.jpg) Oliver in 2008 in Berlin | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | (1982-04-24)April 24, 1982 (age 42) Denver, Colorado |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 110 m hurdles |
| College team | Howard Bison |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | 110 m hurdles: 12.89 (0.5 m/s) |
David Oliver (born April 24, 1982), is the Director of Track & Field at Howard University and a retired Americanhurdlingathlete. As aprofessional athlete, he competed in the110 meter hurdles event outdoor and the60 meter hurdles event indoors. He is the former 110 meter hurdles champion winning the gold medal at theWorld Championships inMoscow in 2013 with a time of 13 seconds. He won the bronze medal in the2008 Olympic Games and won another bronze at the2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
He was theAmerican record holder in the 110 meter hurdles. Oliver is a four-time U.S. Champion, having won indoor and outdoor titles in 2008, a second outdoor title at the 2010USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and third outdoor title at the 2011USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also won thegold medal at the2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. He has a personal best of 12.89 seconds in the 110 m hurdles, placing him fifth on the all-time list at the time of his retirement from athletics at the end of the 2017 season (fourth at the time he ran it).[1]
Having been recruited fromDenver (CO) East High School byHoward University's head coach, Michael Merritt, Oliver enjoyed his first successes on thetrack in theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). He won four consecutive outdoor MEAC110 metres hurdles titles, from 2001 to 2004. He was also a MEAC indoor champion in the55 metres hurdles, winning in 2003 in 7.34 seconds.
Oliver received his firstAll-American honor with a fourth-place finish at the 2003NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, running a personal record 13.60 seconds in the process, adding to a long history of Howard University's Track and FieldNCAA Division I-A All-Americans. This was Howard's most recent track and field All-American sinceCalvin Branch received the honor in 1989.
The following year, he received a second All American honor, having taken fifth place at theNCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship with a university record of 7.69 seconds in the60 metres hurdles. Later that season, he recorded an outdoor Howard University record of 13.55 seconds for the 110 m hurdles at theGeorgia Tech Invitational inAtlanta. During his time at college, he also playedwide receiver for theHoward Bison football team.[2] Mostly playing onspecial teams, Oliver's physical abilities drew the attention of NFL teams. He was invited for try-outs with theMiami Dolphins andMinnesota Vikings.[3]
After leaving college, he pursued track and field professionally. While coached by Brooks Johnson, and managed by Marisa Reich he won at theInternationales StadionfestIAAF Golden League meet inBerlin in 2006 and finished fifth at that year'sWorld Athletics Final. It was his first big international victory. At the 2008Penn Relays, Oliver completed the fastest 4×120 ydshuttle hurdle relays of all-time with teammatesAubrey Herring,Joel Brown,Aries Merritt, finishing the rarely contested event in a record time of 53.31 seconds.[4] In 2007, he was second at theUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships after winning at theTyson Invitational.[2] Outdoors, he improved his personal best to 13.14 seconds, finishing runner-up at theQatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, and was third at theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This meant he qualified for the2007 World Championships in Athletics and he almost reached the final, being knocked out of the semi-finals after finishing fourth in his race.
In 2008 Oliver won his first national title in the 60 m hurdles. At the2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he was knocked out in the semi-finals stage. Later in the year, he ran a personal best of 12.95 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix.[5] He ran a wind-assisted 12.89 seconds in the semi-finals of theUnited States Olympic Trials and went on to beat Olympic and world silver medalistTerrence Trammell in the final with another windy run of 12.95 seconds.[2] Oliver went on to claim thebronze medal in the 110 m hurdles at the2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing behindDayron Robles who set anOlympic record and compatriotDavid Payne.[6] He closed the year with victories at the ISTAF meet in Berlin and at the2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. He was the second fastest 110 m hurdler of 2008. The 2009 season started promisingly for Oliver, as he recorded 13.09 seconds for his third win in Qatar, but a calf strain resulted in him missing the US Outdoor Championships, and thus the opportunity to qualify for the2009 World Championships in Athletics.[2]
Oliver started the 2010 outdoor season with four straight wins over other competitors, among them victories at thePonce Grand Prix,[7] and theColorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting over Dayron Robles.[8] He scored his firstIAAF Diamond League win at theShanghai Golden Grand Prix in May, beating home favoriteLiu Xiang with a meeting record of 12.99 seconds.[9] The following month he set a new personal best of 12.93 seconds to win his second national title at the USA Championships.[10] Oliver improved on his personal best in the 110 m hurdles on July 3, 2010, with a time of 12.90 seconds, equalling the area and national record held byDominique Arnold.[11] On July 16, 2010, Oliver ran 12.89 for the 110 m hurdles, which was the third fastest time ever at that point (afterDayron Robles andLiu Xiang).[12] Additionally, he moved up to number six on the all-time lists in the 60 m hurdles with a win at theSparkassen Cup, where his personal best of 7.37 seconds also brought him his first ever indoor victory over Dayron Robles.[13] By the time 2010 came to an end, Oliver was unbeaten in 15 finals races and held the top five times and eight of the top nine times in the world. .[1]
2011 saw Oliver, during the outdoor season, win another U.S. Championship title and run under the 13 second barrier again. Indoor he produced his career best 7.37, just 0.01 off the American record. He finished the season ranked #3 in the world.
2013, Oliver was able to bounce back from back to back injury plagued seasons and he was able to win his first global title, winning the World Championships in 13.00 in Moscow, Russia. He also won his second IAAF Diamond League title.
At the end of the 2017 season, Oliver announced his retirement from athletics. He was subsequently appointed head of the track and field program at his alma mater,Howard University.[14][15][16]
His mother, Brenda Chambers, also competed intrack and field in the400 m hurdles event.
He graduated fromDenver East High School inColorado, in 2000. He lives inKissimmee,Florida and is trained by Aubrey Herring. He as well was formally coached by Brooks Johnson.[17] He graduated from Howard University in 2004 with aBachelor of Business Administration inMarketing.
Oliver is also a supporter of English football team Arsenal Football Club.[18]
| Event | Time (sec) | Wind | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 m hurdles | 12.89 | 0.5 m/s | July 16, 2010 | Paris |
| 60 m hurdles (indoor) | 7.37 | N/A | February 5, 2011 | Stuttgart |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 5th | 110 m hurdles |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 4th (semis) | 110 m hurdles |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 4th (semis) | 60 m hurdles |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 3rd | 110 m hurdles | |
| IAAF World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | 110 m hurdles | |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 3rd | 60 m hurdles |
| 2010 Diamond League | Multiple Locations | 1st | 110 m hurdles | |
| DécaNation | Annecy, France | 1st | 110 m hurdles | |
| 2012 | DécaNation | Albi, France | 1st | 110 m hurdles |
| 2013 | 2013 Diamond League | Multiple Locations | 1st | 110 m hurdles |
| World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 1st | 110 m hurdles | |
| 2015 | 2015 Diamond League | Multiple Locations | 1st | 110 m hurdles |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 7th | 110 m hurdles |
Oliver was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 110m hurdles from 2005 to 2016, according to the votes of the experts ofTrack and Field News.[19][20]
| Year | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | - | 8th |
| 2006 | 7th | 5th |
| 2007 | 9th | 6th |
| 2008 | 2nd | 1st |
| 2009 | 8th | 5th |
| 2010 | 1st | 1st |
| 2011 | 3rd | 2nd |
| 2012 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2013 | 1st | 1st |
| 2014 | 6th | 1st |
| 2015 | 2nd | 1st |
| 2016 | 8th | 2nd |
In 2014, Oliver was elected to the Howard University Hall of Fame.[21]
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