Olympic champion to visit hometown

3-time U.S. Olympic champion Tianna Madison Bartoletta to appear at events

Three-time U.S. Olympic champion Tianna Madison Bartoletta is paying a visit to her hometown of Elyria from Oct. 19-21 for a weekend full of events to meet with young athletes, friends and fans.

Madison Bartoletta, 33, is one of the world’s most accomplished track and field athletes of this generation, according to a news release.

Her theme for visiting back home is “Hometown Glory,” an expression affectionately penned in appreciation of the support and love she has felt throughout her journey throughout her athletic career, the release said.

“I am looking forward to visiting my hometown and sharing with members of the community, especially our youth,” Madison Bartoletta said. “I believe every experience, positive or negative, shapes us into a better version of ourselves. I have learned so much, not just as an athlete, but as a person dedicated to a life of betterment through resiliency and empathy.”

At 6:30 p.m., Oct. 19, Madison Bartoletta will join the Elyria City School District for the formal dedication of the Mercy Health Field at Ely Stadium where she will give remarks.

She also will attend a tailgate party from 3:30-6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Elyria High School, 601 Middle Ave.

Madison Bartoletta will be the special guest at a meet-and-greet reception celebration with community members at 4:30 p.m., Oct. 20 at Elyria High School Performing Arts Center. The evening will include remarks and presentations from local, county, state and national representatives, the release said.

To conclude her visit, she will share her athletic wisdom during a crash course seminar open to coaches and middle school and high school athletes of all sports from 1-4 p.m., Oct. 21, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 1100 Crocker Road in Westlake.

To register, participants can go to her website: tbtrackstar.com.

“We are extremely grateful and thankful to have her coming home,” said Jo Ann and Bob Madison, parents of Madison Bartoletta. “Over the past year, we have enjoyed spending time together and are very excited to share her journey with our family, friends and the entire community when she returns home.”

A 2003 graduate, Madison Bartoletta first made her mark in track and field at Elyria High as a studentathlete, earning multiple team and individual state championships, including a record-breaking long jump.

She also became the third athlete in Ohio history to win four events at a state championship meet two years in a row.

Madison Bartoletta went on to be an NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor long jump champion at the University of Tennessee and is ranked first all-time in Tennessee’s history of the outdoor long jump at 6.89 m.

She won the long jump World Championship in 2005 and 2015, along with the long jump World Indoor Championship in 2006.

And she was a pusher on the U.S. bobsled team in 2012.

“We are extremely grateful and thankful to have her coming home. Over the past year, we have enjoyed spending time together and are very excited to share her journey with our family, friends and the entire community when she returns home.”

— Jo Ann and Bob Madison, parents of Madison Bartoletta

As a U.S. Olympian athlete, she placed fourth in the 100-meter race then won her first gold by leading off the world record-setting 4×100 meter relay team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won two more golds, first with a personal best to win the long jump then again leading off the 4×100 meter relay team.

Madison Bartoletta currently is in training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.