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| Full name | Jeremy Wariner[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1984-01-31)January 31, 1984 (age 41)[1] Irving, Texas, U.S.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg)[2][3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Running | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 400 meters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jeremy Matthew Wariner[1] (born January 31, 1984) is a retired[4]Americantrack athlete specializing in the400 meters. He has won fourOlympic medals (threegold, onesilver) and sixWorld Championships medals. He is the joint sixth fastest competitor in the history of the 400 m event with a personal best of 43.45 seconds, behindWayde van Niekerk (43.03 WR, 2016),Michael Johnson (43.18 WR, 1999) andButch Reynolds (43.29 WR, 1988) and the fifth fastest all-time mark when he set it in 2007.
Wariner was born inIrving, Texas. A successfulcollege athlete atBaylor University, he won the 400 m and4 × 400 m relay gold medals at his first Olympics inAthens 2004. In 2005, he received anESPY nomination for Best Male Olympic Performance, ultimately losing out toMichael Phelps.[5] He followed this with two gold medals at the2005 World Championships in the same events. He remained undefeated in the 400 m event during the 2006ÅF Golden League, earning him the $250,000 jackpot. He remained World Champion in the 400 m individual and relay events at the2007 Osaka World Championships, earning him the 2007Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award.[6] He won the 4 × 400 m relay gold medal at the2008 Beijing Olympics, but took silver in the 400 m, finishing behind countrymanLaShawn Merritt. Wariner picked up the silver medal in the 2009 World Championships, again finishing second to Merritt.
Jeremy Wariner attendedLamar High School inArlington, Texas, participating in multiple sports and being recognized for his outstanding speed. Under the coaching of Mike Nelson, who also coached110 meters hurdlerReggie Harrell atLamar High School, he was the 2002 Texas 5A state sprint champion at both200 meters and400 meters, setting high school bests of 20.41 seconds (wind assisted) and 45.57 seconds, respectively. Enrolling atBaylor University, he quickly established himself as a collegiate sprint talent under the guidance ofClyde Hart, who was also coach of Baylor alumnus and four-time Olympic 400 m gold medal winner and two-time world championMichael Johnson. Somewhat hampered by injuries late in his freshman year, Wariner regained form as a sophomore, winning both the 2004 NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor 400 metres titles.[7] Later that year, he claimed the national 400 m title at the USATF Championships making him the favorite for the gold medal at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens.
Wariner then made his first appearance on the world athletic stage at the2004 Summer Olympics. He won two Olympic gold medals, the first in the 400 m in a personal best 44.00 seconds and the second as the third leg of the U.S. 4 × 400 m relay team. Following his Olympic successes, he turned professional, forgoing the rest of his collegiate eligibility, though he remained at his parents' house and continued to be coached by Clyde Hart.
The next year, Wariner won the 400 m at the 2005USATF championship with a time of 44.20 s. At theHelsinki World Championships on a cold and rainy day he won the 400 m in 43.93 seconds. He would then anchor the American team in the 4 × 400 m relay for the gold medal.
Early in 2006, Wariner competed in the 200 m lowering his personal best to 20.19 s. Later that year he would set a new personal best of 43.62 seconds at 400 m at theGolden Gala Meet inRome. Together withAsafa Powell (100 m) andSanya Richards (women's 400 m) he won his sixth out of sixGolden League events (400 m) in the same season, which earned him a total of $250,000.
In 2007 he filled a summer with dominating 400 m performances culminating with theOsaka World Championships where on August 31, 2007 he would win the 400 m in 43.45 s thereby improving his personal best to become the then-third-fastest of all time (onlyMichael Johnson andButch Reynolds had run faster).[8]
In 2008, Wariner left long-time coach Clyde Hart in favor of working with Baylor assistant coach Michael Ford.[9] This was an unexpected move as Wariner had much success under Hart, who had also coached his agent Michael Johnson. Wariner stated that he needed a change as Hart was nearing retirement, although the coach said that the split was due to a pay dispute.[10] By the time of the 2008USATF championship Wariner and Johnson had to face many probing questions regarding the reasons for such a change in an Olympic year. He finished second toLaShawn Merritt in the 400 m final of theUSATF championship and secured his place on the U.S. Olympic team in the 400 m event and the 4 × 400 m relay team.
In the2008 Olympics, Wariner qualified for the final with a time of 44.12 s, in a run which he slowed down considerably in the final fifty meters. This led to much anticipation that he could beat Michael Johnson's world record in the final, but instead he took the silver, losing toLaShawn Merritt by nearly a second.David Neville came in third completing a United States sweep of the 400 m.
Following his disappointment with the silver medal at the Olympics, Wariner admitted he had made a mistake in sacking Hart. He apologized to theemeritus coach after Johnson advised him that his new workout programme with Ford was lacking in some areas and took him back on as coach. The emergence of Merritt had left Wariner as the second-best athlete for the first time in his professional career.[10][11]
In the2009 World Championships, Wariner won the silver medal in the 400 m, again finishing behind LaShawn Merritt, and the gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.
Wariner was named to his third Olympic team as part of the Team USA 4 × 400 m relay squad. The two-time Olympic medalist in the 400 m had failed to make the individual 400 m event after starting poorly and finishing sixth in 45.24 seconds in the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 24, 2012.[12] At the Olympics as part of the relay squad, Wariner pulled out of the team due to a torn hamstring.[13]
In March 2013, Wariner returned to victory by becoming the National Champion at 400 m at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.[14] However at the2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Wariner was unable to get out of the qualifying round, finishing dead last in his qualifying heat and the field.[15] He ran 44.96 at the 2016Mt. SAC Relays to qualify for the2016 United States Olympic Trials. At the time it was the #2 time in the world behind onlyMartyn Rooney's 44.92 set a few minutes earlier on the same track. But at the trials, he pulled up 250 meters into the semifinal race.
In 2014, Wariner was inducted into the Baylor Bears Hall of Fame.[16]
He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.[17]
As of 19 September 2024, Wariner holds the following track records for400 metres.
| Location | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Athens | 44.00 | 23/08/2004 |
| Carson, CA. | 44.20 | 25/06/2005 |
| Helsinki | 43.93 | 12/08/2005 |
| Modesto, CA. | 44.84 | 06/05/2006 |
| Osaka | 43.45 PB | 31/08/2007 |
| Rome | 43.62 | 14/07/2006 |
| Split, Croatia | 44.22 | 04/09/2010 |
| Stockholm | 43.50 | 07/08/2007 |
| Warsaw | 44.43 | 19/09/2007 |
| Event | Time (seconds) | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 meters | 10.92 | Houston, Texas, United States | June 6, 2014 |
| 200 meters | 20.19 | Carson, California, United States | May 21, 2006 |
| 300 meters | 31.61 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | June 12, 2008 |
| 400 meters | 43.45 | Osaka, Japan | August 31, 2007 |
| 400 meters (indoor) | 45.39 | Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States | March 13, 2004 |
| 800 meters | 1:53.02 | San Marcos, Texas, United States | March 28, 2015 |
Wariner married attorney Sarah Nichols (now Wariner) in 2011. Together, the couple raises three children: Isabella, Lincoln, and Elijah. Up until 2020, the Wariners owned aJimmy John's franchise inDallas, Texas, where Jeremy also served as general manager.[18][19][3]
Wariner was previously head track coach at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas.[20][21] In July 2023, he moved toLiberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas) to be their head track and cross country coach, along with becoming their sports information and media coordinator.[22]
In the summer of 2018, Wariner was a "flex" player for Godspeed, aflag football team made mostly of former professionalAmerican football players that participated in theAmerican Flag Football League (AFFL). The team was crowned the champion of participating pro teams but lost in the final match to the amateur champion team.[23]
Hismaternal great-great-great-grandmother wasCherokee.[24][25]
Wariner was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 400 m sprint event in the period 2004 to 2013, according to the votes of the experts ofTrack and Field News.[26][27]
| Year | World rank | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1st | 1st |
| 2005 | 1st | 1st |
| 2006 | 1st | 1st |
| 2007 | 1st | 1st |
| 2008 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2009 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2010 | 1st | 1st |
| 2011 | 7th | 2nd |
| 2012 | 10th | 4th |
| 2013 | – | 10th |
Full name: Jeremy Matthew Wariner.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Track & Field ESPY Award 2007 | Succeeded by Tyson Gay (Best Track And Field Athlete) |
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