Jeremy Wariner

Jeremy Mathew Wariner (born January 31, 1984, in Irving, Texas) is an American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and four World Championships medals. He is the third fastest competitor in the history of the 400 m event with a personal best of 43.45 seconds.

A successful college athlete, Wariner won the 400 m and 4 × 400 meters relay gold medals at his first Olympics in Athens 2004. He followed this with two gold medals at the 2005 World Championships in the same events. He remained undefeated in the 400 m event during the 2006 ÅF Golden League, earning him the $250,000 jackpot. He remained World Champion in the 400 meters individual and relay events at the 2007 Osaka World Championships, earning him the 2007 Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award. He won the 400 m relay gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but took silver in the 400 m, finishing behind compatriot LaShawn Merritt.

Wariner attended Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, and participated in multiple sports and was recognized for his outstanding speed. Under the coaching of Mike Nelson, who also coached state champion 110 meters hurdler Reggie Harrell, he was the 2002 Texas 5A state sprint champion at both 200 meters and 400 meters, setting high school bests of 20.41seconds (wind assisted) and 45.57s respectively. Enrolling at Baylor University, he quickly established himself as a collegiate sprint talent under the guidance of Clyde Hart, who was also coach of Baylor alumnus and two-time Olympic 400m gold medal winner and nine-time world champion Michael Johnson. Somewhat hampered by injuries late in his freshman year, Wariner regained form as a sophomore, winning both the 2004 NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor 400m titles. Later that year, he claimed the national 400m title at the USATF Championships making him the favorite for the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Jeremy then made his first appearance on the world athletic stage at the 2004 Olympic Games. He won two Olympic gold medals, the first in the 400 m in a personal record 44.00 s and the second as the third leg of the U.S. 4 × 400 meters relay team. Following his Olympic successes, Jeremy turned professional, forgoing the rest of his collegiate eligibility, though he remained at Baylor and continued to be coached by Clyde Hart. The next year, Jeremy won the 400 m at the 2005 USATF championship with a time of 44.20 s. At the Helsinki World Championships on a cold and rainy day he won the 400 m in 43.93 seconds. He would then anchor the American team in the 4 × 400 m relay for the gold medal.

Early in 2006, Jeremy competed in the 200 m lowering his personal best to 20.19 s. Later that year he would set a new personal best of 43.62 seconds at 400 m at the Golden Gala Meet in Rome. Together with Asafa Powell (100 m) and Sanya Richards (women's 400 m) he won his sixth out of six Golden League events (400 m) in the same season, which earned him a total of $250,000.

In 2007 he filled a summer with dominating 400 m performances culminating with the Osaka World Championships where on August 31, 2007 he would win the 400 m in 43.45 s thereby improving his personal best to become the third-fastest of all time (only Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds have run faster).

In 2008, Jeremy announced he would be coached by Baylor assistant coach Michael Ford. The change to Ford was of great interest to the track and field press and fuelled speculation regarding its impact, necessity and cause. By the time of the 2008 USATF championship he and agent Michael Johnson had to face many probing questions regarding the reasons for such a change in an Olympic year. Jeremy would go on to place second behind LaShawn Merritt in the 400 m final of the USATF championship and secure his place on the U.S. Olympic team in the 400 m event and the 4x400 m relay team. In the 2008 Olympics, Jeremy qualified for the final with a time of 44.12 s, in a run which he slowed down considerably in the final fifty meters. This led to much anticipation that he could beat Michael Johnson's world record in the final, but instead he took the silver, unexpectedly losing to LaShawn Merritt by nearly a full second. David Neville came in third completing a United States sweep of the 400 m.