Kerron Clement

Kerron Clement

Kerron Clement in Berlin in 2009.
Personal information
Full name Kerron Stephon Clement
Nationality  United States
Born October 31, 1985 (1985-10-31) (age 26)
Port of Spain, Trinidad
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) 400 meters, 400 meters hurdles
College/university team University of Florida

Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is Trinidadian-born track and field athlete who represents the United States and specializes in the 400-meter hurdles. He also competes in the 400-meter sprint and holds the indoor world record for the event, having broken Michael Johnson's mark in 2005.

Clement won the hurdles at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and took the silver behind Angelo Taylor at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He retained his world title at the 2009 World Championships. He is a frequent member of the American 4x400-meter relay and is a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist in the event.

As a junior athlete, he set a championship record at the 2004 World Junior Championships and won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2004/2005. He quickly progressed on the senior circuit, taking the hurdles title at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in both 2005 and 2006. He was fourth in his first global appearance at the 2005 World Championships and won his first global gold at the 2006 IAAF World Cup.

Contents

Career

Clement was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. His family moved to the United States in 1998, where he became a successful high school athlete at La Porte, Texas winning both 110 and 400-meter hurdles at the USATF Youth Athletics Championships.

Clement became a U.S. citizen in June 2004. At the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics in July, he won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles in a championship record time of 48.51 seconds. Clement also ran a leg for the American 4x400-meter relay team and set a world junior record of 3:01.09. He also won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships in the 400-meter hurdles.

On March 12, 2005, representing the University of Florida, he broke the indoor world record for the 400-meter sprint at the NCAA indoor championships in Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas with a time of 44.57 seconds. His split at 200-meter was 21.08 seconds. The record was held for ten years previously by Michael Johnson at 44.63 seconds. Afterwards, Clement anchored Florida's 4x400-meter indoor relay to a time of 3:03.51.[1]

Clement set a personal best and 2005 world leading performance in the 400-meter hurdles with a 47.24 seconds; winning the 2005 US Outdoor Track and Field Championships title at Carson, California. This was the fastest time posted for the 400-meter hurdles in seven years. Clement faded during the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland and missed out on the medals, finishing fourth. He represented the United States at the 2006 IAAF World Cup and won the hurdles title ahead of South African L. J. van Zyl.

Clement earned a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2007 World Championship in Osaka. His time of 47.61 seconds was a season's best.

Clement qualified in the 400-meter hurdles for the 2008 Summer Olympics on June 29, 2008 at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.[2] Clement advanced to the final where he was a slight favourite over compatriot Angelo Taylor, but Taylor ran a personal best time to win the gold medal. Clement came second for silver, but would later win a gold medal in the 4x400 meter relay despite not racing in the final. He closed the year on the top of the podium with a gold medal at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final.

The following year he competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. Reigning Olympic champion, Taylor, was eliminated in the heats. Clement won the gold medal in a season's best time of 47.91, beating Javier Culson and Bershawn Jackson to the title. He took another gold at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, which was the last edition of the competition.

Personal bests

Event Time (s) Venue Date
100 meters 10.23 Coral Gables, Florida April 14, 2007
200 meters 20.48 Coral Gables, Florida April 14, 2007
300 meters (indoor) 31.94 Fayetteville, Arkansas June 26, 2005
400 meters 44.48 Stockholm, Sweden August 7, 2007
55 meters hurdles (indoor) 7.28 Gainesville, Florida January 15, 2005
60 meters hurdles (indoor) 7.80 Lexington, Kentucky February 28, 2004
110 meters hurdles 13.77 Omaha, Nebraska August 8, 2002
400 meters hurdles 47.24 Carson, California June 26, 2005

See also

Biography portal
Olympics portal

References

  1. ^ Dunaway, Jim (2005-03-13). Clement demolishes Johnson’s World Indoor 400m record. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-30.
  2. ^ "2003 LPHS graduate Kerron Clement headed for Beijing Olympics". News and Spotlights (La Porte ISD). June 30, 2008. http://sc.lpisd.org/education/components/whatsnew/default.php?sectiondetailid=4&id=1913&viewType=detail&PHPSESSID=9dc5cdced178724018b4863908b3bd58. Retrieved 2008-08-16. 

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Félix Sánchez		 Men's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance
2005 — 2007		 Succeeded by
Angelo Taylor
  • 1983: Soviet Union
  • 1987: United States
  • 1991: Great Britain
  • 1993 – 1995: United States
  • 1997: Great Britain
  • 1999: Poland
  • 2001: Bahamas
  • 2003: France
  • 2005 – 2011: United States
2009: United States (Angelo Taylor, Jeremy Wariner, Kerron Clement, LaShawn Merritt, Lionel Larry & Bershawn Jackson)