Shawn Crawford (born January 14, 1978) is a retired American

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

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

. He competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters events. In the 200 meter sprint, Crawford won

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

at the 2004 Summer Olympics and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He originally finished 4th in the race but after the 2nd and 3rd-place winners were disqualified, he moved up to a silver. On April 17, 2013, Crawford was suspended for two years for missing out-of-competition drug tests. His coach, Bob Kersee claimed that Crawford retired after the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 ...

said he filed retirement papers in 2013.

Biography

Crawford was born in

Van Wyck, South Carolina Van Wyck is a town in the panhandle of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States. It is part of the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. Van Wyck is south of Charlotte. Established in the 1880s, it was to be originally named "Cocheecho", after ...

. He attended Indian Land High School before leaving for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, where he claimed eleven All-America honors and three national championships. In 2001 Crawford started the year with a victory at the Indoor World Championships in the 200 m. He then went to the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

, where he tied with

Kim Collins Kim Collins (born 5 April 1976) is a former track and field sprinter from Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2003, he became the World Champion in the 100 metres. He represented his country at the Summer Olympics on five occasions, from 1996 to 2016, an ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

for the 200 m bronze medal. At the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other W ...

, he claimed his second gold medal of the year. Crawford became known for his outrageous antics and lack of focus. At a 2002 meet in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, he donned a Phantom of the Opera mask that obstructed his vision during the 200 m race, causing him to run out of his lane and be disqualified. In January 2003, Crawford starred in an episode of the

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...

show ''

Man vs. Beast ''Man vs. Beast'' is a series of sensationalistic television specials aired in the United States by the Fox television network in 2003. The shows were produced by Brian Richardson and directed by Bob Levy. They involve a variety of challenges i ...

'' in which he raced a zebra and a giraffe over 100 m on dirt. In the first race, he easily bested the giraffe. The zebra race was very close. Accusing the zebra of a false start, he re-raced the zebra, getting out of the blocks first and taking a lead. This caused the zebra to speed up, finishing in 9.957 seconds to Crawford's 10.86 seconds. Later he boasted to ''

ESPN the Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...

'', "tell the zebra I coulda whooped him." According to the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

website, Crawford refers to himself as "Cheetah Man." He has publicly expressed his desire to run in war paint and urges spectators to look out for him at every meet. In March 2004, he was favored to win the

60 meters 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 outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athl ...

world indoor title but was defeated by Jason Gardener of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

by three hundredths of a second. In the trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics, Crawford secured a place on the team by claiming third in the 100 m with a personal best of 9.93 s behind winner Maurice Greene and runner-up Justin Gatlin. Seven days later he placed first in the 200 m with a time of 19.99s, edging out Gatlin;

Bernard Williams Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity' ...

took third place. In June, Crawford improved on his 100 m personal best by running 9.88s in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

Shawn Crawford, Walter Dix 2008 Olympics 200 m final

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Crawford ran the 100 m final in 9.89 s, finishing in fourth place just 0.04 s behind first-place finisher Justin Gatlin. That marked the first race in history in which four competitors under 9.90s. Crawford went on to win the gold medal in the 200 m with a time of 19.79 s. He claimed a silver medal as part of the United States

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

team. He qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 200 m dash, finishing second at the trials after failing to qualify in the 100 m. He originally finished fourth in the 200 m final, but was later promoted to 2nd, winning silver, after fellow countryman Wallace Spearmon and

Churandy Martina Churandy Thomas Martina (born 3 July 1984) is a Dutch sprinter from Curaçao, currently representing the Netherlands. Previously, he represented the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution in 2010. His personal best time over 100 metres ...

of the Netherlands Antilles were both disqualified for lane infringements. Although initially only Spearmon was disqualified, prompting the United States to consider filing a protest, review of race footage revealed an additional infraction by Martina. On August 28, in a gesture of

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to ...

, Crawford gave his medal to Martina. On March 6, 2009, the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...

rejected an appeal by the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles against Martina's disqualification. Crawford won the 200 m at the

2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place between June 25–28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The competition acted as a way of selecting the United States team for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin later ...

and qualified to represent the United States at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He ran 19.89 s in the final of the competition, his best time of the season, but finished fourth behind second-place

Alonso Edward Alonso Reno Edward Henry (born 8 December 1989), commonly known as Alonso Edward, is a Panamanian sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. He set a South American junior record in the 100 m in 2007 and he attended his first Wor ...

of Panama (19.81 s) and third-place Wallace Spearmon (19.85 s). First place finisher

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

set a new world record of 19.19 s. On April 17, 2013, Crawford was suspended for two years for missing out-of-competition drug tests. His coach, Bob Kersee claimed that Crawford retired after the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and

said he filed retirement papers in 2013.

Statistics

:' On 12 April 2002, Crawford became the first man to break ten seconds for the 100 metres for the first time and twenty seconds for the 200 metres for the first time, both on the same day, a feat he achieved in Pretoria, South Africa.The ‘Cheetah man’ retains sub-19 goal
IAAF (2004-10-27). Retrieved 2018-05-01.

Personal bests

* All information from IAAF Profile

Major achievements

* 2001 **

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

–

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, Canada. *** 200 m bronze medalist ** World Indoor Championships – Lisbon, Portugal. *** 200 m gold medal **

–

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia. *** 200 m gold medal * 2004 ** World Indoor Championships –

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. *** 60 m silver medal **

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

–

, Greece. *** 200 m gold medal *** 4x100 m relay silver medal * 2008 ** 2008 Summer Olympics 200 m Silver Medal *** On January 31, 2009 according to the Associated Press "Shawn Crawford confirmed that he gave his Olympic silver medal to Churandy Martina, the sprinter who finished second in the 200 meters but was later disqualified for running out of his lane"

References

External links

* *
Shawn Crawford's U.S. Olympic Team bio

Video Interview of Shawn Crawford during the 100th Millrose Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Shawn 1978 births Living people People from Lancaster County, South Carolina Track and field athletes from South Carolina Track and field athletes from California African-American male track and field athletes American male sprinters Olympic male sprinters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople