Lorenzo Daniel (born March 23, 1966) is an American retired

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, best known for setting the 1985 world's best year performance in the men's 200 meters and being one of the fastest to run the event at the time. He did so on May 18, 1985, at a meet in

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in and the county seat of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi. Starkville is the largest ...

, clocking 20.07. His fastest-ever 200m dash was 19.87 at

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

in 1988. He attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, and majored in Sports Communication. Daniel was born in

Avera, Georgia Avera is a city in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 223. The city was incorporated in 1900. Geography Avera is located at (33.194988, -82.527503). According to the United States Cen ...

and grew up in

Wrens, Georgia Wrens is a city in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,217 at the 2020 census. It is located on U.S. Route 1, thirty miles west of Augusta. History Wrens was laid out in 1884 when the railroad was extended to that p ...

. He was once the third-fastest man in the world. Though he made the 1988 Olympics, he injured himself before he could attend The Games. He now resides in Dallas, Texas; has a wife, Sissy Sanders-Daniel and three children: Lauren, Lorenzo Jr., and Lorielle. He also founded and currently runs a sports agility company, Turbo Techniques.

Track records

As of September 2024, Daniel holds the following track records for 200 metres.

References

1985 Year Rankings
1966 births Living people American male sprinters Mississippi State Bulldogs men's track and field athletes People from Jefferson County, Georgia Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub