| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sathletics | ||
Representingthe United States | ||
| World Indoor Championships | ||
 | 1997 Paris | 4×400 m relay |
| 1999 Maebashi | 4×400 m relay |
| Pan American Junior Athletics Championships | ||
| 1991 Kingston | 400 m |
Deon Minor (born January 22, 1973) is an American formertrack and field athlete who specialized in the400 meter dash. He won two consecutivegold medals in therelay at theIAAF World Indoor Championships from 1997 to 1999, setting aworld record mark of 3:02.83 minutes in the latter competition.
Minor grew up inParis, Texas and his first international success came in 1991 when he won the 400 m title at thePan American Junior Athletics Championships.[1] He chose to attendBaylor University in 1992 on anathletic scholarship in the knowledge of theathletic programs strength in the 400 m under coachClyde Hart. During his time at the college he earned 14All-American honours and won fourNCAA titles.[2]
He was the 400 mNCAA Indoor champion in 1992 and 1995.[3] He twice shared in the NCAA4×400-meter relay title with his Baylor teammates, winning indoors in 1992 and outdoors in 1995.[4] He set a personal record of 44.75 seconds inAustin, Texas in June 1992 and went on to take the world junior title inSeoul later that year, winning the 400 m at the1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[5]
After graduating in 1995, he continued to focus on track and aimed to qualify for the1996 Atlanta Olympics. However, at theUnited States Olympic Trials he was eliminated in the semi-finals.[6] He finished in the top three at the 1997USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and was selected for the1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He came fourth in his 400 m semi-final at the worlds, being eliminated before the final, but anchored the US men's relay team (withJason Rouser,Mark Everett, andSean Maye) to thegold medal in a time of 3:04.93 minutes.[7]
He came third at the 1999 national indoor championships behindAngelo Taylor andMilton Campbell, again earning qualification to the global championships. At the1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he was again eliminated in the 400 m semi-finals. The American relay team (Andre Morris,Dameon Johnson, Minor and Campbell) repeated their gold medal of two years earlier but this time set aworld record for the relay, taking the victory in a time of 3:02.83 minutes.[8] Minor competed at theUSA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the summer and took sixth place in the 400 m final.[9] In his final year at the top level of track and field, he ran at the 2000 Olympic Track Trials, but he finished sixth in the heats stage.[10]
His world record relay mark was beaten in 2006 by a team ofKerron Clement,Wallace Spearmon,Darold Williamson andJeremy Wariner. However, their mark of 3:01.96 minutes was never ratified as an official world record as no post-raceEPO test was conducted, meaning that Minor's time remained the official world record.[11]
He joined theKappa Alpha Psi fraternity while at Baylor. He now works as the Client Manager forUltimate Performance, an athlete representation company founded byMichael Johnson. He has a son, Bradley Deon Minor II, with his wife Claudia Minor.[2]
World U20 Champions in men's400 metres | |
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