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 known for competing in the 400 meter dash, a sprint race.
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 stood for over 11 years!
In 1988, he won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 400-meter race. He also earned a gold medal as part of the 4 × 400-meter relay team at the same Olympics.
Later in his career, Butch Reynolds faced a challenge when he was wrongly accused of using banned substances. He was banned from competing for two years. However, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled in his favor. They found that the drug testing process had serious mistakes.
After this, he made a strong comeback. He became the 1993 World Indoor Champion. He also won two more silver medals in the 400-meter race at the World Championships. He was a key part of the United States' 4 × 400-meter relay team. They won world titles three times (in 1987, 1993, and 1995). Their relay 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' Athletic Journey
Butch Reynolds was born in Akron, Ohio. He went to Archbishop Hoban High School there.
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! He broke the old record, which had stood for almost 20 years, by a lot.
His record was special because he ran the second half of the race faster than the first half. This is called a "negative split." His record stood 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. As of December 2024, Butch Reynolds' time is still the third fastest ever. He is one of only eight athletes to run the 400-meter 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 won a gold medal with the 4 × 400-meter relay team at those 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. He also helped the 4 × 400-meter relay team win 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.
In 1996, he finished second behind Michael Johnson at the American Olympic trials. However, he got a hamstring injury during the 1996 Summer Olympics semi-final. This meant he couldn't qualify for the final or join the relay team.
Life After Running
Butch Reynolds retired from competitive running after the 1999 season. Since then, he has started the Butch Reynolds Care for Kids Foundation. This foundation helps children. 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. He helped their team improve a lot. He left Ohio Dominican after the 2018 outdoor season.
Overcoming Challenges
In 1990, Butch Reynolds was suspended from competing. This happened because he was accused of using illegal substances. This started a long legal battle for him. The United States Supreme Court eventually stepped in. They ordered the United States Olympic Committee to let him compete in the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials. The court found that the drug testing procedures used in 1990 were seriously flawed. It was even shown that the test sample that tested positive was not actually his. Butch Reynolds fought hard to prove his innocence and clear his name. He was awarded money for the false accusation, though he never received it.
See also
In Spanish: Butch Reynolds para niños
