Kyle Clemons facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kyle Clemons

Kyle Clemons at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	2016 Rio de Janeiro	4×400 m relay
World Championships
Gold	2015 Beijing	4 × 400m relay
Pan American Games
Bronze	2015 Toronto	400 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2014 Sopot	4×400 m relay
Gold	2016 Portland	4×400 m relay
Bronze	2014 Sopot	400 m

Kyle Clemons, born on December 27, 1990, is an American track and field sprinter. He is known for running the 400-meter dash. He ran for the Kansas Jayhawks team in college. Kyle won the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2014. He also earned a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships that same year. His fastest time in the 400-meter dash is 44.79 seconds. While at the University of Kansas, he set new school records for the 400-meter dash, both indoors and outdoors. In 2013, he became a two-time champion at the Big 12 Conference.

Biography

Early Life and College Career

Kyle Clemons was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His parents are Tim Clemons and Valarie Hilson. Track and field was a big part of his family. His mother ran track for Arkansas State University.

Kyle went to Rowlett High School. There, he started competing in regional track events. He won state high school titles twice in the 400-meter dash. He also won twice in the 4×100-meter relay. When he finished high school, his best time for the 400-meter dash was 46.35 seconds. After high school, he went to the University of Kansas. He studied African and African-American studies.

In his first year with the Kansas Jayhawks college team, Kyle won at the Kansas Relays. He set a new personal best of 45.98 seconds at an NCAA qualifier meet. He finished sixth at the Big 12 Conference championship. He also reached the semi-finals at the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. He competed there with the 4×400-meter relay team. He also entered a national event and made it to the semi-finals at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His second year did not show much improvement.

In 2012, Kyle placed ninth at the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship. But he did much better outdoors. He ran his fastest time yet, 45.91 seconds, to take third place in the 400-meter dash at the Big 12 outdoor meet. He also came fourth in the 4×400-meter relay. This helped set the second fastest time ever for the school. Another personal record of 45.44 seconds at the NCAA Outdoors placed him second on the school's all-time list. He tried out for the 2012 United States Olympic Trials but did not advance past the first round.

In his fourth and final year at Kansas, Kyle broke school records. These records were held by Deon Hogan since the early 1980s. Kyle set an indoor best of 46.44 seconds and an outdoor best of 45.10 seconds. At the Big 12 indoor meet, he finished third in the 400-meter dash. He was second in the 4×400-meter relay. He did even better at the Big 12 outdoors. He won both the individual 400-meter dash and the relay title. He ran with teammates DeMario Johnson, Michael Stigler, and Kenneth McCuin. He was a semi-finalist in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.

Professional Career

In 2014, Kyle started his professional career. He won his first national title at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He beat David Verburg to become the USA 400-meter champion. He set a new indoor personal record of 45.60 seconds. This win led to him being chosen for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships. This was his first big international competition. He was the second fastest in the qualifying rounds for the final. In the final race, he finished third and won a bronze medal.

Personal Records

Outdoor

• 200-meter dash – 21.09 (2013)
• 400-meter dash – 44.79 (2016)

Indoor

• 60-meter dash – 6.87 (2010)
• 200-meter dash – 21.47 (2014)
• 400-meter dash – 45.60 (2014)

Competition Record

¹: Competed only in the heat.

National titles

• USA Indoor Track and Field Championships: 400 m (2014)

See also

In Spanish: Kyle Clemons para niños