Magnolia Howell

Magnolia Howell (born 1993) is a former professional track and field sprinter and current writer and fine artist. Representing Trinidad and Tobago, she won the gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships.

Magnolia Howell

Personal information
Nationality	Trinidad and Tobago
Born	Sacramento, California[1]
Education	California State University, Long Beach, studying print journalism[2]
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres[3]
College team	Long Beach State 49ers[4][2]
Club	Team Bing[3] Nike, Inc.[5]
Turned pro	2011[5]
Coached by	Bobby Kersee (2013)[6] Darryl Woodson (2020)[7]
Achievements and titles
World finals	2014 World Relays  • 4 × 400 m, 4th (B final) 2015 World Relays  • 4 × 400 m, 4th (B final)
National finals	2011 Trinidadian Champs  • 400m, 2nd  • 200m, 4th 2012 Trinidadian Champs  • 100m, 6th  • 4 x 100m, 1st 2013 Trinidadian Champs  • 400m, 7th  • 200m, 5th 2015 Trinidadian Champs  • 200m, 3rd
Personal bests	100m: 11.40 (+1.9) (2012) 200m: 23.39 (+0.9) (2013) 400m: 52.25 (2015)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Trinidad and Tobago Central American and Caribbean Champs 2011 Mayagüez 4 × 100 m relay 2011 Mayagüez 4 × 400 m relay

Biography

Born in Sacramento, California but raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Howell started running at eight years old.^[1][8] She moved to Omaha, Nebraska and attended Westside High School, where she was a state champion in both the 100 m and 200 m.^[1][9]

In college she competed for the Long Beach State 49ers track and field team, setting a school record in the 4 × 100 metres while studying print journalism.^[2] After graduating, she began to focus more exclusively on running.

At the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Howell competed in the 4 × 100 m, 4 × 400 m, and individual 200 m for Trinidad and Tobago. In the 200 m, Howell did not qualify for the finals, but she won the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay leading off for teammates Michelle-Lee Ahye, Ayanna Hutchinson, and Semoy Hackett. Howell was the only athlete from that team to also compete in the 4 × 400 m finals, where her team won the bronze medal.^[10][11]

At the 2012 NAAATT Trinidadian Olympic trials, Howell finished 6th in the 100 metres, narrowly missing an Olympic berth.^[3]

In 2014, Howell began to train at Drake Stadium under famed athletics and former Nike coach Bobby Kersee.^[5] Following her professional rise, she competed in the 2014 and 2015 IAAF World Relays, both times representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 4 × 400 m. At both championships, Howell's team finished 4th in the 'B' finals, posting an overall best mark of 3:33.21 at the 2014 edition.^[12]

Howell competed at the 2016 NAAATT Trials in the 400 m, but did not qualify for the 'A' final and missed out on another Olympic team spot.^[3] Following this setback, Howell took a year off from the sport and started an art company, Art On The Run,^[13] before moving to Austin, Texas to be coached by Darryl Woodson in preparation for the 2020 Olympic cycle.^[1][14] She stated that one of her goals was to break Janeil Bellille's Trinidadian record in the 400 m of 51.83 seconds.^[14]

After the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 postponed the Olympics back one year, Howell retired from the sport and focused exclusively on writing and art.^[1] As an artist under the pen name Magnolia Lafleur, she has shown her work in Los Angeles-area galleries and has sold to international clients.^[6][15] As a journalist, she is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and has worked for the Press-Telegram, the Grunion Gazette, the Long Beach Post,^[16] the Palisadian-Post,^[17] and the Orange County Register.^[18]

Statistics

Personal bests

Event	Mark	Place	Competition	Venue	Date
100 metres	11.40 (+1.9 m/s)		Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Classic	Los Angeles, California	7 April 2012
200 metres	23.39 (+0.9 m/s)	2rB	Oxy Invitational	Eagle Rock, California	4 May 2013
400 metres	52.25		Oxy-Lu Last Chance Qualifier	Eagle Rock, California	12 May 2015