Duane Renard Solomon (born December 28, 1984) is a retired American Olympic track athlete, primarily known for racing the 800 meters. He ran for his home country in the IAAF World Championships in 2007 and 2013 as well as in the 2012 Olympic Games. He also took the gold medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Under 23 Championships in 2006.
 Solomon at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Duane Renard Solomon |
| Born | December 28, 1984 Lompoc, California, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) [1] |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | Middle distances |
| College team | USC Trojans |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 400 m: 45.98 (Los Angeles 2012) 800 m: 1:42.82 (London 2012) 600 m: 1:13.28 (Vancouver 2013) |
Prep
editIn high school Solomon was the 2003 CIF California State Champion in the 800 m with a time of 1:49.79,[2] while running for Cabrillo High School (Lompoc, California) under the training of high school coach Peter Anderson. He was named the "2002-03 Gatorade Boys Athlete of the Year."[3]
USC
editSolomon ran for the University of Southern California,[4] coached by legend László Tábori.[5] He set his previous Personal Record of 1:45.69 while finishing 3rd at the 2007 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He narrowly missed improving that time running 1:45.71, while finishing 3rd at the 2008 NCAA Championships. A few weeks later he ran a 1:45.78, while finishing 6th at the United States Olympic Trials (track and field).[3] Following USC, Solomon came under the coaching tutelage of American record holder Johnny Gray.[6]
2010
editIn 2010, he made his third international team by finishing second in the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
2012
editOn June 25, 2012, Solomon qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics by finishing third at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials. Going into the race, Solomon had not achieved the A Standard necessary to go to the Olympics. Solomon followed Charles Jock in a first lap under 50 seconds. As Jock faded, Solomon charged into the lead, opening up almost 10 meters on the field. Notable kicker Nicholas Symmonds and veteran Khadevis Robinson (normally a front runner) chased down Solomon, but he held on for third place, .01 behind Robinson. In addition, his time of 1:44.65 surpassed the Olympic A standard, earning him a spot on the US Olympic team for the London games.
In the lead up to the Olympics, Solomon improved his personal best by over a second to 1:43.44 at the Herculis meet in Monaco. While he finished third in the race, he became the fifth fastest in the world to that point in 2012, beating favorites like Symmonds and Abubaker Kaki.[7]
In the 2012 Olympics, he finished fourth[8] behind David Rudisha's world record. In doing so, he again improved his personal best to 1:42.82, which ranked him #28 on the all-time world list, and #2 on the all-time American list at the time.[9][10]
2013
editIn January 2013, Duane Solomon set the American 600 m indoor record with his 1:15.70 win at the Glasgow International Match.[11]
Solomon won the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1:43.27 to qualify for the Moscow World Championships.[12]
Duane qualified to the final of the 14th IAAF World Championships, where he finished 6th in 1:44.42 at Moscow, Russia.[13]
2014
editSolomon won the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1:44.30.
Solomon was the anchor leg of the 4x800m IAAF World relays for the U.S.A. In 2014 which they placed 3rd The time was about 7:08.8
2015
editPrior to the 2015 National Championships, Solomon announced he would take the race out at world record pace to 600m. Coach Gray refers to that as the "Twilight Zone" but others have personalized it to call it the "Gray Zone."[14] Just as when Gray ran, it can have spectacular or devastating results. This time it failed, a depleted Solomon gave up after being passed by the first three. He walked home in 3:08.74[15] after [16] almost passing out.
Achievements
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing United States | |||||
| 2014 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 3rd | 4 × 800 m relay | 7:09.06 |
| 2015 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 4 × 800 m relay | 7:04.84 |
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Duane Solomon". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
- ^ "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- ^ a b http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/TrackAndFieldArchive/2008/Solomon_Duane.asp Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine USATF bio
- ^ http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/c-track/mtt/solomon_duane00.html Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine USC Bio
- ^ http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/c-track/mtt/tabori_laszlo01.html Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine Laszlo Tabori profile
- ^ "Mt. SAC Relays winner Duane Solomon poised to take coach Johnny Gray's American record in 800". Los Angeles Daily News. 20 April 2014.
- ^ "60 Metres - women - senior - indoor - 2022".
- ^ "800 Metres Result | The XXX Olympic Games".
- ^ "800 Metres - men - senior - outdoor".
- ^ "Men's 800m".
- ^ "American Record! Duane Solomon 1:15.70 at 600m in Glasgow". Flo Track. Archived from the original on 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
- ^ LetsRun.com: Duane Solomon Goes Wire to Wire to Run World Leading 1:43.27 and Stop Nick Symmonds Streak of US Titles at Five
- ^ "Duane SOLOMON | Profile | World Athletics".
- ^ "Duane Solomon Going to Take 800m Final to Place only Nick Symmonds Can Go, Plans on Being at WR Pace at 600".
- ^ "Men 800 Meter Run SR".
- ^ http://pro.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=88&do=videos&video_id=150661
External links
edit- Duane Solomon at World Athletics
- Duane Solomon at legacy.USATF.org (archived)
- Duane Solomon at Team USA (archived)
- Duane Solomon at Olympics.com