Jeremy Wariner

Jeremy Matthew Wariner[1] (born January 31, 1984) is a retired[3] American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the fourth fastest competitor in the history of the 400 m event with a personal best of 43.45 seconds, behind Wayde van Niekerk (43.03 WR, 2016), Michael Johnson (43.18 WR, 1999) and Butch Reynolds (43.29 WR, 1988) and the fifth fastest all-time mark when he set it in 2007.

Jeremy Wariner
Wariner in 2006
Personal information
Full nameJeremy Matthew Wariner[1]
NationalityAmerican[1]
Born (1984-01-31) January 31, 1984[1]
Irving, Texas, U.S.[1]
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2]
Weight155 lb (70 kg)[2]
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)400 meters
Medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2004 Athens400 m
Gold medal – first place2004 Athens4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place2008 Beijing4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2008 Beijing400 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2005 Helsinki400 m
Gold medal – first place2005 Helsinki4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place2007 Osaka400 m
Gold medal – first place2007 Osaka4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place2009 Berlin4×400m relay
Silver medal – second place2009 Berlin400 m
World Relay Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Nassau4×400 m relay
Continental Cup
Gold medal – first place2010 Split400 m
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2003 Bridgetown4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2003 Bridgetown400 m

Wariner was born in Irving, Texas. A successful college athlete at Baylor University, he won the 400 m and 4 × 400 m 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 m individual and relay events at the 2007 Osaka World Championships, earning him the 2007 Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award. He won the 4×400 m relay gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but took silver in the 400 m, finishing behind countryman LaShawn Merritt. Wariner picked up the silver medal in the 2009 World Championships, again finishing second to Merritt.

Early career

Jeremy Wariner attended Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, participating in multiple sports and being recognized for his outstanding speed. Under the coaching of Mike Nelson, who also coached 110 meters hurdler Reggie Harrell at Lamar High School, he was the 2002 Texas 5A state sprint champion at both 200 meters and 400 meters, setting high school bests of 20.41 seconds (wind assisted) and 45.57 seconds, 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 four-time Olympic 400 m gold medal winner and two-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 400 metres titles. Later that year, he claimed the national 400 m title at the USATF Championships making him the favorite for the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Wariner then made his first appearance on the world athletic stage at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won two Olympic gold medals, the first in the 400 m in a personal best 44.00 seconds and the second as the third leg of the U.S. 4 × 400 m relay team. Following his Olympic successes, he turned professional, forgoing the rest of his collegiate eligibility, though he remained at his parents' house and continued to be coached by Clyde Hart.

Professional career

The next year, Wariner 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, Wariner 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 then-third-fastest of all time (only Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds had run faster).[4]

Rivalry with Merritt

In 2008, Wariner left long-time coach Clyde Hart in favor of working with Baylor assistant coach Michael Ford.[5] This was an unexpected move as Wariner had much success under Hart, who had also coached his agent Michael Johnson. Wariner stated that he needed a change as Hart was nearing retirement, although the coach said that the split was due to a pay dispute.[6] By the time of the 2008 USATF championship Wariner and Johnson had to face many probing questions regarding the reasons for such a change in an Olympic year. He finished second to LaShawn Merritt in the 400 m final of the USATF championship and secured his place on the U.S. Olympic team in the 400 m event and the 4×400 m relay team.

Wariner at the finish line of the 400 m sprint finals, 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

In the 2008 Olympics, Wariner 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, losing to LaShawn Merritt by nearly a second. David Neville came in third completing a United States sweep of the 400 m.

Following his disappointment with the silver medal at the Olympics, Wariner admitted he had made a mistake in sacking Hart. He apologized to the emeritus coach after Johnson advised him that his new workout programme with Ford was lacking in some areas and took him back on as coach. The emergence of Merritt had left Wariner as the second-best athlete for the first time in his professional career.[6][7]

In the 2009 World Championships, Wariner won the silver medal in the 400 m, again finishing behind LaShawn Merritt, and the gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.

2012 London Olympics

Wariner was named to his third Olympic team as part of the Team USA 4 × 400 m relay squad. The two-time Olympic medalist in the 400m had failed to make the individual 400m event after starting poorly and finishing sixth in 45.24 seconds in the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 24, 2012.[8] At the Olympics as part of the relay squad, Wariner pulled out of the team due to a torn hamstring.[9]

2013 comeback

In March 2013, Wariner returned to victory by becoming the National Champion at 400 m at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.[10] However at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Wariner was unable to get out of the qualifying round, finishing dead last in his qualifying heat and the field.[11] He ran 44.96 at the 2016 Mt. SAC Relays to qualify for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. At the time it was the #2 time in the world behind only Martyn Rooney's 44.92 set a few minutes earlier on the same track. But at the trials, he pulled up 250 meters into the semifinal race.


Accolades and Awards

In 2014, Wariner was inducted into the Baylor Bears Hall of Fame.[12]

He was Inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.[13]

Personal bests
Event Time (seconds) Place Date
100 meters 10.92 Houston, Texas, United States June 6, 2014
200 meters 20.19 Carson, California, United States May 21, 2006
300 meters 31.61 Ostrava, Czech Republic June 12, 2008
400 meters 43.45 Osaka, Japan August 31, 2007
400 meters (indoor) 45.39 Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States March 13, 2004
800 meters 1:53.02 San Marcos, Texas, United States March 28, 2015

Personal life

Wariner married attorney Sarah Nichols (now Wariner) in 2011. Together, the couple raises three children: Isabella, Lincoln, and Elijah. Outside of their personal careers, the Wariners own a Jimmy John's franchise in Dallas, Texas, where Jeremy also serves as general manager.[14][15]

Wariner was previously head track coach at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas.[16][17] In July 2023, he moved to Liberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas) to be their head track and cross country coach, along with becoming their sports information and media coordinator.[18]

In the summer of 2018, Wariner was a "flex" player for Godspeed, a flag football team made mostly of former professional American football players that participated in the American Flag Football League (AFFL). The team was crowned the champion of participating pro teams but lost in the final match to the amateur champion team.[19]

Wariner has claimed that his maternal great-great-great-grandmother was Cherokee.[20][21]

Rankings

Wariner was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 400 m sprint event in the period 2004 to 2013, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.[22][23]

400 meters
Year World rank US rank
2004 1st 1st
2005 1st 1st
2006 1st 1st
2007 1st 1st
2008 2nd 2nd
2009 2nd 2nd
2010 1st 1st
2011 7th 2nd
2012 10th 4th
2013 – 10th

See also

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jeremy Wariner". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2020. Full name: Jeremy Matthew Wariner.
  2. "Jeremy Wariner". teamusa.org. USOC. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  3. Zaccardi, Nick (2017-08-02). "Jeremy Wariner, Olympic 400m champion, retires". OlympicTalk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  4. IAAF International Association of Athletics Federations – IAAF.org – Statistics – Top Lists Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Iaaf.org. Retrieved on 2011-07-22.
  5. Peter, Josh (2008-07-28). Wariner changes coaches, loses aura Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved on 2009-09-01.
  6. Broadbent, Rick (2009-07-18). Jeremy Wariner finds form after reinstating coach. The Times. Retrieved on 2009-09-01.
  7. Patrick, Dick (2009-05-21). Jeremy Wariner back together with coach Clyde Hart. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-09-01.
  8. "Jeremy Wariner Added To Olympic Team". KWTX.com. July 3, 2012.
  9. "Wariner, Merritt out of US relay". Miami Herald. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  10. "Men's 400 Meter Dash, 2013 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships". March 3, 2013. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  11. "USATF Outdoor Championships". Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  12. "Hall of Fame - Year by Year List". baylorbears.com.
  13. "Txtfhalloffame". Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  14. Ritchie, Steve (2 July 2016). "Wariner's not quite ready to give up". The Register-Guard. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  15. "What's Jeremy Wariner Doing Working At Jimmy John's? 7 Questions With The Olympic Legend". letsrun.com. January 22, 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  16. Hill, Jerry (March 23, 2021). "Jeremy Wariner (2003-04) Swept NCAA Titles, Olympic Gold Medal in '04". baylorbears.com.
  17. "Head Coach: Jeremy Wariner". Parish episcopal School. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  18. "MSN". MSN.
  19. "Godspeed | American Flag Football League". Archived from the original on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  20. Smith, Gary (6 December 2004). "The Color Of Speed - Many fans just can't believe that Jeremy Wariner, the Olympic 400-meter champ, is white—and they've argued it out on the Web". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  21. Meyer, John (12 May 2007). "Dashing new hero". The Denver Post. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  22. "World Rankings - Men's 400m" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  23. "U.S. Rankings - Men's 400" (PDF). Track and Field News. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
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