Kyle Clemons

Kyle Clemons at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×400 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Beijing4 × 400m relay
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place2015 Toronto400 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 Sopot4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place2016 Portland4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2014 Sopot400 m

Kyle Clemons (born December 27, 1990) is an American track and field sprinter who competed collegiately for the Kansas Jayhawks and specializes in the 400-meter dash. He was the 2014 champion at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. His personal best for the event is 44.79.

He competed collegiately for the University of Kansas and broke the indoor and outdoor school records for the 400 m. He was a two-time Big 12 Conference champion in 2013.

Biography

Early life and college

Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Tim Clemons and Valarie Hilson, he grew up in a family with a history of track and field – his mother competed in track for Arkansas State University. He attended Rowlett High School and had his first regional track competitions there, winning state high school titles twice in the 400 m and twice in the 4×100-meter relay. He left high school with a personal record of 46.35 seconds for the 400 m. After graduation, he went to the University of Kansas to study for a degree in African and African-American studies.[1]

In his first season of competition for the Kansas Jayhawks collegiate team, he won at the Kansas Relays and achieved a personal record of 45.98 seconds at the NCAA qualifier meet.[1] He came sixth at the Big 12 Conference championship and was a semi-finalist at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, where he also competed with the 4×400-meter relay team. In addition to this he entered the senior national event and was a semi-finalist at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His second year did not see much improvement. He again won at the Kansas Relays, but was out of the top three at the Big 12 Conference indoor and outdoor meets and his season's best of 46.11 seconds saw him eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championship.[2]

Clemons came ninth at the 2012 Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship, but had greater success outdoors. He ran a personal best of 45.91 seconds to take third in the 400 m at the Big 12 outdoor meet and also came fourth in the 4×400 m relay, helping set the second fastest time ever for the school at 3:04.89 minutes. Another personal record of 45.44 seconds at the NCAA Outdoors (where he came eleventh) brought him to second on the all-time school lists. He entered the 2012 United States Olympic Trials but did not get past the first round.[1][3] In his fourth and final year at Kansas, he broke Deon Hogan's long-standing school records from the early 1980s with an indoor best of 46.44 seconds and an outdoor best of 45.10 seconds.[4][5] At the Big 12 indoor meet he came third in the 400 m and second in the 4×400 m relay. He bettered this at the Big 12 outdoors, winning both individual and relay titles, running alongside DeMario Johnson, Michael Stigler, and Kenneth McCuin. He was a semi-finalist in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.[2]

Professional

In his first professional season in 2014, he won his first national title at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, beating the more experienced David Verburg to become the USA 400 m champion with an indoor personal record of 45.60 seconds.[6] This performance led to his selection for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At the event, his first major championship, he was the second fastest in qualifying for the final then finished third in the final, taking the bronze medal.[7][8]

Personal records

Outdoor
Indoor

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 3rd 400 metres 45.74
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 1st1 4 × 400 m relay 2:58.131
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2nd (h) 4 × 400 m relay 2:58.38
2017 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.13

1: Competed only in the heat.

National titles

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kyle Clemons. University of Kansas. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  2. 1 2 Kyle Clemons. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  3. ↑ Clemons, Kyle. DirectAthletics. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  4. ↑ MEN’S OUTDOOR ALL-TIME TOP PERFORMERS • As of 6/8/13. Kansas University. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  5. ↑ MEN’S INDOOR ALL-TIME TOP PERFORMERS • As of 3/1/2014. Kansas University. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  6. ↑ Sully, Kevin (2014-02-24). Whiting and Cain put in dominant performances at US Indoors. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  7. ↑ Bamford, Nicola (2014-03-07). Report: men's 400m semi-finals – Sopot 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
  8. ↑ Bamford, Nicola (2014-03-08). Report: men's 400m final – Sopot 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.
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