Kevin Young (athlete)

For other people of the same name, see Kevin Young (disambiguation).

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1992 Barcelona	400 m hurdles
World Championships
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	400 m hurdles
Pan American Games
Silver	1987 Indianapolis	400 m hurdles

Kevin Curtis Young (born September 16, 1966 in Watts, California) is a former American athlete. He was the winner of the 400 meter hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics. In the final of this event he set a world record and Olympic record of 46.78 seconds, which remains unbeaten.

He became the 400 m hurdles world champion the following year, winning at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics with a time of 47.18 seconds. He had an unusual hurdling technique of switching between 12 and 13 strides between the hurdles, departing from the 13-stride technique popularized by Edwin Moses.

Young's performances declined after 1993 and he neither reached a final at the US National Championships nor competed in an international championships again. He was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2006.

Career

Early life

At Jordan High School (Los Angeles, California), the same high school that Florence Griffith-Joyner had attended a few years earlier, Young was first successful as a 110 meter hurdler, finishing in a tight 3rd place at the 1984 CIF California State Meet. As a UCLA "walk-on", Young won the NCAA titles in 400 m hurdles in 1987 and 1988.

Young made his debut at the international scene at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, USSR and later at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis placing second. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Young finished fourth just behind Edwin Moses (whose record Young would replace four years later) in his final race. At the 1991 World Championships, Young was again fourth.

Olympic gold and world record

In 1992, Young won his first USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships title and was unbeaten prior to the Barcelona Olympics, which he won with a new world record of 46.78, despite failing to clear the last hurdle cleanly. The record still stands, and he is also the only person to have run 400 m hurdles in less than 47 seconds. This was achieved using 12 strides between hurdles (nearly 9 feet per stride) switching to 13 later in the race, a technique only Young has ever perfected.

Young's world-record run is noteworthy in one other respect; it could have been even faster. Being so far ahead of the field, he slowed down and raised his arm in celebration as he crossed the finish line. Despite this, he set a world record which still stands. Young became the first ever ESPY award winner in track presented by ESPN.

It is well noted that Young, throughout the 1992 season prior to Barcelona, placed small pieces of paper with the numbers 46.89 in each running spike. He had mentally convinced himself that running under 47 seconds was not impossible.

In 1993, Young won his second US National Championships title and had 25 consecutive wins until he was beaten by Samuel Matete from Zambia just two weeks before 1993 World Championships. In the World Championships final, however, Young again made a decisive move between hurdles 7 and 8. He held this lead until the finish, beating Matete by 0.42 seconds.

Decline

After 1993, Young's performances on the track declined for a number of reasons. Young was disconnected from his training base in California and departed from his former coach John Smith. He raced at just two meetings in 1994: he took second at the New York Games with a season's best of 49.70 seconds but failed to make the 400 m hurdles final at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He quit the season after the championships, never getting into top condition. There he focussed on working within the Atlanta community doing appearances at local Atlanta Boys and Girls Clubs, appearing at Niketown for toy drives for homeless shelter families. Still nursing a nagging knee injury, Young looked forward to a 1995 practicing at Life College. Unable to manage through a nagging knee injury he ended his season requiring surgery two days after his birthday. With help from coach Bobby Kersee, Young was eager to get ready for the Atlanta trials, only to advance as far as the semis, placing fifth in his heat. Years after the 1996 trials Young embraced many opportunities to run overseas throughout Europe and in Israel. While running in Greece in 1998 Young was approached to become a member and run for the Panhellinos Gymnastics Club, while racing in Greece. Mr. Minos Kiriakou, a media tycoon welcomed their new club athlete. In 1998 European "Group B" Champions Cup,Young won the 400m hurdles event setting then a club record. Never "officially" retiring, Young simply marveled in the exploits of the newer talented group of hurdlers respecting their feats and his own achievements. He was inducted into the United States Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2006.

Personal life

Young is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

References

Awards
Preceded by Sergey Bubka	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1992	Succeeded by Miguel Indurain
Preceded by Sergey Bubka	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1992	Succeeded by Noureddine Morceli
Preceded by None	Men's Track & Field ESPY Award 1993	Succeeded by Michael Johnson
Sporting positions
Preceded by Andre Phillips	Men's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1989	Succeeded by Danny Harris
Preceded by Samuel Matete	Men's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1992 — 1993	Succeeded by Derrick Adkins