University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Women's Track & Field
Best of 2019-20: Young's 200-Meter Record
5/28/2020 12:11:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
Amira Young improved on Minnesota's women's indoor 200-meter record multiple times this season.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden Gopher track & field and cross country program had many memorable moments in 2019-20 worth revisiting and celebrating despite the indoor season ending and the outdoor season being canceled on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten Conference and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns.
One of those memorable moments was sophomore Amira Young's record-breaking performance in the women's 200 meters. Young first broke the Gophers' indoor 200-meter record with a time of 23.96 seconds at Iowa's Larry Wieczorek Invitational, besting the previous program record of 24.03 seconds set by Erin Hawkins in 2015. She went on to improve on the record in multiple races, ending the season with a Minnesota record mark of 23.64 seconds for 200 meters.
Young's outstanding showing in the 200 meters began with her first race of the season when she posted an indoor career-best time of 24.06 seconds to win the 200 meters at the SDSU Holiday Invite. She improved on her own indoor 200-meter PR by 0.21 seconds and was just 0.03 seconds off Minnesota's program record in her season-opening race.
"It was a goal this year to improve in the 200 meters, and Amira seemed to do that each week," Gophers director of track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "I felt like she was learning more about how to run the event each week and gaining confidence with every race. We were both looking forward to the outdoor season to see how much we could have continued to improve."
Young's second 200-meter race of the season was a significant one. She raced to a runner-up finish at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational, clocking a time of 23.96 seconds on the Hawkeye Indoor Track at the University of Iowa Recreation Building in mid-January and moving her name to the top of Minnesota's all-time list in the process.
"What stood out to me during my 200-meter race at Iowa was the banked track I was able to run on," Young said. "A banked track is different from your regular track because it is raised off the ground and the curves become steep. I personally feel faster running on banked tracks, so I was ready to race from the jump as soon as I knew Iowa had a banked track."
Going under the 24-second mark for the first time indoors was an exciting milestone for Young, whose outdoor 200-meter career-best time of 23.59 seconds ranks third among all-time Gophers.
"Breaking 24 seconds felt great because it was a plan for my season this year that my coach and I talked about," Young said. "For me to break the record so early in the season really made me happy because I knew I had so much more in store for the rest of the season."
She was right. After her initial record-breaking performance, Young ran 23.87 at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational in early February and clocked in at 23.64 seconds in the Big Ten preliminary round before posting an identical time in the B1G final.
"Approaching the Big Ten 200-meter final, I was coming from preliminary races the previous day and a 60-meter dash final that same day," Young recalled. "One part of me was mentally and physically tired but another part of me, that I have learned to get to from experience, knew all I had to do was run the parts of my race correctly that my coach and I talked about. Being tired didn't matter in that moment because I knew the goals my team had for Big Ten indoors and I didn't want to let them down. In the end, I executed the race correctly and got fourth place, which I wasn't satisfied with, but I knew some more work in the weight room can do the fix for next time."
As a fierce competitor who thrives in big races, Young was set up for a strong performance at her second Big Ten indoor meet this winter. A year ago, the Chicago native placed third in the 60 meters, eighth in the 4x400-meter relay, and 10th in the 200 meters in her B1G debut before going on to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors and advance to the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter dash during the 2019 outdoor season.
"Amira makes it pretty easy on me as her coach," Bingle said. "She comes to practice each day prepared to practice, and she has a strong desire to get better. Amira loves to compete and has responded well to pressure situations in her career with us so far. I expect that as she continues to mature and grow that these qualities will only grow stronger."
Young's sophomore season came to a close with her time of 23.64 seconds sitting atop Minnesota's top-10 list for 200 meters. She also moved up to second among all-time Gophers in the 60 meters with a career-best time of 7.29 seconds at the 2020 Tyson Invitational.
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One of those memorable moments was sophomore Amira Young's record-breaking performance in the women's 200 meters. Young first broke the Gophers' indoor 200-meter record with a time of 23.96 seconds at Iowa's Larry Wieczorek Invitational, besting the previous program record of 24.03 seconds set by Erin Hawkins in 2015. She went on to improve on the record in multiple races, ending the season with a Minnesota record mark of 23.64 seconds for 200 meters.
Young's outstanding showing in the 200 meters began with her first race of the season when she posted an indoor career-best time of 24.06 seconds to win the 200 meters at the SDSU Holiday Invite. She improved on her own indoor 200-meter PR by 0.21 seconds and was just 0.03 seconds off Minnesota's program record in her season-opening race.
"It was a goal this year to improve in the 200 meters, and Amira seemed to do that each week," Gophers director of track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "I felt like she was learning more about how to run the event each week and gaining confidence with every race. We were both looking forward to the outdoor season to see how much we could have continued to improve."
Young's second 200-meter race of the season was a significant one. She raced to a runner-up finish at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational, clocking a time of 23.96 seconds on the Hawkeye Indoor Track at the University of Iowa Recreation Building in mid-January and moving her name to the top of Minnesota's all-time list in the process.
"What stood out to me during my 200-meter race at Iowa was the banked track I was able to run on," Young said. "A banked track is different from your regular track because it is raised off the ground and the curves become steep. I personally feel faster running on banked tracks, so I was ready to race from the jump as soon as I knew Iowa had a banked track."
Going under the 24-second mark for the first time indoors was an exciting milestone for Young, whose outdoor 200-meter career-best time of 23.59 seconds ranks third among all-time Gophers.
"Breaking 24 seconds felt great because it was a plan for my season this year that my coach and I talked about," Young said. "For me to break the record so early in the season really made me happy because I knew I had so much more in store for the rest of the season."
She was right. After her initial record-breaking performance, Young ran 23.87 at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational in early February and clocked in at 23.64 seconds in the Big Ten preliminary round before posting an identical time in the B1G final.
"Approaching the Big Ten 200-meter final, I was coming from preliminary races the previous day and a 60-meter dash final that same day," Young recalled. "One part of me was mentally and physically tired but another part of me, that I have learned to get to from experience, knew all I had to do was run the parts of my race correctly that my coach and I talked about. Being tired didn't matter in that moment because I knew the goals my team had for Big Ten indoors and I didn't want to let them down. In the end, I executed the race correctly and got fourth place, which I wasn't satisfied with, but I knew some more work in the weight room can do the fix for next time."
As a fierce competitor who thrives in big races, Young was set up for a strong performance at her second Big Ten indoor meet this winter. A year ago, the Chicago native placed third in the 60 meters, eighth in the 4x400-meter relay, and 10th in the 200 meters in her B1G debut before going on to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors and advance to the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter dash during the 2019 outdoor season.
"Amira makes it pretty easy on me as her coach," Bingle said. "She comes to practice each day prepared to practice, and she has a strong desire to get better. Amira loves to compete and has responded well to pressure situations in her career with us so far. I expect that as she continues to mature and grow that these qualities will only grow stronger."
Young's sophomore season came to a close with her time of 23.64 seconds sitting atop Minnesota's top-10 list for 200 meters. She also moved up to second among all-time Gophers in the 60 meters with a career-best time of 7.29 seconds at the 2020 Tyson Invitational.
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