Wallace Spearmon finished third in the 200 at the 2008 Olympic Trials in 19.90 seconds, then crossed the finish line third in Beijing before being disqualified for a lane violation.
Quick study:
Spearmon didn’t compete in track and field until his junior year of high school. It didn’t take him long to learn the ropes, as he earned All-State honors in the 100, 200 and 400, plus the long jump, triple jump and high jump for Fayetteville (Ark.) High School.
In the record books:
Spearmon holds the U.S. 200-meter indoor record of 20.10 seconds, set at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships. He was also a part of the U.S. indoor record-setting 4 x 400 relay team, along with Kerron Clement, Darold Williamson and Jeremy Wariner. Spearmon ran the race’s second leg as the quartet finished in 3:01.96.
Career highlights:
Spearmon owns two World Championship relay gold medals, as a part of the U.S. 4 x 400 team at the 2006 Indoor Championships and the 4 x 100 squad at the 2007 Outdoor Championships. In the 200, he earned a bronze medal in 2007 and a silver in 2005 at the Outdoor World Championships. He was the U.S. Outdoor 200-meter champ in 2006 and won two Outdoor and one Indoor NCAA championship in the 200 for the University of Arkansas.
The stats:
- Height: 6-3
- Weight: 175
- Age: 23
- Birth date: December 24, 1984
- Hometown: Fayetteville, Arkansas
- World Championships: (Two; one Outdoor, one Indoor)
