By Abigail Winn
When it comes to helping her daughter Tamari succeed in track, Tamara Davis is all in.
“Everything we do is committed to what she has to do,” she said. “A lot of travel for practice, training late at night, doing homework late at night and homework on the road. We make sure she has salad. We make sure she has broccoli.”
It seems to be working. Fourteen-year-old Tamari won the high school girls 200-meter dash Friday night against seven top high school runners at the 2017 Prefontaine Classic.
“It’s just a total dream come true,” Tamara said. “It’s been a wonderful time, and to end with a win, it’s even better.”
The Florida eighth grader won the race with a new personal record of 23.21 seconds, down from 23.38 and despite a bad start. Daija Lampkin took second at 23.36 and Sha’Carri Richardson took third with 23.39.
“This feels amazing,” Tamari said. “I didn’t care about place. I just wanted to PR and to have a great time. I didn’t know I was gonna be able to do this.”
Tamari, who participated in the 2017 Nike Elite Camp, spent the last few days leading up to the Pre Classic visiting Nike headquarters, trying out new gear and meeting her track idol Allyson Felix.
“She was saying some very motivational stuff,” she said. “Keep trying, to never give up and love what you do.”
Tamari encouraged younger athletes like herself to keep pushing for their goals. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. You can do big things and make it to big places.”
Looking ahead, Tamari has dreams even bigger than Hayward Field: She’s aiming for the 2020 Olympics.
But no matter the stage, Tamara and Tamari share a moment together. “Before she runs any meet, we tell her she’s gonna be fine,” Tamara said. “I always talk to her and I give her a hug and say, ‘I’m always in your heart, no matter what happens.’ We do that for every meet.”
