Deon Minor (born January 22, 1973) is an American former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialized in the 400 meter dash. He won two consecutive

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

from 1997 to 1999, setting a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

mark of 3:02.83 minutes in the latter competition.

Career

Minor grew up in

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River Co ...

and his first international success came in 1991 when he won the 400 m title at the

Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The Pan American U20 Athletics Championships are a biennial sports event for track and field organized by the Association of Panamerican Athletics (APA) open for junior (U20) athletes from member and associate member associations. They were first h ...

. He chose to attend

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

in 1992 on an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

in the knowledge of the athletic programs strength in the 400 m under coach

Clyde Hart Clyde Hart (born 1935) is the director of track and field at Baylor University. Hart retired as head coach for the Baylor track program on June 14, 2005 after 42 years with the program. Hart is primarily known as the only coach to have instructed ...

. During his time at the college he earned 14

All-American honours The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and won four

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles.Tillman, Lauren (2006-06-27)
Where Are They Now: Deon Minor

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...

. Retrieved on 2011-01-13. He was the 400 m NCAA Indoor champion in 1992 and 1995. He twice shared in the NCAA

4×400-meter relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

title with his Baylor teammates, winning indoors in 1992 and outdoors in 1995. He set a personal record of 44.75 seconds in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

in June 1992 and went on to take the world junior title in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

later that year, winning the 400 m at the

1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition for athletes aged 19 years or under. It was held in Seoul, South Korea from September 16 to September 20, 1992. Results Men Wome ...

. After graduating in 1995, he continued to focus on track and aimed to qualify for the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. However, at the

United States Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. These events include: * United States Olympic Trials (curling) * United States Olympic Trials (d ...

he was eliminated in the semi-finals. He finished in the top three at the 1997

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

and was selected for the

1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault. There were a total numb ...

. He came fourth in his 400 m semi-final at the worlds, being eliminated before the final, but anchored the US men's relay team (with

Jason Rouser Jason Rouser (born March 22, 1970, in Tucson, Arizona) is a retired American sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. At the 1993 World Indoor Championships he finished sixth in the 400 metresMark Everett, and

Sean Maye Sean Maye (born June 24, 1970) is an American former sprinter. He won a gold medal at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships on the American 4x400 relay team. Maye was educated at high school in Atlanta and Brigham Young University where he ob ...

) to the

in a time of 3:04.93 minutes. He came third at the 1999 national indoor championships behind

Angelo Taylor Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American track and field athlete, coach, and winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics, who has been suspended by the United States Center for SafeSport for sexual misconduct ...

and

Milton Campbell Milton Campbell (born May 15, 1976) is a former track and field athlete from the United States who mainly competes in the 400 metres. His success comes during the indoor season. At the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships he set a world reco ...

, again earning qualification to the global championships. At the

1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, ...

, he was again eliminated in the 400 m semi-finals. The American relay team (

Andre Morris Andre Morris (born October 26, 1972) is an American former sprint runner. He was part of American 4 × 400 m relay teams that won gold medals at the 1995 Summer Universiade and 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships, setting a world indoor record ...

Dameon Johnson Dameon Johnson (born October 29, 1976, in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the ...

, Minor and Campbell) repeated their gold medal of two years earlier but this time set a

for the relay, taking the victory in a time of 3:02.83 minutes. Minor competed at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

in the summer and took sixth place in the 400 m final. In his final year at the top level of track and field, he ran at the 2000 Olympic Track Trials, but he finished sixth in the heats stage. His world record relay mark was beaten in 2006 by a team of

Kerron Clement Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) 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 Jo ...

Wallace Spearmon Wallace Spearmon Jr. (born December 24, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, USA) is a retired American Sprint (running), sprint Track and field, athlete, who specializes in the 200 metres, 200 meters. He is a two-time NCAA ...

, Darold Williamson and

Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Matthew Wariner (born January 31, 1984) is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the fourth fastest competitor in ...

. However, their mark of 3:01.96 minutes was never ratified as an official world record as no post-race EPO test was conducted, meaning that Minor's time remained the official world record.World Records ratified

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(2006-07-11). Retrieved on 2011-01-13.

Personal life

He joined the

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity while at Baylor. He now works as the Client Manager for ''Ultimate Performance'', an athlete representation company founded by Michael Johnson. He has a son, Bradley Deon Minor II, with his wife Claudia Minor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, Deon Living people 1973 births American male sprinters Baylor University alumni People from Paris, Texas World record setters in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games