Butch Reynolds facts for kids
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| Born | June 8, 1964 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Alma mater | Ohio State University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. (born June 8, 1964) is a famous American former track and field athlete. He was best known for competing in the 400 meter dash. Butch Reynolds once held the world record for the 400-meter race. He set this record in 1988 with an amazing time of 43.29 seconds. This record lasted for over 11 years!
In 1988, he won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 400 meters. He also won a gold medal as part of the 4×400 meter relay team. Later, Butch Reynolds was wrongly accused of something and was banned from competing for two years. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled in his favor. He was supposed to receive a large amount of money for the damages, but he never got it.
After his return to the sport, he became the 1993 World Indoor Champion. He also won two more silver medals in the 400 meters at the World Championships. His 4×400 meter relay team was very successful, winning the world title three times (1987, 1993, and 1995). Their team's time of 2:54.29 minutes from the 1993 World Championships in Athletics is still the current world record! Butch Reynolds is still one of the fastest 400-meter runners ever. Only Michael Johnson and Wayde van Niekerk have run faster.
In 2016, he was honored by being chosen for the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
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Butch Reynolds' Amazing Career
Butch Reynolds was born in Akron, Ohio. He went to Archbishop Hoban High School before becoming a world-class athlete.
Setting a World Record
On August 17, 1988, when he was 24 years old, Butch Reynolds set a new world record in the 400-meter race. His time was 43.29 seconds. This was a huge achievement because he broke the old record by more than half a second! The previous record had stood for almost 20 years.
What was special about his race? He ran the second half of the race faster than the first half. This is called a "negative split." His first 200 meters took 21.9 seconds, and his last 200 meters took 21.4 seconds. This record was held by Butch Reynolds for 11 years and 9 days. It was finally broken by Michael Johnson in 1999. Later, Wayde van Niekerk broke Johnson's record in 2016. Even today, Butch Reynolds has the third fastest 400-meter time ever. He is one of only a few athletes to run the race in under 43.50 seconds.
Olympic and World Championship Success
Butch Reynolds won a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He also earned a gold medal with the 4 x 400-meter relay team at the same Olympics.
At the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, he won a bronze medal in 1987. He then won silver medals in 1993 and 1995. His 4 x 400-meter relay teams also won gold medals in 1987, 1993, and 1995. The 1993 World Championship relay team, which included Andrew Valmon, Watts, and Johnson, still holds the world record for the relay race.
Later Career and Coaching
In the 1996 American Olympic trials, he finished second behind Michael Johnson. He ran a very fast time of 43.91 seconds. However, at the 1996 Summer Olympics semi-final, he got a hamstring injury. This meant he couldn't qualify for the final race or join the relay team.
Butch Reynolds retired from competing after the 1999 season. Since then, he has started the Butch Reynolds Care for Kids Foundation. He also worked as a speed coach for the Ohio State University football team for a while. In 2014, he became the sprint coach for Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. His coaching helped the team improve a lot. He left Ohio Dominican after the 2018 outdoor season.
See also
