Kahmari Montgomery

Kahmari Montgomery (born August 16, 1997) is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 m for Nike.[3] He was the men's 400 m champion at the USA Championships in 2018, and at the NCAA Division I Championships in 2019.[8][9][5] He represented the United States in the 4 × 400 m relay at the World U20 Championships in 2016 and at the inaugural Athletics World Cup in 2018, earning gold medals in both competitions.[10]

Kahmari Montgomery
Kahmari Montgomery at the 2018 USA Championships
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1997-08-16) August 16, 1997
Plainfield, Illinois, USA
ResidenceHouston, Texas, USA
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight142 lb (64 kg)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)
  • 400 m
  • 200 m
  • 4×400 m relay
  • 4×200 m relay
College teamHouston Cougars (2018–2019)[1]
Missouri Tigers (2016–2017)[2]
TeamNike[3]
Turned pro2019
Coached byLeroy Burrell[1] and Carl Lewis[4]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 400 m: 44.23 (2019)[5]
  • 4×400 m relay split: 43.38 (2018)[6][7]
  • 200 m: 20.35 (2019)
Medal record
Men's track and field
Representing the United States
Athletics World Cup[note 1]
2018 London4×400 m relay
NACAC Championships
2018 Toronto4×400 m relay
Universiade
2017 Taipei4×400 m relay
World U20 Championships
2016 Bydgoszcz4×400 m relay

In early 2018 he ran a 43.38 s 4 × 400 m relay split, one of the fastest of all time, setting a school record and bringing the Houston Cougars to their first victory in the event at the Penn Relays.[6][7] In February the year after he followed up with a 44.45 s indoor split, the third-fastest indoor split of all time, to help the Houston Cougars to what is recognized as the world record for the indoor 4 × 400 m relay with a time of 3:01.51.[11]

Prep

Kahmari Montgomery competed for Plainfield Central High School. He ran the fifth-fastest 400 m in the United States for high school seniors in 2015. He was also No. 12 for the indoor 60 m, No. 14 for the 100 m, and No. 17 for the 200 m. Montgomery won five Illinois High School Association state track championship titles: the 100 m state title in 2015, the 200 m in 2014 and 2015, and the 400 m in 2014 and 2015.[12][13][14][15]

College

As a freshman competing for the Missouri Tigers in 2016, Kahmari Montgomery won the indoor 400 m in 45.78 s and outdoor 400 m in 45.13 s to become a two time Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion. He made the semi-finals at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division I Championships, placing 11th and 9th respectively in the 400 m, and earned a silver medal at the USA Junior Championships.[16] He competed at the USA Olympic Trials in the 400 m, though he did not advance from the preliminaries.[17] He finished his season by earning a gold medal for the United States at the World U20 Championships in the 4 × 400 m relay.[10]

In his sophomore season he had less success. He failed to reach the finals in either of the SEC Championships, failed to qualify for either of the NCAA Division I Championships, and did not approach his personal best times he had set in the prior year. However he represented the United States at the Universiade where he was introduced to Leroy Burrell, head coach of the Houston Cougars, and earned a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. He decided to transfer to the University of Houston after his season ended, citing a positive experience with the team at the Universiade and a lack of belief in his ability to succeed as an athlete at the University of Missouri.[1]

In his first year competing for the Houston Cougars in 2018, Kahmari Montgomery won the indoor 400 m in 45.53 s, indoor 4 × 400 m in 3:10.03, and outdoor 400 m in 45.93 s to become a three time American Athletic Conference (AAC) champion. At the Penn Relays he ran one of the fastest 4 × 400 m relay splits ever, clocking the anchor leg in 43.38 s and helping earn the Houston Cougars their first Penn Relays 4 × 400 m relay title in a new school record time of 3:01.82.[6][7] He made the finals at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division I Championships, placing 4th and 7th respectively. In his last individual race for the season at the USA Championships he won the 400 m in a personal best time of 44.58 s.[8][9] He went on to compete for the United States at the inaugural Athletics World Cup and the NACAC Championships, earning gold medals at both competitions in the 4 × 400 m relay.

At the beginning of 2019 Montgomery was placed on the preseason watch list for The Bowerman.[18] In February at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational he anchored Houston to victory in the 4 × 400 m relay with a world leading 3:01.51, the fourth fastest indoor performance of all time, and an indoor world record pending ratification.[19] While not the fastest time achieved over the distance indoors, other faster times had not been ratified for various technical reasons. On February 26, 2020, Houston's indoor world record was ratified by World Athletics.[11][20] Montgomery himself split 44.45 s, the third fastest indoor 400 m split of all time, to barely finish ahead of Texas A&M Aggie Devin Dixon, who recorded the fastest 400 m split of all time in 44.24 s.[21] Two weeks later at the AAC Indoor Championships Montgomery repeated as 400 m champion with a world leading 45.04 s clocking.[22] After the regional championships he was named co-athlete of the year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the south-central region, shared with Devin Dixon.[23][24] He wrapped up his indoor season with second place in the 400 m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in 45.03 s, a new indoor personal best, and the 4 × 400 m relay title.[25]

Statistics

Personal bests
EventTimeVenueDateNotes
400 m44.23Austin, Texas, USAJune 7, 2019
400 m indoor45.03Birmingham, Alabama, USAMarch 9, 2019
4×400 m relay split43.38Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAApril 28, 2018[6][7]
200 m20.35Sacramento, California, USAMay 25, 2018(+1.6 m/s wind)
20.32 wWichita, Kansas, USAMay 12, 2019(+2.4 m/s wind) wind-assisted
200 m indoor20.63College Station, Texas, USAFebruary 2, 2019
4×400 m relay2:59.78London, EnglandJuly 15, 2018
4×400 m relay indoor3:01.51Clemson, South Carolina, USAFebruary 9, 2019Indoor WR, 44.45 s split[note 2]
4×200 m relay1:20.94Austin, Texas, USAMarch 30, 2019

International championships results
YearCompetitionPositionEventTimeVenueNotes
Representing the United States
2016World U20 Championships5th400 m46.48Bydgoszcz, Poland
1st4×400 m relay3:02.39WU20L, PB[27]
2017Universiade2nd4×400 m relay3:06.38Taipei, Taiwan
2018Athletics World Cup[note 1]1st4×400 m relay2:59.78London, EnglandPB
NACAC Championships1st4×400 m relay3:00.60Toronto, Ontario, Canada

National championships results
YearCompetitionPositionEventTimeVenueNotes
Representing the Missouri Tigers (2016–2017), the Houston Cougars (2018–2019), and Nike (since 2019)
2016NCAA Division I Indoor Championships11th400 m46.78Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA Division I Championships9th400 m45.81Eugene, Oregon
USA Junior Championships3rd (semis)200 m20.80Clovis, California(+0.8 m/s wind) Q, PB[note 3]
2nd400 m45.64[16]
USA Olympic Trials26th400 m46.58Eugene, Oregon[17]
2018NCAA Division I Indoor Championships4th400 m45.24College Station, TexasIndoor PB
13th4×400 m relay3:08.86
NCAA Division I Championships7th400 m45.75Eugene, Oregon
5th4×400 m relay3:04.03
USA Championships1st400 m44.58Des Moines, IowaPB[28][8]
2019NCAA Division I Indoor Championships2nd400 m45.03Birmingham, AlabamaIndoor PB
1st4×400 m relay3:05.04
NCAA Division I Championships14th200 m20.49Austin, Texas(+0.6 m/s wind)
1st400  m44.23PB[5]
3rd4×400 m relay3:00.07
2019USA Championships13th400 m45.91Des Moines[29]
  • NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.[30][31]

Seasonal bests

Notes
  1. Not to be confused with the IAAF World Cup, now known as the Continental Cup.
  2. Shared with Americans Amere Lattin, Obi Igbokwe, and Jermaine Holt for the Houston Cougars.[19][21][11]
  3. Qualified for the final, but did not run in the final.[16]

References
  1. Scamardo, Peter (January 31, 2018). "Missouri transfer adds top-ranked speed to key track event". thedailycougar.com. The Cougar. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  2. Matter, Dave (June 8, 2016). "Montgomery Just What Mizzou Track Needed". stltoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  3. Zahn, Jennifer (June 27, 2019). "June 27: Kahmari Montgomery Signs With Nike". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  4. Herron, Curt (June 13, 2018). "Plainfield Central grad Kahmari Montgomery an All-American again". theherald-news.com. The Herald-News. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  5. Duarte, Joseph (June 7, 2019). "UH's Kahmari Montgomery wins NCAA outdoor title in 400 as Cougars finish 3rd". chron.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  6. Gretschel, Johanna (April 28, 2018). "Houston's Kahmari Montgomery Just Split 43.38 At The Penn Relays". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  7. Juliano, Joe (April 28, 2018). "Villanova concludes a banner Penn Relays with five championships". philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  8. Lindstrom, Sieg (July 2018). "USATF Men's 400 — Surprise Win For An NCAA 7th-Placer". trackandfieldnews.com. Track & Field News. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  9. Duarte, Joseph (June 23, 2018). "UH's Kahmari Montgomery claims 400-meter national title at USATF Outdoor Championships". chron.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  10. Bellino, Meg (July 24, 2016). "IAAF World U20 Championships Day 6 Recap". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  11. "Ratified: Kosgei's 2:14:04 world marathon record, men's 4x400m relay world indoor record". World Athletics. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  12. "Kahmari Montgomery Plainfield Central High School". milesplit.com. MileSplit. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  13. Gretschel, Johanna (May 13, 2015). "National Weekend Rundown for May 30". milesplit.com. MileSplit. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  14. Narang, Bob (May 27, 2015). "Plainfield Central's Kahmari Montgomery shooting for sprint history". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  15. Clark, Mike; Narang, Bob (May 30, 2015). "Plainfield Central's Kahmari Montgomery takes sprint triple crown". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  16. "2016 USA Junior Championships - 6/24/2016 to 6/26/2016 - Veteran's Memorial Stadium - Clovis, Calif. - Results". usatf.org. USATF. June 26, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  17. "2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - 6/30/2016 to 7/10/2016 - Eugene, Oregon - Results". usatf.org. USATF. July 10, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  18. Mayforth, Tyler (January 8, 2019). "The Bowerman: 2019 Men's Preseason Watch List". ustfccca.org. U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  19. Hollobaugh, Jeff (February 11, 2019). "Weekend U.S. Roundup — A Memorable 4×4". trackandfieldnews.com. Track & Field News. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  20. "World Records". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  21. "WTW: Thank you Alberto and NOP, Grant Fisher Is the Best, Ritz's Fountain of Youth, Alicia Monson Breaks Through". letsrun.com. LetsRun.com. February 11, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  22. "Collegiate Conferences Men's Highlights". trackandfieldnews.com. Track & Field News. February 23, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  23. "Devin Dixon shares South Central Region Track Athlete of the Year honor". kbtx.com. KBTX. March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  24. Taylor, Zach (March 1, 2019). "Devin Dixon shares South Central Region Track Athlete of the Year honor". wtaw.com. WTAW. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  25. Cook, Joe; South Carolina State Bulldogs (March 10, 2019). "SC State's Tyrell Richard Wins National Indoor 400m Title". wltx.com. WLTX. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  26. "ATHLETE PROFILE Kahmari MONTGOMERY". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  27. "RESULTS 4 x 400 Metres Relay Men - Final" (PDF). iaaf.org. IAAF. July 24, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  28. "2018 USATF Championships - 6/21/2018 to 6/24/2018 - Drake Stadium - Results". usatf.org. USATF. June 24, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  29. "2019 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships". usatf.org. USATF. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  30. "KAHMARI MONTGOMERY MISSOURI". tfrrs.org. Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  31. "KAHMARI MONTGOMERY HOUSTON". tfrrs.org. Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
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