Who is Tate Taylor? All about the 17-year-old who became the second-fastest U20 100m runner in history

Tate Taylor recently grabbed attention for his unique achievement at the Texas State Championships. The teenage sprinting sensation broke several records in one go for 100m [Under 20 category], becoming the second fastest runner overall.

Taylor ran the 100m race at the Texas State Championships in a staggering 9.92 seconds, even though wind-aided. Yet, his timing became a new US high school and Under 20 record, making him the second fastest runner in the Under 20 category, only behind the likes of Olympic champion from Botswana, Letsile Tebogo.

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In the conversation with the media after the race, Taylor mentioned:

"We were in the blocks, I talked to God. I was telling him before I got in the blocks, 'I don't care if I win, I'm part of history already because this race was really fast.' I was telling myself to have fun, don't put too much pressure on yourself, just go out and have fun."

But who exactly is Tate Taylor, and why is he being compared to the likes of Letsile Tebogo?

Early life and education of Tate Taylor

Tate Taylor is a 17-year-old runner from San Antonio in Texas. He is currently a student of Harlan High School in San Antonio, Texas. Taylor was initially interested in basketball before switching to track and field.

Other achievements of Tate Taylor

Apart from setting the new high school record for the 100m event in the USA, Tate Taylor had previously broken the indoor records in the 200m event.

The 17-year-old runner clocked an impressive time of 20.46 seconds at the Nike Indoor Nationals a couple of months ago, breaking the 200m junior record held by Jaylen Slade.

Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin appreciated his efforts as he shared Taylor's achievements on his Instagram story. His Instagram story caption read:

"You've been truly patient year after year @tk.taylor2 and NOW its paying off for you!! God got you nephew!! Shout out to @coachk_speed for doing an amazing job with you!"

In breaking the indoor record for 200m, Taylor also surpassed the timing achieved by Noah Lyles in 2016. The Olympic champion in men's 100m was extremely impressed by Taylor's achievements, and he wrote on his X timeline:

"Records are made to be broken and he took that to heart. This is a crazy impressive time and win! Congratulations."

Tate Taylor will most likely participate next at the New Christendom Games Conference, which will be held on June 14.

About the author

Animesh Pandey is a seasoned content writer at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience, having previously worked as an intern for Follow Your Sport before joining SK as a columnist in 2017. A graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, he also worked at TFI Media Private Limited and contributed as an intern for the movie website Nettv4u.

He has extensively covered events from World Championships to the Olympics, providing insights and analyses that resonate with his audience. His belief in mastering the basics and delivering accurate, relevant, and ethical information through thorough research is reflected in his work.

He was notably invited to the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after winning a MyGov quiz on Indian Sports, where he engaged with celebrated athletes such as Rahi Sarnobat, Hima Das, Jinson Johnson, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who also happens to be his favorite Olympian.

Despite being a field hockey enthusiast, Animesh's most cherished Olympic moments include Wayde Van Niekerk's unexpected world record in the 400 meters at Rio and Chopra's historic gold medal in Tokyo.

When not immersed in writing or watching the Olympics, Animesh indulges in his love for movies, embracing quality cinema regardless of the language.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar