Walter Dix

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Walter Dix
200 meters
College teamFlorida State Seminoles
ClubUnattached
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100m: 9.88 s (Nottwil 2010)
200m: 19.53 s (Brussels 2011)
Medal record
Men's
athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing 200 m
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2011 Daegu 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Daegu 200 m

Walter Dix (born January 31, 1986[

200 meters. He is the sixth-fastest 200-meter runner ever with a best of 19.53 seconds, and has broken the 10-second barrier
in the 100 meters, with a best of 9.88 (9.80w) seconds. He was the only track athlete from USA to win 2 individual Olympic medals in Beijing.

Dix was a highly successful amateur athlete, setting a state record in the 100 m and trying out for the US Olympic Team at the age of eighteen. He joined

2008 US Olympic Trials
.

Dix turned professional in mid-2008, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Nike. He reached the Olympic finals in the 100 and 200 m, and won two bronze medals; the only American track athlete to win two individual medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He suffered an injury at the 2009 US Championships, thus missing out on the World Championships, and a contract dispute with his agent resulted in only a handful of appearances that season. In 2011 he was both the 100 and 200 m American champion and won silver medals in the events at the 2011 World Championships. An injury at the 2012 Olympic trials meant he missed a second Olympic appearance.

Early life

The son of a

US Olympic Trials in the 200 m, but did not progress beyond the heats stage.[3]

College track athletics

He began attending

American junior record in the 100 m. Running in the Icahn Stadium at the 2005 NCAA East Regional Championships, his heat-winning time of 10.06 seconds bettered Stanley Floyd's 25-year-old mark. Dix went on to win the 100 m final and also won the 200 m in 20.23 seconds, the fourth fastest time by an American junior sprinter.[6]

At his first NCAA Outdoor Championships, Dix became FSU's first winner at the championships since 1980, and the first to do so as a freshman. He won the 100 m in 10.21 seconds, beating the defending NCAA champions DaBryan Blanton and Tyson Gay to the title.[7] After recording a personal best of 20.18 seconds in the semifinals, he managed a fourth-place finish in the 200 m race.[8] Dix competed at his first US senior championships that year and, as the only amateur to reach the 100 m final, he finished fourth. The only athletes to beat him were Leonard Scott, reigning Olympic Champion Shawn Crawford and the eventual world champion Justin Gatlin.[9]

Multiple NCAA champion

Dix's second year at FSU was characterised by success in the 200 m. He won his first indoor NCAA title in the 200 m and was runner-up in the 60 m, having set a personal best of 6.59 seconds in the heats.[8] His time of 20.27 seconds in the 200 m final was the fastest indoor run in the world that year.[10] His fastest of the season came at the Reebok invitational and his time of 20.25 seconds placed him as the 13th fastest runner in 2006.[8] He completed a 200 m NCAA Championship double by taking the outdoor title, and he also finished as runner-up in the 100 m, second to Xavier Carter.[11]

In his third year as an FSU athlete he won four NCAA Division I titles, starting with a 200 m win indoors.[12] In the 2007 NCAA East Regional final, he won the 100 m dash in 10.05 seconds. His performance in the 200 m was more impressive however: he set the all-time collegiate record of 19.69 seconds in the 200 m, breaking Joe DeLoach's record that had stood since 1988. This made him the sixth fastest 200 m runner ever and it was the seventh fastest run in history at the time.[13]

At the NCAA Outdoor Championships that year, he won three separate national titles, beating all opposition in the 100 m, 200 m, and

4×100 meter relay races. This achievement made him the first man to win the three races at an NCAA Championships since John Carlos did so in 1969.[1] Dix's time of 9.93 seconds in the 100 m was a world-leader at that point of the season, and was just 0.01 behind Ato Boldon's NCAA record. For these accomplishments, he was again named USATF's Athlete of the Week.[14]

In his final year as an amateur athlete, he spent much of early 2008 battling a hamstring injury.[15] However, he returned in April to win his third 200 m NCAA outdoor title, while placing fourth in the 100 m. Although his personal bests rivalled those of top professional athletes, Dix decided to finish his degree in social science at FSU, as his graduation in May 2008 allowed him to focus on the Olympic Trials thereafter.[16]

Over the course of his college career, Dix became only the second athlete to win three NCAA 200 m outdoor titles (after Ralph Metcalfe) and, with six outdoor NCAA titles, he is listed as the joint third on all-time list. Furthermore, he finished with two indoor titles and 18 All-American honors.[3][1]

Professional career

2008 Olympic Games

Competing at the

$1,000,000 a year,[20] described by his agent as "the largest deal ever for a track athlete just coming out of college", Dix stated that his aims for the Olympics were personal bests in the individual sprints and a gold in the relay race.[15]

Eight men approach the finishing line of race at a stadium track
The 2008 Olympic 100 m final, with Usain Bolt leading and Dix in blue (center).

Competing in his first Olympics, Dix qualified for the

Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago. The Olympic bronze medal was Dix's first medal at a major international competition.[22]

A few days later, he finished fifth in the

Weltklasse and Athletissima meetings, finishing second to a Jamaican on both occasions (Bolt and Asafa Powell).[26][27]

Low-key 2009

The year after the Olympics, Dix began the season with a world-leading time of 10.00 seconds in

Michael Rodgers and Asafa Powell at the Prefontaine Classic but, unusually, this proved to one of the highlights of a low-profile year for Dix.[30] He competed at the US Championships, but injuries forced him out of both the 100 m and 200 m races and he did not qualify for the World Championships. Furthermore, he entered a legal battle with his management company, regarding whether they merited the 20% portion of his multimillion-dollar sponsorship contract with Nike.[20] The dispute with his agent Kimberly Holland was resolved in July: although the terms were undisclosed, Dix left Holland's Icon Management and decided to be his own agent.[31] With his father as his coach, a legal battle and no major races to prepare for, Dix ran only a handful of local meetings in the rest of 2009.[20]

Return to top level

Dix beating Mario Forsythe in the 200 m at the 2011 World Championships

Dix returned to national competition with an appearance at the 2010

London Grand Prix
brought an end to his season.

In the first meeting of the

2011 USA Track and Field Championships, winning in the absence of Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon.[41] Running in both the events at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, he first secured the silver medal in the 100 m final – defending champion Bolt was disqualified for a false start and Dix was runner-up to another Jamaican, Yohan Blake, in a comparatively slow 10.08 seconds.[42] In the 200-meter final Bolt beat the field but Dix was the closest to him, running 19.70 seconds to take his second silver of the tournament.[43] He attempted to gain a third medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay final, but a mid-race collision between Darvis Patton and Britain's Harry Aikines-Aryeetey meant the American team's baton never reached Dix's final leg.[44] At the Diamond League 200 m final at the Memorial Van Damme he ran a personal best of 19.53 seconds. Blake was even faster (19.26), however, leaving Dix in second place even as he became the fourth fastest 200 m runner of all-time and then won the league series.[45]

He moved to Southern Ireland in 2012 to train with

2012 US Olympic Trials and reached the 100 m final but, having pulled a muscle in his semi-final, he finished last in the race.[47]
This brought an end to his season.

Personal life

Walter Dix is the son of Washington and Plinnie Dix. His father, a former sprinter, is an

assistant principal and track coach at New River Middle School, while his mother is a high school teacher. He has two older brothers, Alex and William, who also were track runners.[48] While attending Florida State University, Dix became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.[49]

Personal bests

As of 2019[update], Dix's best in the 200 m outdoors makes him the seventh fastest man of all time, while his indoor best for the distance makes him the seventh fastest.[50][51] His best in the 100 m is the eighth fastest by an American athlete.[52]

Event Best Venue Date Ref
55 meters
(indoor) 		6.19 s Gainesville, Florida January 13, 2007
60 meters
(indoor) 		6.58 s
Albuquerque, New Mexico
 February 28, 2010
100 meters
 9.88 s Nottwil, Switzerland August 9, 2010
200 meters
 19.53 s Brussels, Belgium September 16, 2011 [53]
200 meters
(indoor) 		20.27 s Fayetteville, Arkansas March 10, 2006
Long jump 7.39 meters Gainesville, Florida March 26, 2004
  • All information from IAAF Profile[54]

Major competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 3rd 100 m 9.91
3rd 200 m 19.98
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 2nd 100 m 10.08
2nd 200 m 19.70

Circuit wins and national titles

References

  1. ^
    St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original
    on 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  2. ^ "Boys' high school top performers", USA Today, May 20, 2005, retrieved September 19, 2009
  3. ^
    USATF. Retrieved on 2009-09-19. Archived August 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Seminole Track Headed to Arkansas for National Championships Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. Florida State Seminoles. (2005-03-10). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  5. NCAA
    (2005). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  6. USATF
    (2005-06-01). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  7. ^ Dix Crowned National Champion in the 100m Dash Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. Florida State Seminoles (2005-06-11). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  8. ^ a b c Florida State University Profile: Walter Dix. Florida State Seminoles. Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  9. USATF
    . Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  10. IAAF
    (2006-11-07). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  11. NCAA
    (2006). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  12. NCAA
    (2007). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  13. USATF
    (2007-05-29). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  14. USATF
    (2007-06-12). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  15. ^
    The McClatchy Company
    . Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  16. IAAF
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  17. USATF
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  19. USATF
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  20. ^ a b c d Graham, Pat (2009-06-27). The curious case of American sprinter Walter Dix. USA Today (AP). Retrieved on 2009-09-18.
  21. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Walter Dix". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  22. ^ FSU sprinter Walter Dix wins Olympic bronze in the 100m. Florida State University (2008-08-18). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  23. ^ DQs elevate two to medal podium in 200m. NBC Olympics/Associated Press (2008-08-20). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  24. ^ Track leader not happy with U.S. relay debacle. NBC Olympics/Associated Press (2008-08-22). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  25. ^ Photos: 2008 local Olympians. Hartford Courant (2008-08-05). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  26. IAAF
    . Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  27. IAAF
    . Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  28. IAAF
    (2009-09-16). Retrieved on 2009-09-18.
  29. ^ USA vs. the World 4x100. Penn Relays. Retrieved on 2009-09-19. Archived April 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ 2009 Prefontaine Classic Event 17 Men 100 Meter Dash Section II. Prefontaine Classic. Retrieved on 2009-09-18.
  31. ^ Graham, Pat (2009-07-08). Dix, agent resolve contract dispute. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  32. IAAF
    . Retrieved on 2010-07-04.
  33. USATF
    . Retrieved on 2010-07-04.
  34. ^ Walter Dix Sets Records In Last Day Of Seminole Twilight Archived 2012-09-17 at archive.today. Florida State Seminoles (2010-05-08). Retrieved on 2010-07-05.
  35. ^ Chinellato, Davide (2010-06-10). Records crash at Golden Gala Powell and Dix set Rome on fire Archived 2010-06-30 at the Wayback Machine. La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved on 2010-07-05.
  36. IAAF
    . Retrieved on 2010-07-05.
  37. ^ Tyson Gay beaten by Walter Dix at Diamond League meet. BBC Sport (2010-07-03). Retrieved on 2010-07-05.
  38. ^ Blazing 100m in Nottwil – Carter edges Dix 9.86 to 9.88 (2010-08-09). Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  39. ^ Diamond League 2011: Walter Dix powers to 200m Doha win (2011-05-06). Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  40. ^ Julin, A. Lennart (2011-12-29). 2011 End of Year Reviews - Sprints. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  41. ^ Walter Dix sprints to 100, 200 wins. ESPN (2011-06-26). Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  42. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (2011-08-28). Men's 100m - Final - Blake steals the show as Bolt incredibly false starts. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  43. ^ Johnson, Len (2011-09-03). Men's 200m - Final - Bolt blasts to 19.40 victory. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  44. ^ Johnson, Len (2011-09-04). Men's 4x100m Relay - Final - 37.04 World record for Jamaica!. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  45. ^ Rupp shatters AR as Americans shine in Brussels Diamond League. USATF (2011-09-16). Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  46. ^ Lee, Kirby (2012-04-22). World leads by Reese and Aarrass highlight Mt Sac Relays. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-04-22.
  47. ^ Gordon, Ed (2012-06-25). The men's dash captivates as usual - US Olympic Trials, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  48. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
    . Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  49. ^ Notable Sigmas – Sports. Phi Beta Sigma. Retrieved on 2009-09-19. Archived July 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  50. IAAF
    (2009-02-01). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  51. IAAF
    (2009-09-15). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  52. IAAF
    (2009-09-16). Retrieved on 2009-09-19.
  53. ^ "200m Men: Results" (PDF). Diamond League. Omega Timing. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  54. IAAF
    . Retrieved 2008-11-03.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Best Track and Field Athlete ESPY Award
2012 		Succeeded by
discontinued
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