November 7, 2019
Boston, MA
October Athlete of the Month: Wadeline Jonathas
Wadeline Jonathas had an exciting month of October. On October 3rd she finished fourth in the world in the 400m in a time of 49.60 at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Her time is now the fastest collegiate 400m ever run.
Just three days later, on October 6th, Jonathas anchored the U.S. Women’s 4x400m team to first in a time of 3:18.92 with 50.20 split.
Jonathas’ success on the world stage comes at the end of an incredibly successful 2019 season and at the high point of a long track & field career that began here in New England.
After moving from Haiti when she was eleven years old, Jonathas attended Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, MA. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing basketball and volleyball before taking up running in eleventh grade. She participated in many USATF-NE youth events, and eventually finished runner-up in the 400m at the 2016 MA state championships.
Jonathas then went on to attend UMass Boston, where she racked up an amazing nine NCAA DIII national championships in just two years.
After her DIII success, Jonathas transferred to the University of South Carolina in the summer between her sophomore and junior years.
On March 9th, at the 2019 NCAA DI Indoor Championships, Jonathas helped secure a 4x400m national championship for the Carolina, anchoring the women’s team to a time of 3:30.76 with a split of 51.59.
On June 8th, Jonathas continued her success by winning the women's open 400m in 50.60 at the 2019 NCAA DI Outdoor Championships, her first individual national championship at the DI level.
A month later on July 27th, Jonathas finished 4th in the country in the 400m with a time of 50.44 at the 2019 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. This qualified her for the IAAF World Championships in Doha in October.
Jonathas' fabulous 2019 season finally culminated in Doha, where she ran the fastest collegiate 400m ever (49.60) to finish 4th in the world, and then anchored the U.S. women’s 4x400m team to a win.