Kevin Braunskill (born March 31, 1969) is an American former sprinter. [1] A graduate of North Carolina State University, Braunskill is an 11x NCAA D1 All-American, World Junior champion, World Cup champion, Pan American Champion all at 200m. He was also a 10x USA National championships finalist in the event with a best time of 20.01 and highest world ranking of 6. He received a 1-year suspension after he tested positive for a PED at the New York Games on May 22, 1994. [2] USA Track and Field exonerated Braunskill of any wrongdoing, but the suspension came from IAAF and effected his European competitions. He went on to compete for another 10 years in the sport. Braunskill is probably best known for what he did those next 10 years. He took advantage of a bad situation and vowed to do right by it. His belief was that "you won't be great until you do more without the spikes on your feet than you do with the spikes on your feet." Remarkably, Braunskill never lost his Home Depot or Champion Apparel sponsors. In fact, he used this platform to travel more than any other track and field athlete. He donated 100% of his appearance fees to whatever organization that had kids in the town and country he competed in. From giving teddy bears to the sick youth at a children's hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel to providing South Africa's poverty stricken housing developments with anti fire paint to paint their homes. Braunskill has definitely become an ambassador around the world and can definitely say he has done more to influence without his spikes than with his spikes. He is a Bronze Star decorated retired Army Officer. Braunskill is married to Shantal Braunskill of Cape Town, South Africa and they have two children, Kevin jr and Chelsea.
Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an opponent. Human physiology dictates that a runner's near-top speed cannot be maintained for more than 30–35 seconds due to the depletion of phosphocreatine stores in muscles, and perhaps secondarily to excessive metabolic acidosis as a result of anaerobic glycolysis.
Michael Duane Johnson is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships gold medals in the span of his career. He held the world and Olympic records in the 200 m and 400 m, as well as the world record in the indoor 400 m. He also once held the world's best time in the 300 m. Johnson is generally considered one of the greatest and most consistent sprinters in the history of track and field.
Tommie C. Smith is an American former track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith, aged 24, won the 200-meter sprint finals and gold medal in 19.83 seconds – the first time the 20-second barrier was broken officially. His Black Power salute with John Carlos atop the medal podium to protest racism and injustice against African Americans in the United States caused controversy, as it was seen as politicizing the Olympic Games. It remains a symbolic moment in the history of the Black Power movement.
Allyson Michelle Felix is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 meters later in her career. At 200 meters, Felix is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2005–2009), a two-time Olympic silver medalist, and the 2011 world bronze medalist. At 400 meters, she is the 2015 world champion, 2011 world silver medalist, 2016 Olympic silver medalist, 2017 world bronze medalist, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. Across the short distances, Felix is a ten-time U.S. national champion.
Kerron Stephon Clement is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael Johnson's mark in 2005.
Alvin Leonardo Harrison is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
James Carter is an American athlete who competed in the 400 m hurdles. His personal best of 47.43 was set when winning the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships. As of 2017, he is the 15th fastest-ever in the world and 9th fastest-ever in the USA. A 3-time United States champion, he won the 2002 IAAF World Cup tile and finished fourth in the Olympic finals in 2000 and 2004.
Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov is a Russian high jumper. He won a gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships and is a two-time European Indoor champion. He was also the silver medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and the winner of the high jump at the inaugural 2010 IAAF Diamond League. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he won the gold medal, but it was later stripped for a doping violation.
Clifford 'Cliff' Wiley is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400 metres event at the 1981 Athletics World Cup in Rome and the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas.
Kevin Lyles is an American former sprinter. He won gold medals with the United States in the 4 × 400-meter relay at the 1993 Summer Universiade and at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, where he was an alternate runner in the heats stage.
Mark Elliott Jelks is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 100-meter dash. He has a personal best of 9.99 seconds for the event and represented the United States at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. In 2014, Jelks made a change in eligibility in order to represent Nigeria internationally. He represented his new country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Amanda Smock is an American triple jumper who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In college, she was a three-time NCAA Division II track and field champion. She won the triple jump events at the United States Outdoor Championships in 2011 and 2012, and at the Indoor Championships in 2011.
The mechanics of the running blades used by South African former Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius depend on special carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer prosthetics. Pistorius has double below-the-knee amputations and competed in both non-disabled and T44 amputee athletics events. Pistorius's eligibility to run in international non-disabled events is sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Kyle Clemons is an American track and field sprinter who competed collegiately for the Kansas Jayhawks and specializes in the 400-meter dash. He was the 2014 champion at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. His personal best for the event is 44.79.
Marquis Dendy is an American track and field athlete, primarily known for horizontal jumping events. He is the 2015 National Champion in the Long jump. His winning jump, of 8.68 m, though wind aided at +3.7mps, his first jump of the competition, was the longest jump in the world under any conditions in over 5 years. He grew up in Middletown, Delaware.
Michael Arthur Norman Jr. is an American sprinter. He holds the world best time in the indoor 400 meters at 44.52 seconds. Outdoors, his 43.45, set at the 2019 Mt. SAC Relays is tied as the #4 on the all time list. In 2016, he became the world junior champion in both the 200 meters and 4×100 meter relay. In 2022, he became the world champion in both the 400 meters and 4x400 meter relay.
Christian Coleman is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He holds personal bests of 9.76 seconds for the 100 m, which made him the 6th fastest all-time in the history of 100 metres event, and 19.85 for the 200 m. Coleman is the world indoor record holder for the 60 meters with 6.34 seconds. He was the Diamond League champion in 2018 & 2023 and the world number one ranked runner in the men's 100 m for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Noah Lyles is an American professional track and field sprinter competing in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 200 m bronze medalist and a six-time World champion, having won the 200 m and 4 x 100 m at the 2019 World Championships, the 200 m at the 2022 World Championships, and the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 x 100 m events at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the sprint treble at a World Championships. At the 2022 Championships, Lyles also earned a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. He holds personal bests of 9.83 seconds for the 100 m and 19.31 seconds for the 200 m, the latter being an American record making him the third fastest on the respective world all-time list.
Ronnie Baker is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in the sprints. Over 60 meters his personal best time of 6.40 seconds makes him the third-fastest man in the event in history. He was champion over 60 m at the USA Indoor Championships in 2017, a medalist over 60 m at the World Indoor Championships in 2018, and a gold medallist in the 4 × 100 m relay at the World Relays in 2017. Baker was a dominant competitor over 100 m in the Diamond League circuit in 2018, winning four races and placing no worse than second, including in the final where he also placed second. He was the fastest man in the world in 2017 over 60 m, and the second fastest in 2018 over both 60 m and 100 m. In college he competed for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he was champion over 60 m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in both 2015 and 2016. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ronnie Baker ran the personal best of 9.83 in the men's 100m semi-finals, which made him the 6th fastest man in the history of Olympics 100m event.
Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American professional track and field sprinter who started his career competing in the 400 meters until 2020, when he transitioned to the 100 meters and 200 meters. He has earned several medals at the World Championships in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay including an individual bronze and a relay gold at the 2019 edition. Kerley claimed 100 m gold in the 2022 edition.