| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1990-12-14)December 14, 1990 (age 34) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 400 m,400 m hurdles,4 × 400 m relay |
| College team | Texas A&M Aggies |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest(s) | 400 m: 46.16 (2016) 400 m hurdles: 48.88 (2016) |
Ricky Babineaux (born December 14, 1990) is an American male formertrack and fieldsprinter who specialized in the400-meter dash, in which he has a personal record of 46.16 seconds. He was a gold medallist in the4 × 400-meter relay at the2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, running for the United States in the heats to top the qualifiers with a time of 3:04.36 minutes alongsideClayton Parros,Kind Butler III, andCalvin Smith Jr.[1]
FromBreaux Bridge, Louisiana,[2] Babineaux attendedBreaux Bridge High School and took up track and field while there, excelling in sprinting andtriple jump.[3] He went on to study atHinds Community College inRaymond, Mississippi, where he placed third in the 400 m at theNJCAA Championships and was top three in both relays in 2011.[4] He transferred toTexas A&M University after that performance. Competing for theTexas A&M Aggies he won fourSoutheastern Conference titles with his collegiate team in the 4 × 400 m relay in 2012 and 2013, as well as a4 × 100-meter relay.[5] He set an indoor 400 m best of 46.37 seconds in 2013, which ranked him 23rd in the world for that season.[6]
He made his national debut at the2014 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where he finished seventh in the 400 m final.[7] He did not compete in 2015 but returned to run at the2016 United States Olympic Trials, this time competing in the400-meter hurdles. He trained under multiple Olympic championCarl Lewis at theUniversity of Houston and relied on the general public to fund his appearance at the national trials. He ran a lifetime best of 48.88 seconds in the final, but was edged into fourth place (and out of the national team) by Olympic medalistMichael Tinsley by six hundredths of a second.[8][9] He ran sparingly in 2017 and retired from the sport thereafter.[4]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 1st | 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:04.36 (heats) |
