.jpg) Kahmari Montgomery at the2018 USA Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1997-08-16)August 16, 1997 (age 28) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 142 lb (64 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Houston Cougars (2018–2019)[1] Missouri Tigers (2016–2017)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Nike[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Leroy Burrell[1] andCarl Lewis[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbests | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kahmari Montgomery (born August 16, 1997) is an American track and fieldsprinter specializing in the400 m forNike.[3] He was the men's 400 m champion at theUSA Championships in2018, and at theNCAA Division I Championships in2019.[8][9][5] He represented the United States in the4 × 400 m relay at theWorld U20 Championships in2016 and at the inauguralAthletics World Cup in2018, earning gold medals in both competitions.[10]
In early 2018 he ran a 43.38 s4 × 400 m relay split, one of the fastest of all time, setting a school record and bringing theHouston Cougars to their first victory in the event at thePenn Relays.[6][7] In February 2019 he ran a 44.45 s indoor split, the third-fastest indoor split of all time, to help theHouston Cougars to what is recognized as theworld record for the indoor4 × 400 m relay with a time of 3:01.51.[11]
Kahmari Montgomery competed forPlainfield Central High School. He ran the fifth-fastest 400 m in the United States for high school seniors in 2015. He was also No. 12 for the indoor60 m, No. 14 for the100 m, and No. 17 for the200 m. Montgomery won fiveIllinois High School Association state track championship titles: the 100 m state title in 2015, the 200 m in 2014 and 2015, and the 400 m in 2014 and 2015.[12][13][14][15]
As a freshman competing for theMissouri Tigers in 2016, Kahmari Montgomery won the indoor 400 m in 45.78 s and outdoor 400 m in 45.13 s to become a two timeSoutheastern Conference (SEC) champion. He made the semi-finals at both theindoor andoutdoorNCAA Division I Championships, placing 11th and 9th respectively in the 400 m, and earned a silver medal at the USA Junior Championships.[16] He competed at theUSA Olympic Trials in the 400 m, though he did not advance from the preliminaries.[17] He finished his season by earning a gold medal for the United States at theWorld U20 Championships in the 4 × 400 m relay.[10]
In his sophomore season he had less success. He failed to reach the finals in either of the SEC Championships, failed to qualify for either of the NCAA Division I Championships, and did not approach his personal best times he had set in the prior year. However he represented the United States at theUniversiade where he was introduced toLeroy Burrell, head coach of theHouston Cougars, and earned a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. He decided to transfer to theUniversity of Houston after his season ended, citing a positive experience with the team at the Universiade and a lack of belief in his ability to succeed as an athlete at theUniversity of Missouri.[1]
In his first year competing for the Houston Cougars in 2018, Kahmari Montgomery won the indoor 400 m in 45.53 s, indoor 4 × 400 m in 3:10.03, and outdoor 400 m in 45.93 s to become a three timeAmerican Athletic Conference (AAC) champion. At thePenn Relays he ran one of the fastest 4 × 400 m relay splits ever, clocking the anchor leg in 43.38 s and helping earn the Houston Cougars their first Penn Relays 4 × 400 m relay title in a new school record time of 3:01.82.[6][7] He made the finals at both theindoor andoutdoor NCAA Division I Championships, placing 4th and 7th respectively. In his last individual race for the season at theUSA Championships he won the 400 m in a personal best time of 44.58 s.[8][9] He went on to compete for the United States at the inauguralAthletics World Cup and theNACAC Championships, earning gold medals at both competitions in the 4 × 400 m relay.
At the beginning of 2019 Montgomery was placed on the preseason watch list forThe Bowerman.[18] In February at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational he anchored Houston to victory in the4 × 400 m relay with a world leading 3:01.51, the fourth fastest indoor performance of all time, and an indoor world record pending ratification.[19] While not the fastest time achieved over the distance indoors, other faster times had not been ratified for various technical reasons. On February 26, 2020, Houston's indoor world record was ratified byWorld Athletics.[11][20] Montgomery himself split 44.45 s, the third fastest indoor 400 m split of all time, to barely finish ahead ofTexas A&M Aggie Devin Dixon, who recorded the fastest 400 m split of all time in 44.24 s.[21] Two weeks later at the AAC Indoor Championships Montgomery repeated as 400 m champion with a world leading 45.04 s clocking.[22] After the regional championships he was named co-athlete of the year by theUnited States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the south-central region, shared with Devin Dixon.[23][24] He wrapped up his indoor season with second place in the 400 m at theNCAA Division I Indoor Championships in 45.03 s, a new indoor personal best, and the 4 × 400 m relay title.[25]
| Surface | Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor | 400 m | 44.23 | Austin, Texas, USA | June 7, 2019 | |
| 400 m (relay split) | 43.38 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | April 28, 2018 | [6][7] | |
| 200 m | 20.35 | Sacramento, California, USA | May 25, 2018 | (+1.6 m/s wind) | |
| 20.32 w | Wichita, Kansas, USA | May 12, 2019 | (+2.4 m/s wind) wind-assisted | ||
| 4×400 m relay | 2:59.78 | London, England | July 15, 2018 | ||
| 4×200 m relay | 1:20.94 | Austin, Texas, USA | March 30, 2019 | ||
| Indoor | 400 m | 45.03 | Birmingham, Alabama, USA | March 9, 2019 | |
| 200 m | 20.63 | College Station, Texas, USA | February 2, 2019 | ||
| 4×400 m relay | 3:01.51 | Clemson, South Carolina, USA | February 9, 2019 | IndoorWR, 44.45 s split[note 2] |
| Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the United States | ||||||
| 2016 | World U20 Championships | 5th | 400 m | 46.48 | Bydgoszcz, Poland | |
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:02.39 | WU20L,PB[27] | |||
| 2017 | Universiade | 2nd | 4×400 m relay | 3:06.38 | Taipei, Taiwan | |
| 2018 | Athletics World Cup[note 1] | 1st | 4×400 m relay | 2:59.78 | London, England | PB |
| NACAC Championships | 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:00.60 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 11th | 400 m | 46.78 | Birmingham, Alabama | |
| NCAA Division I Championships | 9th | 400 m | 45.81 | Eugene, Oregon | ||
| USA Junior Championships | 3rd (semis) | 200 m | 20.80 | Clovis, California | (+0.8 m/s wind)Q,PB[note 3] | |
| 2nd | 400 m | 45.64 | [16] | |||
| USA Olympic Trials | 26th | 400 m | 46.58 | Eugene, Oregon | [17] | |
| 2018 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 4th | 400 m | 45.24 | College Station, Texas | IndoorPB |
| 13th | 4×400 m relay | 3:08.86 | ||||
| NCAA Division I Championships | 7th | 400 m | 45.75 | Eugene, Oregon | ||
| 5th | 4×400 m relay | 3:04.03 | ||||
| USA Championships | 1st | 400 m | 44.58 | Des Moines, Iowa | PB[28][8] | |
| 2019 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 2nd | 400 m | 45.03 | Birmingham, Alabama | IndoorPB |
| 1st | 4×400 m relay | 3:05.04 | ||||
| NCAA Division I Championships | 14th | 200 m | 20.49 | Austin, Texas | (+0.6 m/s wind) | |
| 1st | 400 m | 44.23 | PB[5] | |||
| 3rd | 4×400 m relay | 3:00.07 | ||||
| 2019 | USA Championships | 13th | 400 m | 45.91 | Des Moines, Iowa | [29] |
| 2021 | US Olympic Trials | 17th | 400 m | 45.85 | Eugene, Oregon |
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