Jeremy Wariner

In just a few short years Jeremy Wariner has established himself as one of the best 400m runners the world has ever seen. Following a familiar path as his manager, world record holder Michael Johnson, Wariner quickly elevated himself from an outstanding high school sprinter in Texas, to an NCAA champion at Baylor University, and will now head into 2008 as the two-time world Champion, and as the defending Olympic champion.

Wariner began competing in track as a sophomore at Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas. While his first love was football, it didn’t take long to show that it would be on the track where Wariner would find his greatest success. During his senior year in 2002, he won Texas state high school titles at 200m and 400m, the latter of which was won in 45.57, the fastest time posted by a high school athlete that year.

As the nation-leading long sprinter of his graduating class, it was no surprise that Wariner elected to attend Baylor University and train under famed coach Clyde Hart, who guided Michael Johnson through his career. After a quiet first year at Baylor, Wariner began setting the pattern of dominance over 400m that he now known for. This included winning the NCAA 400m title, the US Olympic Trials, and most important of all, the 400m gold medal at the Athens Olympics in a world leading time of 44.00.

Since leaving behind NCAA competition for the professional ranks in 2004, Wariner has won all but six of his races of 400m. Among those many wins are two World Championships gold medals, the first in the heavy, cool rain in Helsinki in 2005, and the latter in the heat and humidity of Osaka in 2007. Along the way to those world title, Wariner has also lowered his personal best in the 400m every season, to his current best mark of 43.45sec, a time that ranks him as the third fastest man ever. Only former and current world record holders Butch Reynolds and Wariner’s agent Michael Johnson have run faster.

For 2008, Wariner has made his goals clear: to become only the second man to successfully defend his Olympic 400m title and to break Johnson’s nine-year old record at the distance. With such a consistent and dominant record since the last Olympics, it would seem wise to not bet against him.