Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) is an American former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who competed in

sprinting events Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

, 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 on ...

. He won bronze medals in the 400m 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 400m 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 13th on the world all-time list (as of 2022).

Early life

Everett was born in Van Alstyne, Texas, 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, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

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

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

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 Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

Olympic teams

From 1987 to 1992, Everett qualified for the U.S. Olympic team where he won gold and bronze medals in the 1600 meter relay and 400 meters in the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Everett also won gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Championships in Rome, Italy in 1987 and in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

. During his career, Everett set five world records in the 300 meters, 400 meters, 1600 meter relay and 4 x 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 coast of northeastern 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 ...

, Spain.

Personal life

Everett and his wife Tiarzha Taylor live in Upper Ojai,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

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

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{{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 California 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