Taylor Washington returns to UA as director of operations
FAYETTEVILLE – Taylor Washington has returned to the Razorback women’s track and field program in the role of director of operations for Arkansas women’s head coach Chris Johnson.
A 2016 Olympic gold medalist and 11-time All-American with the Razorback program, Washington (née Ellis-Watson) was an integral part of the first pair of national championships the Razorbacks claimed indoors in 2015 and outdoors in 2016 while serving as team captain.
The pair of NCAA team titles represented the first ever women’s national championship teams in Arkansas history.
An Arkansas sprinter from 2013-2016, Washington collected six silver medals at NCAA Championships and won four SEC titles. Among her All-America honors, nine were first-team honors which included four in the 400m and five as a member of Razorback 4 x 400m relays.
In addition to winning four SEC gold medals in the 400m, Washington added a pair of silver medals in the 200m, and a bronze in the 4 x 400m relay. Prior to Arkansas, she also earned an indoor Big East 400m gold medal with Pittsburgh.
A 2015 University of Arkansas graduate with a B.S. in Psychology, Washington was a nominee for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year. In 2017, she was honored as one of 10 exceptional student-athletes selected as Today’s Top 10 Award winners during the NCAA Convention.
Washington earned a MBA in sports administration in 2018 from Saint Leo University in Florida while competing professionally with adidas for two years. Then she worked for a year as a NASA support specialist where she managed design and development projects. Washington joined the University of Central Florida athletic staff in July of 2019 as coordinator of executive operations.
In 2021, Washington worked as a People Advisory Services Consultant at Ernst & Young where she specialized in Program Management, Organizational Change Management, and Training.
Taylor is married to Wesley Washington. Together they have a son and daughter, Tauren & Arlie.
Competing in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Washington finished fourth in the 400m final in 50.25 seconds to set an Arkansas school record.
Earning a position in the 4 x 400m relay pool on Team USA for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Washington supplied a 50.5 split on the second leg during the Olympic semifinal as the United States posted the leading time in qualifying with a 3:21.42.
Among 16 countries competing in the two semifinal races, Washington’s split was third fastest among the second leg runners.
When the Americans claimed victory in the Olympic final with a time of 3:19.06, Washington earned an Olympic gold medal as she became the fourth Razorback in program history to do so and the first to receive gold in the 4 x 400m relay.
Washington supplied the Razorbacks an anchor leg split of 50.04 earlier in the 2016 season as Arkansas set a then school record of 3:25.48 during the NCAA West Preliminary rounds in Lawrence, Kansas.
Even with the surplus of talented sprinters among recent and current Razorbacks, Washington remains among the Arkansas top 10 lists in six events. They include the 200m (22.99) and 400m (51.51) indoors as well as the 100m (11.33), 200m (22.48), and 400m (50.25) outdoors along with the 4 x 400m relay (3:25.48).