Christopher Belcher (born January 29, 1994, in

Sayville, New York Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,569 at the time of the 2020 census. History The earli ...

) is an American professional

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 ...

sprinter who specializes in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and 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 ...

. While in college he competed for the Monroe Mustangs and then the North Carolina A&T Aggies. He is currently sponsored by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. In 2017 he competed at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in the , making it to the semi-finals. His personal best time in the is 9.93 seconds, set during the NCAA Division I Championships earlier that year.

Biography

Early life

Raised in Sayville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Belcher attended Sayville High School. During his 3 varsity seasons, he won the state championship at the and was ranked 8th nationally. He also won the Division 1 dash state championship race his junior year. Belcher also competed and won the high school dash at the 2013

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

Amateur career

In 2013, Belcher signed with

Monroe College Monroe University is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in New York City. It was founded in 1933 and has campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle and Saint Lucia, with degree programs al ...

; In his freshman year, he placed 3rd in the at the 2014

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

Division I Championships behind

Odean Skeen Odean Skeen (born 28 August 1994) is a Jamaican sprinter. Career At the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, Skeen won the 100 metres in his then-personal best of 10.42 seconds, ahead of Masaki Nashimoto and David Bolari ...

and

Andre De Grasse Andre De Grasse (born 10 November 1994) is a Canadian Sprint (running), sprinter. A seven-time Olympic medallist, De Grasse is the 2020 Olympic champion in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres, 200 m, and also won the ...

. In 2016, Belcher transferred to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

school North Carolina A&T. At A&T, Belcher was the , , and relay champion at the 2016 MEAC Championships, breaking meet records in all three events. He then went on to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Championships in the , but did not qualify for the finals. Following his success in 2016, Belcher then went on to defend his and titles at the 2017 MEAC Championships. In the finals, Belcher broke the meet record that he set the previous year with a time of . Belcher, along with teammates Rodney Rowe, Caleb Gabriel, and Joel Thomas defended their title in the relay with a time of , breaking their own MEAC championship record from the previous year. During the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships, Belcher broke the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less ...

with a personal best time of . Belcher went on to finish 3rd in the , 5th in the , and 3rd in the relay.

Professional career

Belcher qualified for the 2017 USA Championships in the . At the event, Belcher ran his last amateur race in the semifinals. Deciding to forego his final year of NCAA eligibility, he signed a professional contract with

. In the finals of the , Belcher finished 3rd behind

Justin Gatlin Justin Alexander Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He is the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 and 2017 World Champion in the 100 meters, the ...

and

Christian Coleman Christian Coleman (born March 6, 1996) is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He ...

, qualifying for the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In London he made it through the heats but was unable to advance through the semis.

Statistics

Information from

World Athletics 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 ...

profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

100 meters progression

200 meters progression

International championship results

National championship results

NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.

Notes

References

External links

* * * (North Carolina A&T) * (Monroe) {{DEFAULTSORT:Belcher, Christopher 1994 births Living people Track and field athletes from New York (state) People from Sayville, New York Sportspeople from Islip (town), New York American male sprinters African-American track and field athletes North Carolina A&T State University alumni North Carolina A&T Aggies men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen