Hello fellow Beacons! It is nice to finally be able to inform all of you that our return to normalcy inches closer by the day, as we will finally be back on campus for the fall semester.
Even though it seems like there hasn’t been much to look forward to for the last year and a half here at the University of Massachusetts Boston, there have been quite a few breakthroughs on the sports side of things for UMass Boston. For starters, the Beacons were finally back competing this year in the spring sports season, which has ultimately paved the way for all of us to return to campus this fall. However, the greatest sporting accomplishment from a Beacon did not come on campus and that is what I want to focus on in this article.
Wadeline Jonathas competed for the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Track and Field team in her freshman (2017) and sophomore (2018) years and dominated the 200 M and the 400 M winning the Division III title in both years. After her clear Division III dominance, she quickly shifted gears and transferred to Southern Carolina where she would continue her collegiate career as a Division I athlete.
To most people, making the jump from Division III to Division I would be a pretty difficult transition, but not for Jonathas; she made the transition seamlessly. In her first year at Southern Carolina, Jonathas claimed two Division I Track and Field titles. Her first came in the indoor 4×400 M, and her second came in the outdoor 400 M. She also went on to mark the fastest 400 M times in NCAA history with a time of 49.60 seconds.
Her collegiate success definitely did not go unnoticed, as she was then given the opportunity to represent the United States Women’s Track and Field team. In 2019, she helped Team USA claim first place in the 4×400 M event in the World Championships, and in 2020 she managed to take first place in the 400 M event for the Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Her undeniable dominance ultimately earned Jonathas an opportunity to compete at the world’s highest stage, the Olympics. She was given the opportunity to compete in two different events, the 400 M and the 4×400 M relay. In the 400 M, she ultimately made it all the way to the semi final, where she would unfortunately not qualify for the final race. However, she was a part of a six women’s pool for the 4×400 M relay that would go on to qualify for the final race. Although she was a reserve for the final race, Jonathas did help her team get to that final race in which they took home the gold medal in convincing fashion.
Jonathas’ achievement marks the first time in UMass Boston’s history where a Beacon alum would go on to win an Olympic gold medal! So, on behalf of the entire University of Massachusetts Boston, a huge congratulations is in order for Jonathas’ remarkable achievement. Jonathas’ inspiring story is just proof that it doesn’t matter whether you start at Division I or Division III, it just matters where you ultimately finish and in Jonathas’ case, she finished on top of the world as an Olympic champion!