Posted: March 22, 2005

Athletics: Kerron Clement teleconference excerpts

USA Track & Field on Tuesday hosted a teleconference with Kerron Clement [pronounced Ker-RON CLEM-ent] and his coach, Mike Holloway. Known as primarily a 400-meter hurdler, Clement etched his name in the record books on March 12 when he ran 44.57 seconds to win the 2005 NCAA indoor 400-meter title, breaking Michael Johnson's world record of 44.63, set in 1995. The 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Florida then anchored the Gators' 4x400-meter relay to a collegiate record of 3:03.51, breaking the mark previously held by the 2004 Baylor squad that featured Olympic gold medalists Jeremy Wariner and Darrold Williamson (3:03.96).

Although his 400-meter WR was surprising, Clement is no stranger to international track & field success. At the 2004 World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, Clement won the 400-meter hurdles in a Championships record time of 48.51, then anchored the Team USA 4x400m relay to a world junior record 3:01.09. He showed an indication of his world-beating form at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he won the 400m hurdles in 49.05.

Born in Trinidad , Clement graduated high school in La Porte , Texas , in 2003, and became a U.S. citizen last summer. He has long been a part of USA Track & Field's youth and junior grass roots programs, winning the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the 2002 USATF Youth Athletics Championships. He added the 400m hurdles title at USATF's 2002 and 2003 Junior Olympics. Other recent products of the USATF Youth and Junior system include Olympic silver medalists Lauryn Williams and Allyson Felix.

Excerpts from Tuesday's teleconference are below. For a full bio of Kerron Clement, visit the Athlete Bios section of www.usatf.org

Q: How did it feel to break a world record held by Michael Johnson?

A: It was really amazing. Michael Johnson is a great athlete. I was really thrilled that I actually got the record.

Q: Did you know you were in that kind of shape?

A: After SECs, I knew that I could run under 45 seconds. I just kept focus during the season.

Q: We had been hearing a lot about LaShawn Merritt. Did you think at some point that you'd be having a showdown with him at the NCAA Championships?

A: I was looking forward to racing against him, but he turned pro the week before. I knew what I had to do and I knew what my goals were.

Q: Did you have the world record in your mind before you went to the starting line?

A: I was just hoping to run under 45 seconds. The world record was never on my mind.

Q: Had you had much success previously in the 400 meters?

A: In high school, I only ran like one race in the 400, it was 48-something. I ran the hurdles since high school. I've been working in the 400 since I got to college.

Q: Are you dead-set on competing for the United States in international competition?

A: I am a U.S. citizen, competing for the U.S.

Q: What was it that showed you how good of shape you were in? Will you change your training or get more fit for outdoors?

A: Doing the 300s in practice have prepared me for indoors and is going to help me for outdoors in the hurdles. In the hurdles you need endurance. We do 300s and 500s in practice.

Q: You are choosing the 400 hurdles, with one of the most dominant people in track right now [Felix Sanchez], over the 400 meters as a focus?

A: I like to run with the best. Felix Sanchez would be a good race. Hopefully I'll be on top.

Q: Why did you decide to leave Texas [where he went to high school] and head to Florida for college?

A: Florida is a really god school, academically and athletically. I wanted to train with Coach Holloway and be under his wing.

Q: In the 400, the competition in the US is as exciting as it has been in a long time. Wouldn't you want to be part of that?

COACH HOLLOWAY: I think that what everyone is missing here is that the 400 hurdles is Kerron's craft. Kerron is a 400 hurdler, so that's what he does.

Q: Have you given thought to going pro?

A: I'll be out in June [after the NCAA Outdoor Championships]. That's the plan right now.

Q: There has been a great emergence of young athletes in the U.S. Is that a cyclical thing, or is this a special group?

COACH HOLLOWAY: You're right in both cases. It's reciprocal. I remember reading in Track & Field News that we were in trouble in the long jump, then Savante Stringfellow and Dwight Phillips came out. Then they said that about the 400. There's a wealth of talent in the U.S. right now. We don't look at Kerron as being a 19-year-old, we look at him as being a 400 hurdler.

Q: Kerron, is it your intention to run both the 400 and the hurdles at the USA Outdoor Championships?

A: No, we'll focus on one race.

Q: Would you like to run the 4x400m relay at the World Championships?

A: That's one of my goals.

Q: How good of a hurdler are you at the present time? Do you know the event? Are you fully developed?

COACH HOLLOWAY: Kerron is definitely not a novice. He's the second-fastest high schooler of all time, NCAA champion and world junior champion. He's a very good hurdler. He's also run 13.73 in the high hurdles, so he's a very accomplished hurdler.

Q: How has your training changed from high school to college?

A: In high school, I didn't do any sprint work. I ran cross country for four years. When I got to college, coach maximized my sprinting abilities. That's why I got to a new level. When you get to college, you have to lift weights to get strong. Your upper body, lower body, abs.

Q: Do you miss cross country?

A: (Laugh) No.

Q: Why did you move to the U.S. in 1998 with your mother [Clement also has two sisters]?

A: My grandmother [Theresa Thomas] lived here for 20 years. The U.S. has really good education, and I came here to get a better education.

Q: How would you describe your personality?

A: I'm a very laid-back person. I'm very outgoing also. I get along with everybody - I'm a very friendly person.

Q: Have your goals for the 400 hurdles changed since you broke the 400 world record indoors?

A: No, my goals have stayed the same. My goal is to run a low 48.

Q: Where do you need the most improvement?

A: The last 100 meters. I've got to work on that. I've been chopping the last few hurdles and I need to work on that in practice and get better if I want to be on top.

Q: When did you start running?

A: When I was in Trinidad, when I was 8 years old. I was doing the 100 and 200.

Q: What got you interested in sprinting?

A: The thrill of winning and beating people.

Q: Have you gone to any USATF development clinics?

A: Yes, last year. We worked on my stride pattern and worked on my opposite leg of the hurdles.

MIKE HOLLOWAY

Q: Was Kerron's world record a surprise for you?

A: Anytime you have an athlete set a world record, it's a surprise. Kerron has done a phenomenal job in the weight room. We put a race plan together, and he went out and executed very well. The goal was to get to the break. We expected Kelly Willie [of LSU] to go out hard. I asked Kerron not to panic. The big key was to get out free so he could not run in traffic.

Q: Had he run any 400-meter races this season?

A: Not until the SEC Championships. Remember, his primary event is the 400 hurdles.

Q: Can you foresee Kerron doing both events at some point in his career or will he concentrate on one?

A: I think the two events complement each other. During the recruiting process, Kerron told me his goal was to be the best 400/400 hurdler ever. He wants to run the 400, but he is still concentrating on the 400 hurdles.

Q: The 400 is considered more lucrative than the 400 hurdles. Has he reconsidered concentrating on the 400?

A: When he was a 49-second 400 hurdler out of high school, nobody was giving him advice. Now that he's the world holder [in the 400], everybody has advice. We have a plan, and we're sticking to it. His response is always the same: I like the 400, but I love the 400 hurdles.

Q: Other than the 400 record, has there been any major breakthrough for Kerron at Florida, where he went from a very good athlete to great athlete?

A: He was a great athlete when he got here. We've done fine tuning. I think the biggest thing is his willingness to learn and his ability to learn. He has done a great job of trying to develop a stride pattern. He is blessed with god-given talent, and his mother has done a great job of raising him to be a humble, hard worker.

Q: Mike, talk about progress Kerron has made since coming to Florida.

A:To go from 48 [seconds in the 400] to a world record in two years is special. We knew he was special since about the third day of practice. We've been very patient. There have been times when he got a little frustrated because he thought he could do a little better. I think you have to be patient and bring athletes along slowly. He's very coachable.

Q: What do you think about athletes going pro before their collegiate eligibility is up?

A: I think it's a double-edged sword. There's part of me that would love to see Kerron here another two years. Collegiate track is going to be OK. I'm just very glad that he is staying with us until June. That's a class move on his part.

Source: USATF.org.