Robert Henry Dennis III (born May 1, 1975, in Harbel,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

) is a former Liberian sprinter. Dennis was once the Liberian National Record holder in the 200 meter (20.58) in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

in 1998. He is currently an attorney in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

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College and professional career

While competing for

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

Dennis became the university's first Male Big East Conference Track & Field champion when he won the 100 and 200 meter events at the Conference Championships in May 1997. Also, he was awarded the Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete Award at the 1997 Big East Outdoor Championships. He completed his collegiate career with multiple conference titles: Big East Conference champion in the 100 meter (1997, 1998) and 200 meter (1997), IC4A conference titles in the 100 meter (1996, 1997) and 200 meter (1997), and finished in the top 15 at the NCAA outdoor Track & Field Championship (1997 (100m), 1998 (200m)). Dennis represented

at the

1996 Summer 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, ...

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

, competing in the Men's 100 meter and Men's 4 × 100 meter relay. He also competed at the World Championships in 1997 in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. His personal best time in the 100 meter are 10.28 seconds, achieved in May 1997 in

Villanova, Pennsylvania Villanova is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It straddles Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the Philadelphia Main Line, a series of Philadelphia suburbs lo ...

, and in the 200 meter with a best time of 20.58 seconds in June 1998 in

. Dennis attributes much of his athletic success to his training with

The Stable The Stables (also known as the Stables Theatre) is a music venue situated in Wavendon, a small village in south-east Milton Keynes. The Stables hosts over 400 concerts and around 250 education events a year including the National Youth Music ...

and his high school coach and mentor Henry Brady.

Early years

Dennis was raised in

Glenn Dale, Maryland Glenn Dale is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,698 at the 2020 census. Glenn Dale is home to the Glenn Dale Hospital, an abandoned sanatorium, and the ...

. He attended

DuVal High School DuVal High School (DHS) is a comprehensive science and technology public magnet high school in the Seabrook census-designated place in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with a Lanham postal address.

Lanham, Maryland Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census it had a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's Orange Li ...

where he was a standout athlete. Dennis was an all-state selection in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track & 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 ...

. He was the

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

champion in the 100 and 200 meters, holding the top time in the 100 (10.4) and second-best in the 200 (21.3) in the

metropolitan area during his senior season. He was undefeated in the 100 meters between July 1992 through June 1993. During this period he was awarded numerous sprint titles with the most prestigious being first place honors at the 1993 Maryland 3A State Championship in the 100 meter (10.65) in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greate ...

. During this period he was confirmed as one of the fastest

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

sprinters on the East coast of the United States. He completed his

career as a member of the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

1993 All-Metropolitan Boys Track and Field First Team as well as being selected as a participant on the Inaugural Chesapeake Classic All-Star Football game. Dennis matriculated to the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. He later transferred to

Morgantown, WV Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

where he pursued an outstanding and successful track career, leaving the football field behind.

References

External links

Track and Field News

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Robert Living people 1975 births Olympic athletes for Liberia Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Liberian male sprinters West Virginia Mountaineers men's track and field athletes Louisville Cardinals football players Liberian emigrants to the United States People from Margibi County Americo-Liberian people