Dawn Ellerbe was a female track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete, and is currently the assistant athletic director at California State University, East Bay

California State University, East Bay

California State University, East Bay is a public university located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The university, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers over 100 areas of study...

. Ellerbe is a member of the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 Athletics Hall of Fame and is on the Board of Directors for the United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

.

Ellerbe was featured in the New York Times article, "Sports of The Times; At Sydney, the First Toss Goes to the Women" by George Vecsey. and by CNN Sports Illustrated, "Ellerbe leads U.S. in debut of hammer throw." Her interest in fashion was profiled in "My Way: Dawn Ellerbe" in skirt!Columbia.

During her time as a student athlete at the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

, Ellerbe was a four-time NCAA champion, six-time All-American and five-time Southeastern Conference

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 champion. After receiving her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 in 1996, Ellerbe continued competition.

Ellerbe is a five-time USA Indoor champion (1996, 1998–2001) and six-time USA Outdoor champion in the hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

 (1995–2001). Ellerbe also claimed the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games

Athletics at the 1999 Pan American Games

The athletics competition at the 1999 Pan American Games was held in Winnipeg, Canada. Two new events were introduced for women: pole vault and hammer throw. In addition the 20 km road walk replaced the 10,000 m track walk.-Track:-Field:-Track:...

 in Winnipeg, Canada.

Then representing the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, Ellerbe finished in 7th place in the women's hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

 competition with a distance of 66.80 metres.

Achievements

Representing the
1997	World Student Games Athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade The Athletics Tournament at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place in the Stadio Cibali in Catania, Sicily at the end of August 1997, shortly after the World Championships in Athens, Greece. New events were the women's hammer throw, pole vault and half marathon competition.-Men’s events:-Women’s...	Catania Catania Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	6th	61.52 m Athletics at the 1997 Summer Universiade – Women's hammer throw The final of the Women's Hammer Throw competition at the 1997 Summer Universiade took place on August 29, 1997 in Catania, Italy. The event was contested for the first time at the Summer Universiade.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:...
1999	Pan American Games Athletics at the 1999 Pan American Games The athletics competition at the 1999 Pan American Games was held in Winnipeg, Canada. Two new events were introduced for women: pole vault and hammer throw. In addition the 20 km road walk replaced the 10,000 m track walk.-Track:-Field:-Track:...	Winnipeg, Canada	1st	65.36 m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	10th	63.55 m
2000	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, September 27 and Friday, September 29....	Sydney, Australia	7th	66.80 m
2001	World Championships 2001 World Championships in Athletics – Women's hammer throw The final of the Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada was held on Tuesday August 7, 2001. There were a total number of 34 participating athletes...	Edmonton, Canada	13th	64.34 m
2003	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's hammer throw These are the official results of the Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 44 participating athletes, with the final held on Thursday 28 August 2003.-Medalists:-Schedule:...	Paris, France	29th	61.66 m