{"id":1314947,"date":"2019-09-23T23:08:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T05:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/on-record-hurdler-kevin-young-hoping-mark-stands-at-worlds\/"},"modified":"2019-09-23T23:08:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T05:08:00","slug":"on-record-hurdler-kevin-young-hoping-mark-stands-at-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/on-record-hurdler-kevin-young-hoping-mark-stands-at-worlds\/","title":{"rendered":"On record: Hurdler Kevin Young hoping mark stands at worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – In this Aug. 6, 1992, file photo, Kevin Young, of the United States, celebrates his world record performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the XXV Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. For nearly three decades, Kevin Young has been waiting to pick up the phone and congratulate someone. This year, he might finally have to. The 53-year-old holds one of the oldest world records in track _ 46.78 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. At the world championships this year, there’s a good chance it might get broken. (AP Photo\/Denis Paquin, File)<\/strong>
AP | AP<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

DOHA, Qatar \u2014 For 27 years, 400-meter hurdler Kevin Young has followed a similar routine to celebrate his world record: Call some media outlets to drum up interest (usually, not many takers) and perform a few push-ups (just because).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. No popping of champagne. No special dinners. The American ran 46.78 seconds on Aug. 6, 1992 , on his way to Olympic gold at the Barcelona Games. It remains one of the longest-standing world records on the men\u2019s side and yet he lives in anonymity.<\/p>\n

Few fans recognize him. Well, sometimes he does get asked about it when he wears a chain with a good-luck charm that reads \u201c46.78 .\u201d But most confuse the numbers for a birthday.<\/p>\n

His mark will be in the spotlight at the world championships this week, because there\u2019s a good chance it might fall. Maybe Karsten Warholm of Norway breaks it or Rai Benjamin of the U.S. Or possibly local favorite Abderrahman Samba of Qatar.<\/p>\n

For the record, Young doesn\u2019t want to see his mark broken \u2014 ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to own the record as long as I can because it makes me relevant,\u201d Young said in a phone interview. \u201cAfter someone breaks it, I go from world-record holder to simply hurdles fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 53-year-old Young will skip the action inside the air-conditioned Khalifa Stadium. Sorry, he\u2019s heading back to school with classes starting.<\/p>\n

He was awarded a scholarship to Swansea University in Wales, where will be working on his master\u2019s degree in sports integrity and ethics. He has an eye on possibly working for the International Olympic Committee.<\/p>\n

However, if IAAF president Sebastian Coe really wants him to be in Doha for the 400 hurdles final on Monday, Sept. 30, he might be able to make it.<\/p>\n

One condition: \u201cTell Seb to fly me in on his private jet,\u201d Young cracked. \u201cBut remind him I have class the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The USA Track and Field Hall of Famer remains in a class by himself. He\u2019s charismatic (he\u2019s got stories galore), speaks his mind (feels his record should\u2019ve been more heralded) and loves social media. He wishes Instagram would\u2019ve been around when he broke the mark because he\u2019s convinced it would\u2019ve made him a \u201chousehold name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real story is the lack of a story,\u201d Young said. \u201cI guess I shocked the world so much, they couldn\u2019t even speak about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he did that day in Barcelona was become the first 400 hurdler to eclipse the 47-second barrier, breaking a record that had belonged to IAAF Hall of Famer Edwin Moses (47.02). Young didn\u2019t have company in the under-47 club until Samba went 46.98 on June 30, 2018. At a race in Zurich on Aug. 29, more company was added as Warholm (46.92) and Benjamin (46.98) joined the ranks.<\/p>\n

All three will be lining up in Doha.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe one of us manages to match or break it in the near future,\u201d Warholm wrote in an email. \u201cTime will show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s pick to break the mark: Warholm by a slight lean.<\/p>\n

Young sure would like to be there in Doha, just in case (he was in Switzerland last month). All he needs is transportation and an excuse from class.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to be in the stadium when it goes down. I don\u2019t want to get that elusive phone call,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the inevitability of that happening is out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young has a good movie for you \u2014 The Young Story. It stars, well, him, and tells the tale of a kid who grew up in Watts, a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles and attended Jordan High, the same school where the late Florence Griffith-Joyner ran years earlier. He was a walk-on at UCLA and became an NCAA champion.<\/p>\n

Then, his story really gets good.<\/p>\n

Among the favorites to medal at the 1988 Seoul Games, Young developed a knot in his hamstring moments before the final. Immediately after the race, the knot mysteriously faded. He finished fourth as American Andre Phillips took gold.<\/p>\n

To motivate himself, Young would write the time of \u201c46.89\u201d on paper and stuff it inside his spikes. The \u201c89\u201d was a reference to his No. 1 ranking in \u201889. That\u2019s how bad he wanted the mark.<\/p>\n

Leading into the \u201892 Olympics, the ever-confident Young would pretend to win gold \u2014 at practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did the victory laps, celebrated, had the hand wave, all that,\u201d Young recounted. \u201cI had to turn myself into a beast.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his record-setting race, he started fast and only built from there. He powered right over the final hurdle and raised his right arm in celebration well before the finish line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m walking around the track that day and I\u2019m happy,\u201d Young said. \u201cBut in my head, I didn\u2019t really know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Sports Illustrated cover, though (Gail Devers was on one week and Carl Lewis another). But a friend did give Young that necklace with \u201c46.78\u201d on it as a keepsake. He wears it on the gold chain he wore during that race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got the greatest story on Earth when it comes to track and field dreams,\u201d Young said. \u201cYet no one knows about it. I\u2019m proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

More AP sports: https:\/\/apnews.com\/apf-sports<\/a> and https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP\u2014Sports<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FILE – In this Aug. 6, 1992, file photo, Kevin Young, of the United States, celebrates his world record performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the XXV Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. For nearly three decades, Kevin Young has been waiting to pick up the phone and congratulate someone. This year, he might finally have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1314947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 21:56:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1314947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1314947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1314947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1314947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}