Grace Claxton

Grace Claxton
OLY[1]
Personal information
Full nameGrace Juliette Claxton Joseph
Born (1993-08-19) August 19, 1993
San Juan, Puerto Rico
EducationUniversity of Albany
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event
400 metres hurdles
College teamAlbany Great Danes[2]
Coached byRoberto Vives
Updated on August 16, 2016

Grace Juliette Claxton Joseph (born August 19, 1993)[3] is a Puerto Rican hurdler and sprinter. She won the 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 Ibero-American Championships. She competed at the 2016 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career

Claxton finished 13th in the 400 meters at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships.[3] She also competed in the 400 metres at the 2012 World Junior Championships and advanced into the semifinals, where she finished 16th.[4] At the 2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships, she placed ninth in the 400 meters.[3] She then finished fourth in the 400 meters at the 2014 NACAC U23 Championships.[5]

Claxton represented Puerto Rico at the 2015 Pan American Games in the 4 × 400 metres relay, finishing sixth.[6] At the 2016 World Indoor Championships, she advanced into the 400 metres semifinals and finished 11th.[7] At the 2016 NCAA Championships East Preliminary Round, she ran the 400 metres hurdles in 55.90 seconds and met the entry standard for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[8] There, she finished third in her heat with a time of 56.40 and advanced into the semifinals.[9] She ran a personal best of 55.85 in the semifinals but did not advance into the finals.[10]

At the 2017 World Championships, Claxton advanced into the 400 metres hurdles semifinals and placed 16th.[11] She then finished 27th in the 400 metres at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.[12] At the 2019 Pan American Games, she finished sixth in the 400 metres hurdles with a time of 56.04.[13]

Claxton won a bronze medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 Ibero-American Championships.[14] She then competed at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and finished 26th in the 400 metres hurdles heats.[15] She won the 400 metres hurdles title at the 2024 Ibero-American Championships with a time of 55.41.[16]

Claxton qualified to represent Puerto Rico at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 400 metres hurdles but failed to advance from the repechage round.[17] She finished 34th in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.[18]

Personal life

Claxton graduated from the University of Albany with a bachelor’s degree in public health and a minor in business in 2017. She has a son who was born in 2023.[19]

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Puerto Rico
2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 13th (h) 400 m 54.76
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:39.37
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 16th (sf) 400 m 54.42
2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships Morelia, Mexico 9th (h) 400 m 53.98
4th 4 × 400 m relay 3:38.13
2014 NACAC U23 Championships Kamloops, Canada 4th 400 m 53.55
2015 Central American Championships Managua, Nicaragua 1st1 4 × 400 m relay 3:35.71
Pan American Games Toronto, Canada 6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:33.16
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 11th (sf) 400 m 53.67
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 14th (sf) 400 m hurdles 55.85
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 16th (sf) 400 m hurdles 56.40
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 27th (h) 400 m 53.92
Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla, Colombia 8th 400 m hurdles 56.77
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:33.65
2019 Pan American Games Lima, Peru 6th 400 m hurdles 56.04
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.03
2022 Ibero-American Championships La Nucía, Spain 3rd 400 m hurdles 55.66
World Championships Eugene, United States 26th (h) 400 m hurdles 56.40
NACAC Championships Freeport, Bahamas 4th 400 m hurdles 56.37
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 20th (h) 400 m 54.62
Ibero-American Championships Cuiabá, Brazil 1st 400 m hurdles 55.41
Olympic Games Paris, France 15th (rep) 400 m hurdles 55.94
2025 NACAC Championships Freeport, Bahamas 5th 400 m hurdles 55.67
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 34th (h) 400 m hurdles 56.14
2026 Ibero-American Championships Lima, Peru 1st 400 m hurdles 55.74
Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2nd 400 m hurdles 55.40
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:29.30

1Out of competition performance

Personal bests

All information taken from World Athletics profile.[3] Outdoor

Indoor

References

  1. ↑ "Grace Claxton, OLY". Retrieved August 8, 2024 – via Instagram.
  2. ↑ "Grace Claxton". Albany Great Danes. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Grace Claxton at World Athletics
  4. ↑ "IAAF World Junior Championships Estadio Olímpico, Barcelona (ESP) Women's 400 Metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  5. ↑ 2014 NACAC U23 Championship - Kamloops, BC, Canada - Event 10 Women 20-22 400 Meter Dash, NACAC, archived from the original on 2014-08-12, retrieved 11 August 2014
  6. ↑ "Claxton's Relay Places Sixth At Pan American Games; Butterfield Sixth In North Carolina". Albany Great Danes. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "400 Metres Women - Semi-Finals" (PDF). World Athletics. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Claxton Advances to NCAAs, Qualifies for Rio Olympics". Albany Great Danes. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Olympics: UAlbany's Grace Claxton dashes to next round". Times Union. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Olympic run ends for UAlbany's Grace Claxton". Times Union. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Claxton Places 16th At World Championships". Albany Great Danes. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "400 Metres Women - Round 1" (PDF). World Athletics. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Women's 400 metres hurdles − Final − Results" (PDF). Lima Organizing Committee for the 2019 Pan and Parapan American Games (COPAL). Retrieved 16 Aug 2019.
  14. ↑ "¡Grande Melissa!: nuevo récord nacional y oro en el Iberoamericano". Running Colombia (in Spanish). 21 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "400 Metres Hurdles Women - Round 1 – Summary", World Athletics, 19 July 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Women's 400 Metres Hurdles Final". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Athletics – Women's 400m Hurdles – Repechage Round – Results Summary", Olympics.com, 5 August 2024. Archived 15 August 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "Summary – 400m Hurdles Women – Round 1", World Athletics, 15 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "UAlbany Hall of Famer Claxton Embraces Motherhood, Olympics". University of Albany. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
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