Alvin Leonardo Harrison (born January 20, 1974) is an American former

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in sprinting events. He won a gold medal in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

at both the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and a silver medal in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Born in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, Harrison is the twin brother of fellow Olympic medalist Calvin Harrison. A year before their first attempt to make the Olympic team, the twins were living in their

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

. While Calvin was the star in high school, setting the National High School Record in the 400 meters, it was Alvin who earned the first Olympic spot in 1996 at the 1996 Olympic Trials. While he made the finals in the individual 400 meters, he drew lane one and finished fourth behind Michael Johnson's gold medal performance. But Johnson injured himself setting the world record in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. Without their gold medalist and also without world record holder Butch Reynolds, the American team looked vulnerable in the 4 × 400 meters relay. The British team looked to take advantage by going out hard in the lead, however as the second leg of the team, Alvin over took

Jamie Baulch James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a retired Welsh sprint athlete and television presenter. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. As a member of British 4 × 400 metres relay teams, he won a gold meda ...

on the home stretch to put USA into the lead, a lead they ultimately would not relinquish, giving Alvin a gold medal. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Alvin Harrison and Calvin Harrison made history by becoming the first twins ever to compete and win Olympic gold medals together on the same relay team since the inception of the modern

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. In the 4 × 400 m relay, Alvin ran the first leg and Calvin ran the third leg. Harrison also authored the book ''Go to Your Destiny'', which debuted on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' in 2001. Alvin Harrison was featured in the

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual United Ways mobilize a sin ...

public service announcement "Performance" commercial. Alvin Harrison did not compete in the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

due to circumstantial evidence of using a banned substance. In October 2004, he agreed to a four-year suspension with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. In 2008, the 2000 Sydney Olympics 4 × 400 metres relay US team was stripped of their medals after team member Antonio Pettigrew admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. After his suspension expired in late 2008, Harrison enjoyed a late career renaissance via a transfer of allegiance to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

in 2008. He made the move following discussion with his wife and his track colleague Félix Sánchez, both of whom are Dominican. He competed for his new country at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

, running in the heats of the 400 m race. He made his second world appearance soon after and helped the Dominican 4 × 400-meter relay team to fourth place at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.Arcoleo, Laura (March 14, 2010)
EVENT REPORT – MEN's 4x400 Metres Relay Final

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved October 11, 2019. The Athletics Federation of the Dominican Republic chose Harrison as inaugural head of its high performance Olympic development program, whose first success was

Luguelín Santos Luguelín Miguel Santos Aquino (born 12 November 1992) is a Dominican sprinter, who specialises in the 400 m. He was the silver medallist in the event at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of nineteen. His personal best is 44.11 seconds. Sa ...

, silver medalist in the 2012 Olympic 400 metres at age 18. Harrison's role was recognised with an honorary master's degree in

exercise science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

. He has also worked in high-performance programs in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. Harrison has one son and three daughters.

Personal bests

International competitions

Track records

As of 7 September 2024, Harrison holds the following track records for 400 metres.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Alvin 1974 births Living people Track and field athletes from California Sportspeople from Salinas, California American male sprinters Dominican Republic male sprinters African-American track and field athletes Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the Dominican Republic World record holders in masters athletics Identical twins American twins Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Doping cases in athletics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics American sportspeople in doping cases Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen