Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) 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, specializing 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 ...

. He won bronze medals in the 400 m at the 1988 Olympic Games and at the 1991 World Championships, and won gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Olympic Games. His 400 m best of 43.81 seconds when winning the 1992 US Olympic trials, moved him to second on the world all-time list and still ranks him 17th on the world all-time list (as of December 2024). As of December 2024, his time of 43.81 remains the track record for

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Early life

Everett was born in

Van Alstyne, Texas Van Alstyne is a city in Grayson and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 3,046 at the 2010 census, up from 2,502 at the 2000 census. The Grayson County portion of Van Alstyne is part of the Sherman– Denison M ...

, then moved to

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

as a child. Everett did not start running track until tenth grade at Fairfax High School, when the high school track coach encouraged him to try out for the team. In two short years, Everett cultivated his natural athletic talent and as a senior placed second in the 400 meters at the California State High School Track & Field championships. After graduating from Fairfax, Danny attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. As a Bruin, Everett's track achievements included:

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion in 400 meters and 1600 meter relay, three-time NCAA All-American, and two-time Pac-10 400 meter and 1600 meter relay champion. Everett was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

Olympic teams

From 1987 to 1992, Everett qualified for the

U.S. Olympic team The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United ...

where he won gold and bronze medals in the 1600 meter relay and 400 meters in the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Everett also won gold, silver and bronze medals 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 Rome, Italy in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. During his career, Everett set five world records in the 300 meters, 400 meters, 1600 meter relay and 4 × 200 meter. In 1992, Everett qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team, running the fastest Olympic qualifying time in U.S. history at 43.81 and at that time the second fastest time in history. Everett suffered a foot injury at the 1992 Olympic Games in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. In 1990, Everett was the second fastest man over 200 metres, clocking 20.08 seconds in Norwalk on 16 June. The only man to run the 200 metres faster that year was fellow American Michael Johnson.

Personal life

Everett and his wife Tiarzha Taylor live in Upper Ojai,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with their three children. He coaches track & field for the Ojai Roadrunners in Ojai. Everett has served as consultant for local athletic programs, and co-founded Precious Medals, a sports merchandising firm. Everett later attended the Los Angeles Culinary Institute and launched SoulFête, a culinary event series.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Danny 1966 births Living people American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field University of California, Los Angeles alumni UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes World Athletics Championships medalists Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen