They say the true test of a competitor is what they do when they lose.
And, man, did Tamari Davis ever make a statement on Saturday at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A Championships at 200 meters.
While the Gainesville (FL) High freshman had lost to Oakland Park Northeast's Briana Williams earlier in the day in the 100m, it wasn't by much. Davis was actually making up large swaths of ground en route to a second-place effort in 11.36 seconds, just 0.05 slower than Williams' winning mark of 11.31.
Maybe that was the motivation Davis needed, though.
Davis made sure no one was even in the picture when she crossed the finish line in the 200m, posting a US No. 1 wind-legal time of 22.48 seconds, the first effort under 23 this year from any female and a new 15-year-old world age group record. The time also stands as an unofficial American Youth record for 15-16 year old girls, surpassing the former mark of 23.06, which Davis tied earlier this year from Bianca Knight, who last accomplished that time in 2004.
Williams was second in 23.15 seconds.
Davis' mark was the third fastest time ever recorded of a high school female all-time, but the out right win was probably what was most impressive. Williams is one of the best prep girls sprinters ever, in her own right, as the 15-year-old broke Marion Jones' age group world record in the 100m with an 11.13 earlier this season.
Now, the only prep girls faster than Davis are Allyson Felix, who set the high school national record at 22.11 in 2003, and Candace Hill, who ran 22.43 in 2015 to win the World Youth Championships. Both women turned pro as high schoolers.
Davis, who had already owned the freshman class record of 23.06, reset that mark and also earned her second straight world age group record after posting a 14-year-old mark in 2017 in 23.21 (+0.6).
Davis, now one of the most accomplished freshman sprinters of all-time, has been a record machine since beginning in the winter, where she also set a world age group record in the 60m of 7.25 seconds at New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Perhaps this is only the beginning of Davis' postseason, though.
A year ago, an 8th grade Davis continued her run at the Prefontaine Classic in the high school division 200m and ran at the AAU Junior Olympics.
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FloTrack's Johanna Gretschel contributed to this report
