Kyle Clemons (born December 27, 1990) is an American

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 ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

er who competed collegiately for the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

and specializes in the

400-meter dash 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 was the 2014 champion at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships i ...

and won a bronze medal at the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

. His personal best for the event is 44.79. He competed collegiately for the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

and broke the indoor and outdoor school records for the 400 m. He was a two-time

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

champion in 2013.

Biography

Early life and college

Born in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

to Tim Clemons and Valarie Hilson, he grew up in a family with a history of track and field – his mother competed in track for

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

. He attended

Rowlett High School Rowlett High School is a public secondary school located in Rowlett, Texas (USA). Rowlett High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school opened in the fall of 1996 with Marlene ...

and had his first regional track competitions there, winning state high school titles twice in the 400 m and twice in the

4 × 100-meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

. He left high school with a personal record of 46.35 seconds for the 400 m. After graduation, he went to the

to study for a degree in African and

African-American studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

.Kyle Clemons

. Retrieved on 2014-03-09. In his first season of competition for the

collegiate team, he won at the

Kansas Relays The Kansas Relays are a three-day track meet every April, held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Since 1923, the Kansas Relays have attracted runners, throwers, and jumpers from all over the United States of America, bringing in a ...

and achieved a personal record of 45.98 seconds at the NCAA qualifier meet. He came sixth at the

championship and was a semi-finalist at the

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, where he also competed with the

4 × 400-meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

team. In addition to this he entered the senior national event and was a semi-finalist at the

2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Drake Stadium, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on June 23–27, 2010. In order to boost the visibility of this event, USATF sponsored a member appreciation tent at the event and ...

. His second year did not see much improvement. He again won at the Kansas Relays, but was out of the top three at the Big 12 Conference indoor and outdoor meets and his season's best of 46.11 seconds saw him eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championship.Kyle Clemons
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-09. Clemons came ninth at the 2012 Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship, but had greater success outdoors. He ran a personal best of 45.91 seconds to take third in the 400 m at the Big 12 outdoor meet and also came fourth in the 4 × 400 m relay, helping set the second fastest time ever for the school at 3:04.89 minutes. Another personal record of 45.44 seconds at the NCAA Outdoors (where he came eleventh) brought him to second on the all-time school lists. He entered the 2012 United States Olympic Trials but did not get past the first round. In his fourth and final year at Kansas, he broke Deon Hogan's long-standing school records from the early 1980s with an indoor best of 46.44 seconds and an outdoor best of 45.10 seconds. At the Big 12 indoor meet he came third in the 400 m and second in the 4 × 400 m relay. He bettered this at the Big 12 outdoors, winning both individual and relay titles, running alongside DeMario Johnson, Michael Stigler, and Kenneth McCuin. He was a semi-finalist in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.

Professional

In his first professional season in 2014, he won his first national title at the

, beating the more experienced

David Verburg David Verburg (born May 14, 1991) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. He holds gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay from the 2016 Olympics; the 2013 and 2015 World Championships; and the 2014 Indoor World Cham ...

to become the USA 400 m champion with an indoor personal record of 45.60 seconds. This performance led to his selection for the

. At the event, his first major championship, he was the second fastest in qualifying for the final then finished third in the final, taking the bronze medal.Bamford, Nicola (2014-03-08)
Report: men's 400m final – Sopot 2014
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.

Personal records

;Outdoor *

200-meter dash 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 ...

– 21.09 (2013) *

– 44.79 (2016) ;Indoor *

60-meter dash 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

– 6.87 (2010) *

– 21.47 (2014) *

– 45.60 (2014)

Competition record

¹: Competed only in the heat. ;National titles *

: 400 m (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemons, Kyle 1990 births Living people American male sprinters African-American track and field athletes Kansas Jayhawks men's track and field athletes People from Rowlett, Texas Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics indoor record holders (relay) USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 21st-century African-American sportsmen Rowlett High School alumni 21st-century American sportsmen