Hall of Fame: Ginnie Powell Crawford

The Pasco Invite welcomes to our Hall of Fame Ginnie (Powell) Crawford, the greatest hurdler in Washington State High School Track and Field history and the only 4-time Most Valuable Athlete in Pasco Invite Meet history. Ginnie was born September 1983 and grew up in Seattle, Washington From 2001-2004, Ginnie was a standout athlete at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School and a champion in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles along with the 100 and 200 meters. Ginnie was a 9-time Individual State Champion in the hurdles and sprints. She would go on to win the prestigious Seattle Times/P.I. Sports Star of the year. Ginnie still holds the Washington State All-time best record in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.39. 

She currently holds the Pasco Invite, Edgar Brown Stadium, State Meet and All-Time Washington High School mark in the 100 hurdles (13.88) along with the State Meet record in the 300 hurdles (42.12).

Following her standout prep career, she accepted a full track scholarship to the University of Southern California. It was at USC where she would become a World Class Hurdler. At USC, she went undefeated in the 100 meter hurdles her junior and senior year and became a 4-time NCAA champion winning the 60-meter indoor hurdles in 2005 and 2006 and winning the 100-meter hurdles in 2005 and 2006. At the 2006 NCAA Championships, she finished the semi-fi nals in 12.55 seconds (breaking Gail Devers’ long-standing collegiate record) and won the final the following day in 12.48 seconds, setting a world-leading time.

She began her international track career at the 1999 World Youth Championships reaching the finals of the 100-meter hurdles competition.

She won her first major medal at the 2006 IAAF World Cup (Bronze Medal), finishing in 12.90 seconds. She first competed in 2005, and reached the final of the sprint hurdles competition at the 2007 and 2009 editions, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

Ginnie signed one of the largest Nike contracts (6 years) ever for a female athlete in 2006. In her track career, she ran professionally for 10 years under Nike and was a two-time US national champion over the 100-meter hurdles, winning the title in 2006 and 2007. Ginnie was ranked in the top 10 in the world for most of her career as she traveled to over 24 countries to compete in the 100 hurdles. She competed on 4 USA Teams at 4 different World Championships and in 2006 she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s best female collegiate track and fi eld athlete.

Ginnie currently resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband Shawn Crawford (the 2004 200-meter Olympic Gold medalist, 2008 200-meter silver medalist) and their two daughters Ariah and Ava. In 2018 she left Los Angeles and returned back to the Seattle area to become a middle school math teacher teaching 6th and 7th grade math at Seattle Academy of Arts and Science (SAAS). Ginnie coached two years at her alma mater, Rainier Beach High School and now currently coaches at Seattle Academy.