Maurice Mitchell (born December 22, 1989) 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 specializes in the

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 ...

. He has a personal record of 20.13 seconds in that event and has bests of 6.55 seconds for the

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 ...

and 10 seconds for the 100-meter dash. He represented the United States in the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

at the 2011 World Championships and was selected to compete at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. While competing for Florida State University he won three NCAA Outdoor Championship titles, taking 200 m titles in 2011 and 2012 as well as a relay title in 2011. He also won 13 Atlantic Coast Conference titles and was chosen as the ACC Outdoor Performer of the Year three years running.

Early life and college

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Mitchell was a standout athlete while attending

Raytown South High School Raytown South Senior High School is a high school located in Raytown, Missouri. The school was established in 1961, and graduated its first class of seniors in 1964. As Raytown became less of a "destination-suburb" in the 1990s, the enrollment fel ...

and won eight state titles and broke the state records for the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. He received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

to study social science at Florida State University and began competing collegiately for the Florida State Seminoles in 2009. In his first championship outing he came second over 200 m and third in the

at the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor meet (running a personal record of 6.60 seconds at the latter event). He came third at the ACC outdoor meet and ran a best of 20.64 seconds for the 200 m that season.Maurice Mitchell Profile
. Florida State Seminoles. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. In his sophomore year at Florida State he began by winning the ACC 60 m title and repeating as 200 m runner-up. He gained his first

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honours by reaching the 60 m final at the NCAA Indoor Championship. He won four titles at the ACC Outdoor Championship, taking the 100 m and 200 m individual titles as well as the 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay team titles. He ran a personal record of 20.24 seconds for the 200 m to win the NCAA East Regional qualifier. At the NCAA Outdoor Championship he was a semi-finalist in both the short sprints and helped the 4×100 m relay team to second in the final. Based on his performances, he was selected for the

2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics The 6th NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held in Miramar, Florida, United States, at the Ansin Sports Complex on July 9–11, 2010. A detailed report on the results was given. Medal summary Detailed results can be found on t ...

in Miramar, Florida and he won the 100 m bronze medal with a personal best run of 10.14 seconds and won the relay for the United States, alongside Curtis Mitchell.

NCAA titles

Mitchell's third year at Florida State was highly successful. He won both the 60 m and 200 m ACC Indoor Championship races. At the 2010 NCAA Indoors he ran a school record time of 6.55 seconds in the 60 m heats before taking third in that event, then came close to the 200 m NCAA title – he had a personal record run of 20.41 seconds but was adjudged to have finished two thousandths of a second behind Mookie Salaam. Outdoor bests followed at the ACC Outdoor Championships, where a run of 10.03 brought him second in the 100 m and he defended his 200 m title with 20.19 seconds (he also defended the relay title). The NCAA Outdoor meet saw him run ten seconds flat for third in the 100 m and a windy 19.99 seconds to win his first 200 m outdoor NCAA title. He also teamed up with Ngonidzashe Makusha and Brandon Byram to win the 4×100 m relay title. In his first senior national event at the

2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place from June 23–26 and served as the national championships in track and field f ...

, he was a semi-finalist in the 100 m and fourth in the 200 m final. These performances led to his selection for the American relay team for the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

. He was the alternate for the qualifiers and although he helped the United States top the qualifying round, the team failed to finish without Mitchell in the final.Maurice Mitchell
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. The fourth and final year of his collegiate eligibility he repeated as ACC Indoor champion in the 200 m, but was second over 60 m. He was less successful at the NCAA Indoors, taking third in the 200 m and sixth in the 60 m. He was again dominant at the ACC Outdoor Championship that year: he took a third straight 200 m title, was runner-up in the 100 m, won the 4×100 m relay title, and helped Florida's 4×400 m relay team to third place. A lifetime best of 20.13 seconds followed at the NCAA East Regional 200 m qualifiers. The 2012 NCAA Outdoors was the venue of his second straight 200 m title, and he also claimed third place in the 100 m and second in the short relay.

2012 Olympics

At the end of his collegiate season, he chose to compete at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials to try to make the Olympic team. He was a semi-finalist in the 100 m, but ran a wind-assisted 20.14 to claim runner-up behind

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 ...

over 200 m, earning him the chance to compete at the

. At the 2012 Olympics, he reached the 200 m semifinals.

Personal bests

: 6.55 seconds (2011) * 100-meter dash: 10.00 seconds (2011) *

: 20.13 seconds (2012) *200-meter dash (indoor): 20.41 seconds (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Maurice Living people 1989 births American male sprinters Florida State Seminoles men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Kansas City, Missouri Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States