Roddie Haley (December 6, 1964 – February 17, 2022) was an American sprinter.

Biography

Haley ran on the American

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

and 1987 World Championships, winning

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 at both events. He also finished eighth in the individual

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

at the 1987 World Championships. He was an

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 ...

400 meter champion as a freshman in college at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, with a time of 44.20 seconds. Haley was also a nine-time All-American (four indoor, five outdoor) for coach

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

, and one of the Razorbacks’ top performers both on the

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

and outdoor ovals. Haley was also a three-time NCAA champion, including twice in the indoor

500 meters The 500 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *OT = oversized track (exceeding 200m in circumference) *A = affected by altitude *h = hand timing Men *C ...

(1986–87) and once in the outdoor 400 meters (1985). He earned SWC titles indoors in the

440 yard dash The 440-yard dash, or quarter-mile race, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. In many countries, athletes compete in the 440 yard dash (402.336 m) – which corresponds to a quarter mile. Many athletic tracks are 440 yards ...

(1985) and 600 yard dash (1987), and was a three-time SWC outdoor champion in the 400 meters (1985–87). Haley further captured a SWC title at the conference outdoor meet in 1985 in the 4x100 meter relay. He remains the outdoor 400 meter record holder with a time of 44.48 set in 1986. Haley was part of four SWC and four NCAA team championships in his three seasons, including contributing to the first national triple crown in school history in 1985. Haley was inducted into the University of Arkansas Hall of Honors on September 2, 2016. He died on February 17, 2022, at the age of 57.Haley, champion sprinter at UA, dies at 57
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References

1964 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople People from Texarkana, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes American male sprinters World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub