Angelo Taylor
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| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | |||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | 400 m hurdles | |
Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Born in Albany, Georgia, Angelo Taylor studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology and won the NCAA title in 1998 and placed second in 1997. In 1998, Taylor also won a silver medal at the US National Championships. He went on to win the title three times from 1999 to 2001.
Taylor made his debut at the major tournaments at the 1999 World Championships, where he finished third in his heat in 400 m hurdles, but ran a third leg at the gold medal winning US 4x400 m relay team.
In 2000, Taylor ran a world-leading time at the Olympic Trials and entered the Sydney Games as a favorite. In a thrilling final, Taylor moved from fourth place to first over the final two hurdles and barely edged Saudi Arabia's Hadi Souan Somayli by 0.03 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the event. Taylor also ran in the heat and semifinal of 4x400 m relay race.
Taylor was eliminated in the semifinals of the 2001 World Championships in 400 m hurdles while struggling with a sinus infection and flu, but won a gold as a member of US 4x400 m relay team. He didn't make the US World Championships team in 2003, but tried to defend unsuccessfully his Olympic title at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing only fourth in semifinal.
In November 2004, Taylor was arrested when a police officer allegedly found him having sex with a 15-year-old girl in a parked car. Taylor was charged with one count of child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes.
In January of 2005, Taylor was again arrested for allegedly having sex with a second 15-year-old girl. He was charged with three counts of child molestation and one count of enticing a child for indescent purposes.
In January of 2006, he pled guilty to both incidents and was sentenced to three years probation, a $2,500 fine, and evaluation for possible sex offender treatment. (Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 18, 2006)
[edit] External links
| Olympic champions in men's 400 m hurdles |
|---|
| 1900: John Tewksbury | 1904: Harry Hillman | 1906: Charles Bacon | 1908: Frank Loomis | 1912: Morgan Taylor | 1920: David Burghley | 1924: Bob Tisdall | 1928: Glenn Hardin | 1948: Roy Cochran | 1952: Charles Moore | 1956: Rex Cawley | 1960: Glenn Davis | 1964: Glenn Davis | 1968: David Hemery | 1972: John Akii-Bua | 1976 Edwin Moses | 1980 Volker Beck | 1984: Edwin Moses | 1988: André Phillips | 1992: Kevin Young | 1996: Derrick Adkins | 2000: Angelo Taylor | 2004: Felix Sanchez |
