Angelo Taylor
| Medal record | ||
 Taylor at the 2008 ISTAF Berlin |
||
| Men’s athletics | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for the  United States |
||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | 400 m hurdles |
| Gold | 2008 Beijing | 400 m hurdles |
| Gold | 2008 Beijing | 4x400 m relay |
| Disqualified | 2000 Sydney | 4x400 m relay |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2007 Osaka | 4x400 m relay |
| Gold | 2009 Berlin | 4×400 m relay |
| Gold | 2011 Daegu | 4×400 m relay |
| Bronze | 2007 Osaka | 400 m |
| Disqualified | 1999 Seville | 4x400 m relay |
| Disqualified | 2001 Edmonton | 4x400 m relay |
Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics.
Born in Albany, Georgia, Angelo Taylor studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology and won the NCAA title in 1998 and placed second in 1997. In 1998, Taylor also won a silver medal at the US National Championships. He went on to win the title three times from 1999 to 2001.
Taylor made his debut in a major international meet at the 1999 World Championships, where he finished third in his heat in 400 m hurdles, but ran a third leg at the gold medal winning US 4x400 m relay team.
In 2000, Taylor ran a world-leading time at the Olympic Trials and entered the Sydney Games as a favorite. In a thrilling final, Taylor moved from fourth place to first over the final two hurdles and barely edged Saudi Arabia's Hadi Souan Somayli by 0.03 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the event. Taylor ran in the heat and semifinal of 4x400 m relay race, the finals team for which won the gold medal. On August 2, 2008, the International Olympic Committee stripped the gold medal from the U.S. men's 4x400-meter relay team, after Antonio Pettigrew admitted using a banned substance.[1] Three of the four runners in the event final, including Pettigrew and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, and preliminary round runner Jerome Young, all have admitted or tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.[1] Only Taylor and world record holder Michael Johnson were not implicated.[1]
Taylor was eliminated in the semifinals of the 2001 World Championships in 400 m hurdles while struggling with a sinus infection and flu, but won a gold as a member of US 4x400 m relay team. He didn't make the US World Championships team in 2003 and was unsuccessful in defending his Olympic title at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth in the semifinal.
In 2005, Taylor was arrested for having sex with a minor. He eventually pleaded guilty in 2006 to contributing to the delinquency of two underage girls and was sentenced to three years probation and fined.[2]
In 2007 Taylor set a new personal best in the 400m and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. He won another gold medal as part of the USA 4x400m relay team.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Taylor became a double Olympic champion, winning gold in the 400 metre hurdles and the 4x400 m relay.
He finished second at the 2010 Rieti IAAF Grand Prix in August with a new personal record time of 20.23 seconds.[3]
His personal record for the 400m is 44.05 seconds, set at Indianapolis in June 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Wilson, Stephen (2 August 2008). ""IOC strips gold from 2000 US relay team". Associated Press.
- ^ Schutlz, Jeff (August 14, 2008). "Recharged Taylor gets past hurdles". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/printedition/2008/08/14/olyschultz.html.
- ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-08-29). Rudisha lowers 800m World record again, 1:41.01; Carter dashes 9.78sec in Rieti – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-30.
[edit] External links
- 1978 births
- Living people
- African American track and field athletes
- American hurdlers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- People from Albany, Georgia
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets track and field athletes
- Sportspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
