Floyd Heard

Last updated
Floyd Heard
Personal information
Full nameFloyd Wayne Heard
BornMarch 24, 1966 (1966-03-24) (age 58)
West Point, Mississippi, U.S.
Sport
Sport Track
Event Sprints
College team Texas A&M
Club Santa Monica Track Club
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Indianapolis 200 metres

Floyd Wayne Heard (born March 24, 1966, in West Point, Mississippi) is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States, best known for setting the 1986 world's best year performance in the men's 200 m. He did so on 7 July 1986 at a meet in Moscow, Soviet Union, clocking 20.12s. A year later he won the title in the men's 200 m at the 1987 Pan American Games.

Contents

Heard's personal best for the 200 m was 19.88 seconds, set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento on 23 July 2000. That was the race where favorites Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene were pitted as rivals by the media. In a head-to-head battle, both pulled up during the race, leaving Heard to pick up the pieces behind newcomer John Capel, at age 34 becoming the oldest sprinter to make his first American Olympic team.

Background

Heard attended John Marshall High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (graduating 1985) and Texas A&M. [1] While at A&M, Heard worked with world-renowned conditioning coach Istvan Javorek.

Floyd Heard also owns the American record as part of the Santa Monica Track Club's scorching performance of 1:18.68 in 1994 in the 4 × 200 m relay run, set at the Mt. SAC Relays. His teammates in that race were Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, and Carl Lewis.

Related Research Articles

Evelyn Ashford is an American retired track and field athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash, and the world record-holder in the 60-yard dash. She ran under the 11-second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in an Olympic Games. Ashford has the distinction of owning the longest unbroken athletics record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darvis Patton</span> American sprinter

Darvis "Doc" Darell Patton is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He is a two-time US Champion in the 200-meter dash and won the silver medal in the event at the 2003 World Championships. He is a three-time Olympian and a four-time participant at the World Athletics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy Burrell</span> American track and field athlete

Leroy Russel Burrell is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the world record for the 100 m sprint.

Dennis Allen Mitchell is an American former college and international track and field athlete, who was a member of the gold medal-winning team in the 4 x 100 meters relay race at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyson Gay</span> American sprinter (born 1982)

Tyson Gay is a retired American track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ever, along with Yohan Blake of Jamaica.

Davidson Ezinwa is a former sprinter from Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Usain Bolt</span> Jamaican sprinter (born 1986)

Usain St. Leo Bolt is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Dix</span> American sprinter

Walter Dix is a retired American sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the sixth-fastest 200-meter runner ever with a best of 19.53 seconds, and has broken the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters, with a best of 9.88 (9.80w) seconds. He was the only track athlete from USA to win 2 individual Olympic medals in Beijing.

Clancy Edwards is an American retired track and field sprinter. He was considered one of the best sprinters in the world between 1974 and 1978. He won the 200 metres at the 1977 IAAF World Cup, the most important meet of that year, defeating future World Record holder Pietro Mennea.

Stanley Floyd is a retired track and field sprinter from the United States. He was a 1979 graduate of Dougherty High School in Albany, Georgia. In 1980, he was considered one of the favorites for the 100m title but was denied his chance due to the United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Pierre</span> Haitian-born American sprinter

Barbara Pierre[nb] is a Haitian-born American track and field sprint athlete who competed internationally for the United States. Her specialty is the 60-meter dash and the 100-meter dash. She had her highest world ranking in 2013, when she was the fourth fastest sprinter in the world over 100 m with her personal best of 10.85 seconds.

Arthur "Art" George Bragg was an American sprinter who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams is an American former track and field athlete who specialized in the 200-meter dash. He was the bronze medalist at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and reached the 200 m final at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He set an American record in the 200 m indoors in 1996.

Ana Cláudia Lemos Silva is a Brazilian track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events. She is the former South American record holder in the 100 metres (11.05 seconds) and the current (2017) record holder in the 200 metres (22.48 seconds). She also was part of the team that broke the 4×100 metres relay continental record with a time of 42.29 seconds.

Wallace Spearmon Sr. is an American former sprinter. He is the father of Wallace Spearmon Jr.

Esther Stroy is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprinting events. She is best known for competing at the 1968 Olympics in the 400-meter dash as a 15-year-old, the youngest competitor at those games.

Michael Sands is a Bahamian former track and field sprinter. During his peak he held the Bahamian records from 100 metres to 400 metres.

Randy Jenelle Givens is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. She set personal bests of 11.06 seconds for the 100-meter dash and 22.31 seconds for the 200-meter dash. Givens was a 200 m finalist at the 1984 Olympic Games and represented her country at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. She was the 200 m gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games and returned to win a silver medal at the 1987 edition.

Kendall Baisden is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 400-meter dash. She holds a personal record of 50.46 seconds for the distance, set in 2014.

D'Andre "DeeDee" Hill is an American track and field coach and former athlete. She competed in sprint events, mainly in 100-meter dash. Her personal record in the event was 10.92 seconds. She represented her country over 100 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and shared in a gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, having run in the heats only.

References

  1. ""Floyd Heard" USA Track & Field". Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2011-04-12.


Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's 200 m Best Year Performance
1986
Succeeded by