Background
Her parents, both nurses, immigrated to San Jose from Sierra Leone shortly before she was born.
Her parents, both nurses, immigrated to San Jose from Sierra Leone shortly before she was born.
Tarmoh lives in San Jose, California where she attended Mountain. Pleasant High School.
She was also part of the 2007 CIF State Championship team from Mountain. She was an All-American for Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University helping them with back to back to back wins in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Track & Field Outdoor Championships 2009–2011 seasons. She gave up her final year of eligibility to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association after she went professional, signing with Nike.
She came third at the 2011 United States of America national Outdoor Championships in the 200m behind Shalonda Solomon and Carmelita Jeter earning her a place on the 2011 IAAF World Championships team
On June 23, 2012 Tarmoh finished in a tie with Allyson Felix for third place in the 100m finals at the United States Track and Field Olympic Trials. Tarmoh had initially been declared the third-place finisher immediately after the race but was dropped into a tie with Felix after officials reviewed the photo finish of their finish.
The top three places qualified for the 2012 United States of America Olympic team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, USATF had no tiebreaker procedures in place at the time in the event of a tie for the final spot.
After discussion, USATF officials decided that a runoff between the two sprinters would take place in the event that neither ceded her spot to the other.
Tarmoh initially agreed to the runoff, but later pulled out, ceding the spot to Felix. The event generated substantial criticism toward USATF officials for having insufficient procedures in place for breaking ties, as well as for forcing the runners to decide whether to participate in the eventual runoff. Tarmoh traveled to London as a reserve on the United States team
She ran the second leg of the women"s 4 × 100 metres relay in the qualifying round.
Tarmoh has also appeared in an episode of "California on" where she was interviewed by comedian Kassem G.