Tanya Blake

Tanya Blake
Personal information
NationalityBritish/Maltese
Born (1971-01-16) 16 January 1971 (age 55)
Newham, London, England
Height1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Middle-distance running
ClubZurrieq Wolves
Achievements and titles
Personal bests800 m: 1:59.56 (2003)
1500 m: 4:29.01 (2003)

Tanya-Gee Blake (born 16 January 1971) is a Maltese-English retired middle-distance runner, who specialized in the 800 metres and competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Born in England to a Maltese mother and American father, Blake held dual citizenship to compete internationally and represented Malta. Blake competed for the Arkansas Razorbacks track and field team in the NCAA.

Blake finished second behind Diane Modahl in the 800 metres event at the 1998 AAA Championships. Blake recorded two more second place finishes behind Kelly Holmes at the 1999 AAA Championships and 2001 AAA Championships.

Blake set a historic milestone as the first Maltese athlete to break a two-minute barrier and a national record in the 800 metres at the 2003 Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix in Eugene, Oregon, United States, by registering her career best and an A-standard entry time of 1:59.56 it guaranteed her a spot on her adopted nation's team for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the women's 800 metres at the Olympics, unable to repeat her form from the Grand Prix a year earlier, Blake posted outside her national record of 2:19.34 and failed to advance further into the semifinals, as she was the last runner to cross the finish line in heat six.

During her athletic career, Blake trained for the Zurrieq Wolves track and field team.

References

  1. ↑ "Tanya Blake – God Given Talent". 25 June 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tanya Blake". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Track and Field Fact Sheet #14". arkansasrazorbacks.com.
  4. ↑ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "AAA Championships (women)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Small teams, large ambitions – Malta and Uganda in Paris". IAAF. 20 August 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Tanya Blake sets new 800m mark in Oregon meet". Times of Malta. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Blake books World Championships and Olympics berths". Times of Malta. 27 May 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Tanya Blake - the first Maltese to qualify by right". IAAF. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "IAAF Athens 2004: Women's 800m Round 1 – Heat 6". Athens 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Blake out of 800 metres". Times of Malta. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Early edge for Pembroke teams". Times of Malta. 15 July 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2014.