth in the mile at the London Diamond League meet in
July, and won the German national title in the 1500 last month, running 3:56.34 in a tactical race.
The 2018 NCAA All-American at Georgetown University moved to Seattle to train under Washington
coach Andy Powell, and was a volunteer coach for the Huskies in the 2018-19 season. Doha marks
Amos’ first world championships appearance.
TRACKING AMOS
8:10 pm/10:10 am: Semifinals
Thursday October 3
Sunday October 6
10:00 pm/12 noon: First Round
7:40 pm/9:40 am: Finals
Friday October 4
KATIE BURNETT
USA
50 Kilometer Walk
Washington ties: Born in Bellevue; attended Skyline
& Newport HS before moving to Arizona
Twitter: @Racewalkerkt
Instagram: @kmburner
IAAF PROFILE: https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/-/272667
This season, she’s finished third in the USA 20k championships in March, walking 1:38:56, and won the
Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, walking 10000m on the track in 46:12.45.
Burnett was seventh at the Pan Am Cup in Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, walking 50k in 4:50:27. She
dropped out of the Pan Am Games 50K walk on 11 August.
At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, she finished third in the 20k walk event at 1:41:13, but did not go to the
Games in Rio as she did not have the Olympic standard of 1:36:00.
Burnett competed in the race walk through the USATF Junior Olympic program, while also competing in
the throws and heptathlon. She began her collegiate career as a javelin thrower at the University of
Arizona, before transferring to William Penn University in Iowa, a NAIA school where the walks are
contested in the national championship meet. Doha marks her second world championship appearance.
TRACKING KATIE
Saturday September 28
The defending Olympic champion in the 1500 qualified for Doha and his fourth world championship team
with his second place finish at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, running 3:44.97 to winner
Craig Engels’ 3:44.93.
Centrowitz moved from the Alberto Salazar coached Nike Oregon Project to the Nike Bowerman TC
coached by Jerry Schumacher, both of which train primarily at the Nike campus in Beaverton. He dealt
with various issues with his shin and hamstring, which resulted in only having five weeks of serious
training before his season opener at the Nike Prefontaine Classic at Stanford on 30 June, where he got
the world championship standard.
In his first race since the national championships in late July, he set a personal best of 13:00.39 over
5000 meters at the Portland 5000m race at the Nike campus on 10 September, finishing third behind
Bowerman TC teammates Woody Kincaid and Lopez Lomong, and becoming the tenth fastest American
in history. In the process, he attained the Olympic qualifying standard for Tokyo 2020.
He was named as a volunteer coach at Washington for the 2018-19 season shortly after his college
coaches Andy and Maurica Powell were hired in July 2018.
Centrowitz owns five USATF national titles in his career, and run in three world championships and two
Olympics, with his highest placing at the world championships a second in Moscow in 2013. He also won
a world indoor championship at 1500, winning the 2016 title in Portland.
TRACKING MATTHEW
Duckworth moved to Seattle after graduating from the University of Kentucky to continue training with his
UK coach, Toby Stevenson, who was named associate head coach at the University of Washington.
Duckworth is a volunteer coach for the Husky track team, while working with Stevenson, the 2004
Olympic silver medalist in the pole vault.
TRACKING TIM
Wednesday October 2
Thursday October 3
4:35 pm/6:35 am—100 meters
5:30 pm/7:30 am—Long jump 4:35 pm/6:35 am—110 hurdles
6:50 pm/8:50 am—Shot put 5:30 pm/7:30 am or 6:35 pm/8:35 am—Discus
8:40 pm/10:50 am—High jump 7:05 pm/9:05 am or 8:05 pm/10:05 am—Pole
11:15 am/1:15 pm—400 meters vault
10:05 pm/12:05 pm or 11:10 pm/1:10 pm—
Javelin
12:25 am (10/4)/2:25 pm—1500 meters
JOSH KERR
GREAT BRITAIN
1500 Meters
Washington ties: Member of Seattle based
Brooks Beasts
Twitter: @jkerr97
Instagram: @joshhkerr
IAAF PROFILE: https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/great-britain-
ni/josh-kerr-300712
He scored his personal best of 3:33.60 in winning the pro section of the men’s 1500 at the Brooks PR
meet in Seattle on June 15. In the process, he also ducked under the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifying
standard of 3:35.00.
The former NCAA champion from the University of New Mexico has raced sparingly this season, winning
three 800 meter races indoors, and taking fourth in the Millrose Mile in 3:53.65 on 9 February. He finished
eighth in the London Diamond League mile on 21 July, running 3:53.88.
TRACKING JOSH
He set his personal best of 1:45.39 a few weeks before the national championships at the Azusa Sunset
Tour.
Since the national championships, he’s run in four meets, finishing eighth in the 800 in Brussels on 8/23
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(1:48.14); fifth in the 1500 in Berlin on 9/1 (3:36.15); and two other 800s in Zagreb on 9/3 (6 , 1:45.91)
and in Minsk at The Match for Team USATF, where he was fifth in 1:47.20. He also ran the 800 leg for
Team USA on their B team in the mixed medley relay, splitting 1:47.51, helping his team finish third.
The Penn State grad becomes the third straight member of the Brooks Beasts to represent the USA in the
800 at the world championships, joining Cas Loxsom in 2015, and Drew Windle in 2017. Doha marks
Brannon’s first appearance at the world championships.
TRACKING BRANNON
In his one season competing for Emerald Ridge HS, he finished tenth in the 2005 WIAA 4A cross country
championships in Pasco, running 16:07 for 5k. The University of Minnesota grad was a six-time All-
American for the Gophers.
Mead, who trains in Eugene with the Nike Oregon TC Elite squad, finished 11th in the 5000m at the
Olympics in 2016, and 15th in the 10000 at the 2015 world championships in Beijing. Two years ago in
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London, he finished 15 in the 10000, running a personal best of 27:32.49, in a race where eleven of the
first seventeen across the line set personal bests.
TRACKING HASSAN
While Doha marks her first appearance at the world outdoor championships, she’s no stranger to the
biggest meets, having finished fifth at the 2018 world indoor championships in Birmingham, UK, clearing
15-5 (4.70m). She was also the NACAC champion last year, setting a meet record 15-7 (4.75m), and has
won two national indoor titles. She was ranked #6 in the world in 2018 by Track & Field News.
Since the national championships, she’s competed six times, winning in Bellinzona, SUI, took second at
the Pan Am Games in Lima, and third in The Match for Team USATF in Minsk.
Nageotte, a two-time NCAA Division II champ at Ashland University in Ohio, moved to the Atlanta area
after Walker resigned as the vertical jumps coach at Washington State to further his education after the
2019 NCAA outdoor championships.
TRACKING KATIE
With winner Emma Coburn the defending world champion, Ostrander was the beneficiary of Coburn’s wild
card status, giving the USA four entries for Doha.
Ostrander won her third straight NCAA steeplechase title in Austin, running 9:37.73 in 98-degree heat,
becoming the first woman to win three NCAA crowns in that event. She turned pro after the Nike
th th
Prefontaine Classic on June 30 , running a personal best 9:31.44, where she finished 13 against a
world class field. She was scheduled to run the steeple at the Pan Am Games in Lima, but contracted
food poisoning while in Peru. In her only race since the nationals, she ran at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New
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York, where she was 16 in 4:33.5.
TRACKING ALLIE
Instead of finding her way through campus during the first week of
fall quarter at the University of Washington, Husky freshman Carley
Thomas will toe the line in the 800 meters at the IAAF world track
and field championships.
Thomas was extended an invitation to compete after the September 6 deadline by the IAAF in order to fill
the field of 48 runners needed to run the proper number of heats.
Carley finished fourth in the Australian championships in April, running 2:02.74. After the Australian
championships, she raced seven times in Asia and Europe, including two IAAF Diamond League meets.
She got her personal best of 2:01.01 at the London Diamond League meet on July 21, where she finished
eighth.
In 2018, Thomas won two silver medals for Australia at the IAAF world under-20 championships in
Tampere, Finland, running 2:01.13 in the 800, and helping the Aussies in the 4 x 400 relay. Her current
personal best is better than the Washington school record of 2:02.97 set by Baylee Mires in 2016.
Thomas signed her national letter of intent to attend the UW before the Australian championships.
TRACKING CARLEY
Velvere’s won the last two Latvian national championships at 800 meters, running 2:03.82 to win the 2019
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title on July 28 . She ran her outdoor season best of 2:01.12 in finishing third on June 9 in Rehlingen,
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Germany. Velvere appeared in the IAAF Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 5 ,
finishing seventh in 2:02.65.
She had a great start to her 2019 season, setting national records indoors at 1000 meters (2:42.30 on
January 19 in Kuldiga, LAT), and 800 meters (2:01.10 on February 12 in Eaubonne, FRA). She was
fourth in the European indoor championships, running 2:04.06.
While this is her first appearance at the world outdoor championships, she’s competed at the 2016 IAAF
world indoors in Portland, finishing sixth in her heat, and again at the 2018 world indoors in Birmingham,
GBR, placing fourth in her heat.
TRACKING LIGA
Since breaking through and winning the US Olympic Trials as a Purdue University junior in 2008, the
Skyview HS graduate has made three Olympic teams and five world championship teams, only missing
the 2013 world championship team. In her storied career, she’s made the finals of either a world
championships or Olympics once, finishing eighth in the 2015 worlds in Beijing, throwing 199-9 (60.88m).
Winger enters the world championships with a season best of 213-0 (64.92m) set in winning the Pan Am
Games in Lima, Peru on 9 August. That mark also exceeded the Tokyo 2020 qualifying mark of 210-0
(64.00m). This season, she’s competed in three IAAF Diamond League meets (Rome, Lausanne,
London). She won The Match on 9 September, throwing 212-0 (62.31m) in the final round to overtake
hometown favorite Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus at Dinamo Stadium in Minsk and give Team USATF 9
points in the dual meet against Europe.
TRACKING KARA
Monday September 30
Tuesday October 1
4:30 or 6:00 pm/6:30 am or 8:00 am—Qualifying
round 9:20 pm/11:20 am—Final
GIANNA WOODRUFF
Panama
400 Hurdles
Washington ties: Attended University of
Washington
Instagram: @g.woodyy
IAAF PROFILE:
https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/panama/gianna-woodruff-
282367
Woodruff, the Panamanian national record holder, goes into the world championships after finishing
seventh at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, running 57.20.
She ran her season best on 28 July at the Trinidad & Tobago national championships, clocking 55.91.
Last year, Woodruff, who trains in Southern California with world record holder Dalilah Muhammad,
lowered her Panamanian national record from 55.76 in 2017, to 55.60 at the Central American &
Carribean Championships in Barranquilla, Colombia on 31 July.
Doha marks her second world championships appearance, after making it to the semifinals in London two
years ago.
During her career at the University of Washington, she earned All-America honors in the distance medley
relay, and two second-team A-A honors in the 400 hurdles. She is currently the fourth fastest in UW
school history at 57.49.
TRACKING GIANNA
All competition times listed for the athletes include both local Doha time and Seattle
time. Doha is ten hours ahead of Seattle. Start times are subject to change.
All photos are by Paul Merca with the exception of Katie Burnett (photo by Kim Spir),
Carley Thomas (photo courtesy Athletics Australia), and Liga Velvere (photo by Howard
Lao).
The networks of NBC (NBC, NBCSN, NBC Sports App, Olympic Channel) will have
television coverage of the IAAF World Track & Field Championships. In Seattle, the
NBC affiliate is KING 5 (channel 5 over-the-air; 105 on Comcast Seattle).
In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Company will have over-the-air and streaming
coverage of the IAAF World Track & Field Championships.
Select countries can also watch the IAAF World Track & Field Championships via the
IAAF’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. The feed on its Facebook page and
YouTube channel are geo-blocked.
For more information on the IAAF World Track & Field Championships, please visit
iaaf.org.