Jacory Patterson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jacory Patterson

Patterson running the 4 × 400 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships
Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(2000-02-02) February 2, 2000 (age 26)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprints
College team	Virginia Tech Hokies (2019–2021) Florida Gators (2022)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Outdoor 100 m: 10.11 (2022) 200 m: 20.20 (2022) 400 m: 43.98 (2025) Indoor 60 m: 6.68 (2022) 200 m: 20.29 (2023) 300 m: 31.99 (2022) CR 400 m: 45.05 (2023)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States World Indoor Championships Gold 2025 Nanjing 4 × 400 m relay Bronze 2025 Nanjing 400 m

Jacory Patterson (born February 2, 2000) is an American track and field athlete. He is known for his amazing speed in sprint races. Jacory was born in Columbia, South Carolina.

He first won a gold medal in the long jump at a big junior competition in 2016. Later, he decided to focus on sprinting. While attending Dreher High School, he broke the state record in the 200 m race. He also won a state championship in the 400 m.

When he was a freshman at Virginia Tech in 2019, Jacory set a new world record for athletes under 20 in the indoor 300 m race. He won six championships in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) while at Virginia Tech. In 2022, he moved to the University of Florida. There, he set a new college record in the indoor 300 m. This made him one of the fastest men ever in that event.

Jacory Patterson's Early Life

Jacory Patterson was born on February 2, 2000. His parents are Jamey Patterson and Charlene Bolton. He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina.

Starting Track and Field

Jacory started track and field in the sixth grade. He realized he was always the fastest kid on the playground. He went to Dreher High School. There, he played both track and field and basketball.

He stopped playing basketball after tenth grade. He saw that he had more talent in track. In 2016, Jacory won the long jump at the USATF Junior Olympics.

High School Achievements

As a senior in 2018, he won the South Carolina 4A state title in the 400 m. He also broke the state record for the 200 m. Jacory set new school records in the 100 m, 400 m, long jump, and triple jump.

He chose to run track for the Virginia Tech Hokies. He picked Virginia Tech over other big universities.

College Track Star

Jacory Patterson competed for two different colleges. He first ran for Virginia Tech Hokies and then for the Florida Gators.

Time at Virginia Tech

Jacory ran for Virginia Tech from 2019 to 2021. During this time, he won six championships in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

2019 Indoor Season Highlights

At first, Jacory thought long jump was his best event. But his coach, Tim Vaught, told him to focus on sprints. In his very first college race in January, Jacory broke the world under-20 record in the indoor 300 m. His time was 32.49 seconds. This was the second fastest time ever in college indoor history.

His coach knew then that Jacory's jumping career was over. Jacory was named the best male college athlete of the week for this amazing run. Two weeks later, he set a school record in the indoor 200 m. He also broke the school record in the indoor 400 m.

At the ACC Indoor Championships, Jacory won the 400 m title. He became the first Virginia Tech athlete to win this indoor conference title. He went to the NCAA Indoor Championships. However, he could not finish his race after bumping into another runner.

2019 Outdoor Season Highlights

In his first outdoor race, Jacory set a school record in the 400 m. His time was 45.76 seconds. This was almost a full second faster than the old record. He won the 200 m race at the Tennessee Relays. Then he won the 400 m race at the War Eagle Invitational.

At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Jacory won the 400 m title. He came in second in the 200 m. He also helped his team get second place in the 4 × 100 m relay. They set a new school record of 39.46 seconds. Jacory also ran the last part of the 4 × 400 m relay team, which finished fourth.

His coach said Jacory did a great job. He knew Jacory was strong enough to handle running in four different events. Jacory improved his school record in the 400 m at the NCAA preliminaries. He also helped set a new school record in the 4 × 100 m relay.

2020 Indoor Season Highlights

Jacory started the 2020 season by setting a new college record in the indoor 300 m. He ran 32.28 seconds. At the same event, he helped his 4 × 400 m relay team set a school record.

In February, Jacory broke his own school record in the indoor 400 m. He ran 45.75 seconds. He improved this time again at the ACC Indoor Championships. He ran 45.66 seconds to win the 400 m title. He also won a silver medal with the 4 × 400 m relay team. However, the national championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 Indoor Season Highlights

After the 2020 outdoor season was cancelled, Jacory started the 2021 indoor season strong. He won the 300 m race at the Virginia Tech Invitational. His winning time was the best indoor performance by an American in 2021.

Jacory set a new school and conference record in the 400 m in February. He ran 45.24 seconds. He also helped set a new school record in the 4 × 400 m relay.

Jacory won both the 200 m and 400 m titles at the ACC Indoor Championships. He set a school record in the 200 m and a meet record in the 400 m. He was one of only four male sprinters in ACC history to win both the 200 m and 400 m at the conference championships. He won a bronze medal in the 400 m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He broke his own ACC record with a time of 45.14 seconds. He was named the ACC Men's Indoor Track Performer of the Year.

2021 Outdoor Season Highlights

In April, Jacory became the first Virginia Tech athlete to run the 400 m in under 45 seconds. He ran 44.81 seconds. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, he won gold in the 400 m. He also won gold with the 4 × 400 m relay team. This team was the first 4 × 400 m team in school history to win an outdoor conference title.

Jacory was set to compete in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. But he decided to transfer to the University of Florida just days before the competition. He also competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. He reached the 400 m semifinals before being eliminated.

Time at Florida

Jacory competed for the Florida Gators in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2022.

2022 Indoor Season Highlights

In his first race for Florida, Jacory won the Clemson Invitational. He improved his own 300 m college record with a time of 31.99 seconds. He also set a personal best in the 60 m race.

At the Bob Pollock Invitational, Jacory won the 400 m race. He also helped his 4 × 400 m relay team win gold. Two weeks later, he won the 200 m event. He also helped his 4 × 400 m relay team set a new world-leading performance.

At the SEC Indoor Championships, Jacory finished fourth in the 400 m. He then helped his 4 × 400 m relay team win a silver medal. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, he finished fifth in the 400 m. He was also seventh in the 4 × 400 m relay. Jacory was named an All-American in both events.

2022 Outdoor Season Highlights

At the Texas Relays, Jacory and his teammates ran the second-fastest 4 × 200 m relay time in school history. On April 1, he ran his fastest 200 m race ever, with a time of 20.20 seconds. This was tied for the fastest in the NCAA.

Two weeks later, Jacory set a new personal best in the 100 m race. He ran 10.11 seconds. He also helped his 4 × 400 m relay team set a new college record of 2:58.53. This team was the first college team ever to run under 2:59.00.

Professional Career

Jacory Patterson has continued to achieve great things in his professional career.

At the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships, he won a bronze medal in the 400 metres. He then teamed up with Brian Faust and Chris Bailey, along with Elija Godwin. They won the gold medal in the men’s 4 x 400 metres relay at the championships.

In May 2025, Jacory set a new personal best in the 400 metres. He ran 43.98 seconds to win the race at the Grand Slam Track event in Miami. In 2025, Jacory was noted for setting the world's fastest time over 400 metres for that year. He achieved this while also working overnight loading trucks.

Statistics

Personal Best Times

All information is from his World Athletics profile.

International Competitions

National Competitions