Tanner Plus Alumni Trio Set For Olympic Debuts
Huskies at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Sam Tanner, Sophomore, New Zealand | Follow on Instagram
1,500-meters
Heats: Aug. 3 - 9:05 am Tokyo (5:05 pm Aug. 2 Seattle)
Semifinals: Aug. 5 - 8:00 pm Tokyo (4:00 am Seattle)
Final: Aug. 7 - 8:40 pm Tokyo (4:40 am Seattle)
Izzi Batt-Doyle, 2019 grad, Australia | Follow on Instagram
5,000-meters
Heats: July 30 - 7:00 pm Tokyo (3:00 am Seattle)
Final: Aug. 2 - 9:40 pm Tokyo (5:40 am Seattle)
Amy-Eloise Markovc, 2018 grad, Great Britain | Follow on Instagram
5,000-meters
Heats: July 30 - 7:00 pm Tokyo (3:00 am Seattle)
Final: Aug. 2 - 9:40 pm Tokyo (5:40 am Seattle)
Gianna Woodruff, 2015 grad, Panama | Follow on Instagram
400m Hurdles
Heats: July 31 - 9:00 am Tokyo (5:00 pm July 30 Seattle)
Semifinals: Aug. 2 - 8:35 pm Tokyo (4:35 am Seattle)
Final: Aug. 4 - 11:30 am Tokyo (7:30 pm Aug. 3 Seattle)
SEATTLE - The Opening Ceremonies are complete and the stage is set for the return of the Summer Olympics. Track & Field, a.k.a. Athletics, is still a week away, but four Huskies have either arrived or are en route to Tokyo to compete at the sport's highest level. The four Olympians are the most ever for Washington Track & Field at one games.
Current sophomore Sam Tanner (1,500-meters; New Zealand), class of 2019 alum Izzi Batt-Doyle (5,000-meters; Australia); class of 2018 alum Amy-Eloise (Neale) Markovc (5,000-meters; Great Britain), and class of 2015 alum Gianna Woodruff (400m Hurdles; Panama) are all set for the first career Olympic Games. They bring UW's track total to 33 all-time Olympians.
Tanner gives UW its first current student-athlete competing in the Olympics since Aretha (Hill) Thurmond in 1996. An NCAA Outdoor Championships finalist as a redshirt freshman this season, Tanner broke the Collegiate Record indoors in the 1,500-meters in 3:34.72 to hit his Olympic qualifier. He will race for the first time on Aug. 3 at 9:05 a.m. Tokyo time, which is 5:05 p.m. on Aug. 2 in Seattle.
Batt-Doyle is the UW record-holder in the 10,000-meters and the indoor 5,000-meters. She ran 15:04.10 in the 5k in May to make the Olympic cut. The 2019 grad won the Pac-12 10k and went on to take at NCAA Outdoors. Her Olympic debut will be in the heats of the 5k on July 30 at 7:00 pm Tokyo time, which will be 3 a.m. in Seattle.
Amy-Eloise (Neale) Markovc will represent Great Britain and join Batt-Doyle in the 5,000-meters with the same start time of 7:00 pm locally on July 30. At UW, Markovc earned seven All-America honors, won a Pac-12 XC title and was the runner-up at the 2017 NCAA XC Championships. She still holds the UW 5,000m record. This year, Markovc ran a career-best 15:05.96 and then took second at the British Championships.
Woodruff has raced at the past two World Championships for Panama before hitting the Olympic Standard this year with her PB of 54.70 in the 400m hurdles. She currently ranks 11th in the world in 2021. Woodruff ranks fourth at UW in the hurdles and was part of the school record-breaking 4x100m relay. Her first appearance will be at 9:00 a.m. on July 31, or 5 p.m. Seattle time on July 30.