Kyle Clemons (born December 27, 1990) 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 ...

sprinter who competed collegiately for the Kansas Jayhawks and specializes in the

400-meter dash 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 ...

. He was the 2014 champion at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

and won a bronze medal at the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepa ...

. His personal best for the event is 44.79. He competed collegiately for the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

and broke the indoor and outdoor school records for the 400 m. He was a two-time

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

champion in 2013.

Biography

Early life and college

Born in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

to Tim Clemons and Valarie Hilson, he grew up in a family with a history of track and field – his mother competed in track for

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

. He attended

Rowlett High School Rowlett High School is a public secondary school located in Rowlett, Texas (USA). Rowlett High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school opened in the fall of 1996 with Marlene ...

and had his first regional track competitions there, winning state high school titles twice in the 400 m and twice in the 4×100-meter relay. He left high school with a personal record of 46.35 seconds for the 400 m. After graduation, he went to the

to study for a degree in African and African-American studies.Kyle Clemons

. Retrieved on 2014-03-09. In his first season of competition for the Kansas Jayhawks collegiate team, he won at the

Kansas Relays The Kansas Relays are a three-day track meet every April, held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Since 1923, the Kansas Relays have attracted runners, throwers, and jumpers from all over the United States of America, bringing in a ...

and achieved a personal record of 45.98 seconds at the NCAA qualifier meet. He came sixth at the

championship and was a semi-finalist at the

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make up ...

, where he also competed with the 4×400-meter relay team. In addition to this he entered the senior national event and was a semi-finalist at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His second year did not see much improvement. He again won at the Kansas Relays, but was out of the top three at the Big 12 Conference indoor and outdoor meets and his season's best of 46.11 seconds saw him eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championship.Kyle Clemons
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-09. Clemons came ninth at the 2012 Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship, but had greater success outdoors. He ran a personal best of 45.91 seconds to take third in the 400 m at the Big 12 outdoor meet and also came fourth in the 4×400 m relay, helping set the second fastest time ever for the school at 3:04.89 minutes. Another personal record of 45.44 seconds at the NCAA Outdoors (where he came eleventh) brought him to second on the all-time school lists. He entered the 2012 United States Olympic Trials but did not get past the first round. In his fourth and final year at Kansas, he broke Deon Hogan's long-standing school records from the early 1980s with an indoor best of 46.44 seconds and an outdoor best of 45.10 seconds. At the Big 12 indoor meet he came third in the 400 m and second in the 4×400 m relay. He bettered this at the Big 12 outdoors, winning both individual and relay titles, running alongside DeMario Johnson,

Michael Stigler Michael Stigler (born May 4, 1992) is an American track and field athlete, specializing in hurdle races. In 2017, he finished second in the US Championship, behind Eric Futch, after running a personal best of 48.26 s in the 400 meters hurdles ...

, and Kenneth McCuin. He was a semi-finalist in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.

Professional

In his first professional season in 2014, he won his first national title at the

, beating the more experienced

David Verburg David Verburg (born May 14, 1991) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters. 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 Cham ...

to become the USA 400 m champion with an indoor personal record of 45.60 seconds. This performance led to his selection for the

. At the event, his first major championship, he was the second fastest in qualifying for the final then finished third in the final, taking the bronze medal.Bamford, Nicola (2014-03-08)
Report: men's 400m final – Sopot 2014
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-09.

Personal records

;Outdoor *

200-meter dash 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 slight ...

– 21.09 (2013) *

– 44.79 (2016) ;Indoor *

60-meter dash 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 at ...

– 6.87 (2010) *

– 21.47 (2014) *

– 45.60 (2014)

Competition record

¹: Competed only in the heat. ;National titles *

: 400 m (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemons, Kyle Living people 1990 births American male sprinters African-American male track and field athletes Kansas Jayhawks men's track and field athletes People from Rowlett, Texas Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics indoor record holders (relay) USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople