David Verburg (born May 14, 1991) is an American

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 eve ...

athlete 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 o ...

. He holds gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay from the 2016 Olympics; the 2013 and 2015 World Championships; and the 2014 Indoor World Championships.

Personal

David Verburg was born on May 14, 1991 in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. He attended high school at E. C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, graduating in 2009. He attended George Mason University, earning his degree in Sports Management in 2013.

Athletics

High School & College career

Verburg holds the 400m dash record at his high school, E.C. Glass. with a time of 47.15 seconds. He ran track in college for the

George Mason Patriots The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of t ...

where he was a four-time outdoor and seven-time indoor All-American.

International career

In 2010, Verburg gained his first International experience at the

IAAF World Junior Championships The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the yea ...

in Moncton,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, winning Gold in the 4×400 meter relay. Verburg was a double gold medalist in the 400 meter dash and 4×400 meter relay at the

2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held at the Centro Paralímpico Nacional in Irapuato, Mexico from 6 to 8 July. It was the seven edition of the biennial athletics competition for NACAC area athletes under 23 years of age. ...

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city (and municipality) located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. At the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Verburg finished sixth in the 400 meter dash. The top six finishers were eligible to run in the 4×400 relay at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

and as such Verburg was selected to the U.S. team for the World Championships. In the same year, Verburg ran in both the heats and the finals of the 4×400 meter relay at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia. His team won a gold medal and set a world leading time of 2:58.71. At the 2015 World Championships, Verburg ran in the finals of the 4×400 meter relay, winning gold and again setting a world-leading time of 2:57.82.

Animal rights

Near the end of October 2018, Verburg ran into traffic at an intersection in

Clermont, Florida Clermont is a city in Lake County in central Florida, United States, about west of Orlando and southeast of Leesburg. The population was 43,021 in 2020. The city is residential in character and its economy is centered in retail trade, lodging, ...

to rescue a turtle that wandered into traffic. Becoming a viral video on social media, Verburg was a guest on

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

. In 2019, Verburg would launch the Golden Tortoise Rescue Foundation in his home state of Florida. Due to his views on animal rights, Verburg also has a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

diet.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verburg, David Living people 1991 births African-American male track and field athletes American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics People from Kingsport, Tennessee Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes from Oklahoma USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics indoor record holders (relay) World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century African-American sportspeople