Leonard Byrd (born March 17, 1975, in

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a United States Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was formerly named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator and Medal of Honor recipient. It was previously nam ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

) is an American sprinter who specializes 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 ...

. His personal best time is 44.45 seconds, achieved in May 2002 in

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, Brazil. This was the fastest time of 2002. In college, Byrd was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n for the UTSA Roadrunners track and field team. He originally won the 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 the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, together with teammates

Antonio Pettigrew Antonio Pettigrew (November 3, 1967 – August 10, 2010) was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. Early life and career Pettigrew was born in Macon, Georgia. While attending St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North C ...

Derrick Brew Derrick Keith Brew (born December 28, 1977) is a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in the Men's 4 × 400 meter relay for the United States. Earlier in the games he took third in the US sweep of the 400 m. Born in Houston, Texas, he attended Klein For ...

and

Angelo Taylor Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American track and field athlete, winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics. His personal record for the hurdles event is 47.25 seconds. His time puts him in a tie with ...

, but the team was disqualified when Antonio Pettigrew admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. He also competed in the individual distance, but only reached the semi-final.

Achievements

References

* 1975 births Living people American male sprinters Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics People from Fort Rucker, Alabama Track and field athletes from Alabama FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics 20th-century American sportsmen UTSA Roadrunners men's track and field athletes {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub