Natasha Monique Hastings was born in July 1986 in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in a sports family. Her mother, Joanne Gardner, was a promising British track and field athlete. She was a sprinter in the 1970s, just like her daughter. Her cousin Shaka Hislop is the owner of the unofficial title of the best football goalkeeper of the national team of Trinidad and Tobago. Read more about the sports achievements of the Brooklyn native on brooklyn1.one.
Sportive childhood
Natasha Hastings began her track and field career at a very early age and won first place at the USATF Junior Olympics, in the Youth Girls group in the 400 meters. She attended A. Philip Randolph Campus High School in Harlem, where she trained very hard. There, the girl realized that this was the sport of her whole life.
After school, Natasha continued her studies at the University of South Carolina. She dreamed of working under the leadership of Curtis Frye. In addition to serving as the head coach of the university’s track and field team, Frye served as an assistant coach for the USA Women’s Track and Field Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. At the University of South Carolina, Hastings became known as ‘the 400M Diva’.
In 2007, she became a professional athlete. It was the year of her breakthrough. Hastings traveled home to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational and won her crowning 400 m event in a personal best time of 51.70 seconds. In addition, she consolidated her success with the start and victory in the relay, 4 × 400 meters. At this distance, the team, together with Natasha, showed the fastest student time of the year. In 2007, she also won the SEC Championship with a time of 50.84 seconds. Natasha Hastings won the NCAA title with a time of 50.15 seconds in the 400 meters, the second-fastest time at the collegiate level. It should be noted that Natasha successfully competed without defeat all season, becoming the champion at the distance of 400 meters, not only outdoors but also indoors.
Olympic debut
In 2008, at the age of 22, Hastings made the US Olympic track and field team. She won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 4 × 400 m relay. Competing for the final, the athletes ran the distance with a total time of 3:22.45 minutes. Natasha’s result was 49.97 seconds. Mary Wineberg, Monique Henderson and Sanya Richards-Ross performed for the USA team too. Natasha did not take part in the final race. She was replaced by Allyson Felix. However, this did not prevent the American women from winning the Olympics in Beijing at this distance, showing the final result of 3:18.54 minutes. Before that the athlete participated in races and was also awarded a medal.
In 2013, Natasha Hastings won the USATF 400m Outdoor Championships with a time of 49.94 seconds, earning her a spot on the USA Track and Field team and a trip to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. There, Natasha took fourth place.
In 2015, Hastings also made the USA Track and Field team at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. In her semi-final, she placed 5th and did not advance to the final. However, as part of the women’s 4 x 400m team, she finished second and won a silver medal with the team.
In 2016, Natasha Hastings qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by finishing third in the USA qualifiers. Her personal time was 50.17 seconds in the 400m. In Rio, Hastings finished fourth in the 400m final, running the distance in 50.34 seconds. The American team, together with Natasha, had no equal with the result of 3.19.06 minutes.
Private life
At the 2016 Great North City Games in Great Britain, Hastings set a personal best of 16.67 seconds in the 150m straight, finishing second. In 2017, Natasha won the 400m at the Golden Gala in Rome with a time of 50.52 seconds. At the 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, the athlete posted a season-best 50.14 seconds in the 400m, finishing fourth.
Talking about the athlete’s personal life, Natasha has her own channel on YouTube with a video blog. The athlete allows fans to view behind-the-scenes footage of her races, training and preparation. She also has a series of videos called Tea Time. The athlete chats with subscribers, bringing up a wide variety of topics in conversations, from dating to psychological preparation. Such conversations take place with friends and fellow athletes, such as Michelle Carter.
Natasha is engaged to former NFL cornerback William Gay. They are not married and have one son. Her mother, Joanne, was one of the best junior sprinters in the United Kingdom.