State Champion spotlight: Tiffany Tanner Brunswick
Junior Tiffany Tanner used a powerful last lap kick to win the Class A girls 800m state title, then right after got to watch her older brother Chris win the boys 800m title as well. We caught up with Tiffany to ask a few questions about her preparation before the meet, her mindset on meet day, and what it meant to she her brother win as well.
What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I prepared by mostly tapering towards the last week, getting good rest over the weekend, and hydrating the day before.
How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
I get very nervous for races right before they're about to start, and so for the state meet I planned my 800 and went over how I was going to run it in my head several times, so when I actually got to the starting line, I wouldn't hesitate.
You closed very hard in the 800m to pull away from the field with ease over the last lap, was that you plan coming into the race and how did you feel coming down the homestretch?
Since I'm not very good at pacing myself, I was hoping to follow behind for at least the first half and pull away afterwards when I could. I actually meant to pick it up sooner, towards the beginning of the third lap, but I ended up hesitating when I reached that point. That was probably why I pulled away so hard in the last lap, because I realized that I wasn't going to reach my time goal if I didn't. I gave everything on the final stretch and so even though I was pretty tired, I had a lot of adrenaline from being in the lead pushing me to not slow down.
What did it mean to have your brother won the boys 800m right after you victory in the girls race?
I thought it was pretty cool that my brother was able to win his race as well, since we're both 800 meter runners, and I knew since it was his senior year, it meant a lot to him. Last year we both had finished with a close second place, also, so it feels as if we've been running parallel races. I think him winning the 800 also made the meet so much more memorable for me and meaningful, especially since we trained together out of practice with the same workouts. And it was the last chance for us to share a victory in indoor.
Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?
My goals coming into the season were mostly to PR, which I did end up doing in a few of my events, just not the 800. I did PR in the 1000 in New England's though, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Tanner's 800m Progression
- 2015 Indoor 2:23.86
- 2014 Indoor 2:23.50
- 2013 Indoor 2:32.22
2014-15 Results
| 2:23.86 | 1st | 2015-02-16 | Class A Indoor State Championship | » | |
| 2:33.46 | 1st | 2015-02-07 | KVAC Championship | » | |
| 2:25.96 | 1st | 2015-01-24 | KVAC Colby meet #3 | » | |
| 2:27.27 | 1st | 2015-01-09 | KVAC Indoor Track & Field League Meet # 6 | » | |
| 2:31.39 | 1st | 2015-01-02 | KVAC Indoor Track & Field League Meet # 4 | » | |
| 2:29.39 | 1st | 2014-12-30 | KVAC Indoor Track & Field League Meet # 3 | » |