David Neville (born June 1, 1984) is an American sprinter who specializes in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

and two-time medalist (one gold, one bronze) in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. A native of

Merrillville Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Neville became the first individual track and field medalist out of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

since Willie May won silver in the 110-meter hurdles in 1960.

Career

Neville attended

Merrillville High School Merrillville High School (MHS) is a public high school in Merrillville, Indiana, United States, for students in grades nine through twelve. About Merrillville High School is the only high school in the Merrillville Community School Corporation. In ...

from 1998-2002 where he ran track and field. He then moved to Indiana University where he competed from 2003 until 2006 winning several individual Big Ten conference titles and being named an

All-America 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 ...

n. At the

2008 Summer Olympic The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, Neville won a bronze medal in the men's 400 m with a time of 44.80 seconds. Neville then teamed with

LaShawn Merritt LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He is a former Olympic champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him th ...

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 miscon ...

, 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 ...

in the 4x400 m relay to finish first with an

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

time of 2:55.39. Neville clocked a split of 44.16 seconds.

Personal bests

Personal life

Neville is a Christian. After retiring from running, Neville took the Head Coaching position at

Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop William ...

Men's and Women's Track and Field. There he recruited several Division 1 caliber athletes such as NAIA Champion Caleb Anthony (400m Hurdles),

Crossroads League The Crossroads League (formerly the Mid-Central College Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Its members are private Christian colleges in Indiana, Michigan, an ...

Champion Sam Lacher (400m), and Luke Wilson (High Jump) before moving on the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two yea ...

to lead the Olympian filled sprint squad in 2017. In 2016 Neville competed in ''

American Grit ''American Grit'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Fox on April 14, 2016. The series stars WWE wrestler John Cena. Fox ordered ten episodes for the first season of the competition series. On July 29, 2016, Fox renewed th ...

'', finishing in sixth place.

References

External links

* * American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field African-American male track and field athletes 1984 births Living people Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Merrillville, Indiana Track and field athletes from Indiana Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub