George Porter (born December 19, 1966) is a retired American hurdler. [1] While running for Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, California, he set the NFHS (United States High School) record in the 300 meters intermediate hurdles at 35.32 on May 24, 1985, in the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet (a qualifying meet for the CIF California State Meet). Porter's record in the hurdles lasted until the State Meet in 2007, when Jeshua Anderson of Taft High School improved the record by .04 of a second. [2] [3] Reggie Wyatt has since improved the record again to 35.02, set at the same meet in 2009. [2] [3] Porter went on to win the State Meet with a time of 35.50.
Porter's key to success was his ability to run 13 steps between hurdles, the same trait as Olympic champion Edwin Moses. Moses could run 13 steps between all ten hurdles of the 400 metres hurdles race, while Porter was able to do it for six as a junior, adding the last two hurdles the high school race his senior year. [4]
Porter continued hurdling in college, running for the University of Southern California, but did not perform as well. He managed to run 49.19, number 5 on USC's all-time list. [5] Porter entered the American top ten in the 400 hurdles twice, in 1989 and 1990. [6]
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle, landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, the dominant step patterns are the 3-step for high hurdles, 7-step for low hurdles, and 15-step for intermediate hurdles. Hurdling is a highly specialized form of obstacle racing, and is part of the sport of athletics. In hurdling events, barriers known as hurdles are set at precisely measured heights and distances. Each athlete must pass over the hurdles; passing under or intentionally knocking over hurdles will result in disqualification.
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