Darvis Patton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Darvis Patton

Patton (second left) after his 2007 World 4×100 m relay gold
Personal information
Born	(1977-12-04) December 4, 1977 (age 47) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Residence	Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump
College team	Texas Christian University and Garden City Community College
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.89 200 m: 20.03
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Silver 2012 London 4 × 100 m relay Silver 2004 Athens 4 × 100 m relay World Championships Gold 2003 Paris 4 × 100 m relay Gold 2007 Osaka 4 × 100 m relay Silver 2003 Paris 200 m Pan American Games Silver 2007 Rio de Janeiro 100 m Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro 4 × 100 m relay

Darvis "Doc" Patton, born on December 4, 1977, is a retired American track and field star. He was known for his amazing speed in sprinting events. He won the US Championship in the 200-meter dash twice. He also earned a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships for the same event. Darvis competed in three Olympic Games and four World Athletics Championships.

He was very successful with the American 4 × 100-meter relay team. He won gold medals at the World Championships in 2003 and 2007. He also earned an Olympic silver medal in 2004. However, he also faced challenges with the relay team. The American team was disqualified at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 World Championships, and 2011 World Championships.

Darvis was a talented athlete who could do both horizontal jumps and sprints. He first focused on the 200-meter dash. After injuries in 2005 and 2006, he switched to the 100-meter dash. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2007 Pan American Games. He also reached the finals of this event at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Championships. He has run the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds. His personal best of 9.89 seconds makes him one of the fastest Americans ever in this event. He also has best times of 20.03 seconds for the 200-meter dash and a long jump of 8.12 meters. He set a record for runners over 35 in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.50 seconds.

Darvis Patton's Athletic Journey

Early Days and College Sports

Darvis Patton was born in Dallas, Texas. His parents are William Johnson and Dorrise Patton. From a young age, Darvis was a very skilled athlete. He competed in the long jump, triple jump, and sprint events. He did this while attending Lake Highlands High School and later TCU.

In 1998, at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, he won the long jump. He also came in second in the triple jump and fourth in the 200-meter dash. That same year, he graduated from Garden City Community College. He then received an athletic scholarship to Texas Christian University. There, he started to focus more on the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. His coach was Monte Stratton.

In 2000, he was a finalist in both sprint distances at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. By the end of that year, he had set personal bests. These included 6.64 seconds for the 60-meter dash, 10.22 for the 100-meter dash, 20.29 for the 200-meter dash, and 8.04 meters for the long jump. He also reached the semi-finals of the 200-meter dash at the 2000 United States Olympic Trials.

During his second year at Texas Christian, he set new indoor personal bests. He ran the 200-meter dash in 20.73 seconds and jumped 7.85 meters in the long jump. He was a finalist in both events at the NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. He also improved his outdoor times. He ran the 100-meter dash in 10.16 seconds and jumped 8.12 meters in the long jump in Arlington, Texas.

At the 2001 NCAA Outdoor Championships, he earned four All-American honors. He finished sixth in the 100-meter dash, fourth in the long jump, and third in the 200-meter dash. He also won the 4 × 100-meter relay with the TCU Horned Frogs team. He started to become well-known nationally at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that year. He placed fourth in the 200-meter dash and seventh in the long jump. Later, he was moved up to third place in the 200-meter dash after another athlete was disqualified.

Winning First World and Olympic Medals

Darvis achieved his first major successes in 2002. He was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash at both the Indoor and Outdoor US Championships. Because another athlete was disqualified, he became the American outdoor 200-meter champion that year. There were no big world championships, so he competed mostly on the international circuit. He won 200-meter races in Glasgow and London. He also came in second at the Golden Gala and Memorial Van Damme meets. He improved his 200-meter best time to 20.12 seconds in Brussels.

The next year, 2003, Darvis won his first medal at a global event. He became the national champion in the 200-meter dash. Then, he won the silver medal in that event at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. His teammate John Capel won the gold. Darvis also won a gold medal as part of the American men's 4 × 100-meter relay team. This team included John Capel, Bernard Williams, and J. J. Johnson.

Darvis stopped focusing on the long jump and improved his sprinting times that year. He set a personal record of 6.58 seconds in the 60-meter dash. He ran the 100-meter dash in exactly 10 seconds at the Weltklasse Zürich meeting. He also ran the 200-meter dash in 20.03 seconds in the semi-finals of the World Championships. He was runner-up in 200-meter races at the Athletissima and Meeting Gaz de France events. He placed fourth at the 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final.

After finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, he was chosen as a substitute for the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Darvis helped the American team easily get through the heats, running in 38.02 seconds. For the final race, he was replaced by the 100-meter Olympic champion Justin Gatlin. However, this change did not help the team. They finished a bit slower (38.08 seconds) and won the silver medal, behind Great Britain. Great Britain was a team they had easily beaten in the heats. Darvis's 2005 and 2006 seasons were affected by serious groin and hip injuries. He did not return to major competitions until 2007.

Coming Back from Injury

Patton winning at the 2008 Penn Relays

Darvis Patton returned to racing in 2007. He focused on the shorter sprint distance, the 100-meter dash. He finished eighth in the 100-meter final at the 2007 US Championships. He then withdrew from the 200-meter competition. Because of his performance, he was chosen to represent the United States at the 2007 Pan American Games. He finished second in the 100-meter dash, behind Churandy Martina. He also helped the relay team win a bronze medal.

He was selected for the relay team at the 2007 World Championships. This time, he made it to the final after qualifying. The American team, which included Wallace Spearmon, Tyson Gay, and Leroy Dixon, became world champions. They ran in a world-leading time of 37.78 seconds, beating the Jamaican team.

At the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, Darvis ran his fastest 100-meter dash ever. He clocked 9.89 seconds in the quarter-finals. In the final, he ran even faster with a wind-assisted time of 9.84 seconds. He finished third behind Tyson Gay and Walter Dix. He legally ran under 10 seconds for the second time at the Herculis meet in Monaco, finishing second in 9.98 seconds.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he was the slowest qualifier for the 100-meter final. In the final, he ran 10.03 seconds, again finishing last among the eight athletes. He also competed in the 4 × 100-meter relay with Rodney Martin, Travis Padgett, and Tyson Gay. However, they were disqualified because of a mistake in the baton exchange between Darvis and Tyson Gay.

Patton (far right) grimacing in injury at the 2009 World Championships 100 m final.

In 2009, Darvis came in second to Michael Rodgers in a close 100-meter race at the 2009 US championships. He ran a windy 9.92 seconds. This earned him a spot on the American team for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. Before the championships, he was runner-up in Monaco and Stockholm. In Stockholm, he ran a wind-assisted 9.95 seconds behind Tyson Gay.

He reached the final of the men's 100 meters after running his season's best of 9.98 seconds in the semi-finals. However, he did not perform well in the final, finishing last with a slow time of 10.34 seconds due to an injury. The American men's relay team's hopes were again ruined by an illegal baton exchange, this time between Darvis and Shawn Crawford.

Darvis ended his season strongly. He ran several races under 10 seconds. He ran 9.95 for third place at the Weltklasse, 9.94 to win the Hanžeković Memorial, and equaled his personal record of 9.89 seconds for third place at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. He also placed third in the 100-meter dash at the Memorial Van Damme and the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.

Earning a Second Olympic Medal

Darvis Patton's 2010 season ended early in May due to another injury. He returned in 2011 and started racing more often in the 200-meter dash. At the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he was sixth in the 100-meter dash. However, he managed to get second place in the 200-meter dash, behind Walter Dix.

The 2011 World Championships in Athletics was not one of his best global competitions. He was eliminated in the 200-meter semi-finals. In the relay final, he had a problem with Britain's Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and could not pass the baton successfully. His season's best times were 9.94 seconds for the 100-meter dash and 20.25 seconds for the 200-meter dash.

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, he placed fifth in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Even though he did not get an individual spot, he was chosen for the relay team. At the 2012 London Olympics, he ran as a substitute in the qualifying rounds. Even the American team with Jeff Demps, Darvis, Trell Kimmons, and Justin Gatlin broke the national record of 37.38 seconds.

The American team for the final, which included Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey, improved that record even further to 37.04 seconds. However, they were still second behind the Jamaican team, who set a new world record. As a result, Darvis Patton received his second Olympic silver medal in the relay.

He started 2013 with fast times. He ran the 60-meter dash in 6.50 seconds, which was a world record for athletes over 35. He also ran a wind-aided 100-meter dash in 9.75 seconds.

Life After Running: Coaching and Leadership

Darvis Patton announced his retirement from running in 2013. He then decided to become a coach. Before he stopped competing, Darvis was the Men's Sprints Event Leader for the USATF Athlete's Advisory Committee. In this role, he supported elite sprint athletes. He was the main contact for competition issues and questions about athlete benefits. He also kept male athletes updated on competition locations and changes to USATF rules.

After that, other athletes chose him to be on the USATF Board of Directors for four years. He represented the Athlete's Advisory Committee again. As a member of the budget committee, he checked how money was spent for different events. He made sure funds were used wisely and according to USATF rules. He also helped make sure athletes in all track and field sports had a voice. This included decisions about staff, drug testing, and competition rules.

Coaching Career

In 2015, Darvis worked as an assistant sprint and hurdles coach for the USA Track and Field team. He helped at the IAAF World Relay Championship and NACAC Senior Championship. His teams won ten medals at these events. They also won four more medals at the Penn Relays.

From 2019 to 2022, he was the head track coach at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth. Under his coaching, the program broke school records in the high jump and the 4x100 meter race. In 2015, the team placed fourth in the state championship. This was the highest finish in the school's 70-year history. He also coached the school's first state champion in the men's 100-meter dash.

In March 2022, Darvis joined the Texas Wesleyan University staff. He became an assistant track and field coach, specializing in short sprints and jumps. In his first two years, Darvis helped lead the men's and women's track teams to their first conference titles in school history. He also coached Texas Wesleyan's first national track and field champions in the 400-meter, 60-meter hurdles, and 110-meter hurdles events. In 2023, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Darvis Patton the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Assistant Coach of the Year for Women's Outdoor Track & Field in the South Central Region. He was promoted to associate head coach for the Texas Wesleyan track and field program in 2024.

Darvis Patton's Family Life

Darvis and his wife, Crystal, have a daughter named Dakota and a son named Darvis II. He is proud to be a former member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. He also serves as a mentor for young people.

Personal Best Times

Competition Highlights

See also

In Spanish: Darvis Patton para niños