Kaaron Conwright (born August 8, 1976) is a former American sprinter who specialized in the

100-metre dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

Early life and collegiate records

Conwright graduated from Westchester High School in Los Angeles. As a sprinter at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Conwright was a three-time NCAA All-American in the 100m and a two-time All-American in the 200m. In the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacifi ...

, he was a four-time champion in the 100m from the years of 1996 through 2000, and he still holds the conference championship-meet record at 10.12 seconds. He later went on to run a 10.10 at the national championships that same year. He was also a two-time BWC champion in the 200m. Conwright also played two seasons of

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 ...

for Cal Poly, competing as a wide receiver and kick returner in 1995 (averaging 20.1 yards) and then

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in 1996 (making 19 tackles and two interceptions).

International success

In 1999, he ran first leg on the gold medal-winning 4-by-100m relay at the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

Palma De Mallorca, Spain Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorca ...

. In 2001, he repeated his performance, running first leg on the silver medal-winning 400m relay at the

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. At the

2002 IAAF World Cup The 9th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was hosted by Madrid, September 21–22, 2002, in the Estadio La Peineta. The IAAF wo ...

, he won the 4-by-100 metre relay race together with

Jon Drummond Jonathan A. Drummond (born September 9, 1968) is an American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jon Drummond is known for being among the world's best starte ...

, Jason Smoots and

Coby Miller Coby Miller (born October 19, 1976) is an American track and field athlete, who specialises in the sprint events. In his career, he recorded a sub-10 second personal best in the 100 meters and a sub-20 second best in the 200 meters. In the latt ...

. At the

2006 IAAF World Cup The 10th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event, held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which took place on 16 and 17 September 2006 at the Olympic Stadium in Ath ...

, he won the relay again, this time with

Wallace Spearmon Wallace Spearmon Jr. (born December 24, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is a retired American sprint athlete, who specializes in the 200 meters. He is a two-time NCAA outdoor champion in the 200 m and won the silver medal in the eve ...

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

and Smoots, in a championship record of 37.59 seconds. His personal-best time in the 100-metre dash was 10.05 seconds, achieved in July 2000 in Flagstaff. His personal-best time over

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

is 6.61 seconds, achieved in March 2003 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, he ran 20.59 seconds, achieved in July 2002 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Coaching

Conwright later served as head sprint coach for the National Korean Federation from 2007 through 2008 and then became an assistant coach under Olympian and Olympic Coach John Smith.

References

1976 births Living people American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Place of birth missing (living people) Cal Poly Mustangs football players Cal Poly Mustangs track and field FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub