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Butch Reynolds
Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. (born June 8, 1964) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years 9 days with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year, he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (0.06 seconds behind Steve Lewis) and a relay gold medalist.
Reynolds was falsely accused and banned for drug use for two years by the IAAF until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Reynolds due to an apparent drug testing procedural flaw. Reynolds was awarded $27.3 million dollars due to the false accusation damages but he never received the money.
On his competitive return, he became the 1993 World Indoor Champion and won two successive 400 meter silver medals at the World Championships. He also enjoyed success with the 4 × 400 meter relay team, winning the world title three times in his career with the United States (1987, 1993 and 1995). His team's time of 2:54.29 minutes at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics is the current world record. Reynolds remains the third fastest of all-time in the 400 m after Michael Johnson and Wayde van Niekerk, the current world and Olympic record holder.
In 2016, he was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Reynolds was born in Akron, Ohio, and attended Archbishop Hoban High School. His brother Jeff Reynolds was also a professional sprinter.
On 17 August 1988, aged 24 years and 70 days, he set a 400-meter world record with 43.29 seconds, smashing Lee Evans's nearly 20-year-old 1968 world record by 0.57 seconds. Reynolds's record had negative splits, meaning that the second half of the race was completed more quickly than the first half, and was the first time anyone had set a world record for the men's 400 meters with negative splits. His splits were 21.9 seconds for the opening 200 meters and 21.4 seconds for the closing 200 meters, giving a differential of -0.5 seconds. This record stood for 11 years, 9 days and was broken by Michael Johnson (43.18) in August 1999; Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's record in 2016 in a time of 43.03. As of September 2025[update], over 37 years after running 43.29, in addition to holding the third fastest time ever, he is one of only 8 athletes to run a sub-43.50 race.
He won a silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in the 400 meters and a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. In the IAAF World Championships in Athletics he won a bronze medal in 1987, and silver medals in 1993 and 1995. He also won gold medals on the 4 × 400 meter relays in 1987, 1993 and 1995. The 1993 World Championship team with Andrew Valmon, Watts and Johnson still holds the world record for the relay.
In the 1996 American Olympic trials he finished second behind Michael Johnson, clocking 43.91, the fastest non-winning 400 meters performance until 26 August 2015. However, in the 1996 Summer Olympics semi-final, he suffered a hamstring injury, failed to qualify for the final, and also had to withdraw from the relay team.
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Butch Reynolds
Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. (born June 8, 1964) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years 9 days with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year, he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics (0.06 seconds behind Steve Lewis) and a relay gold medalist.
Reynolds was falsely accused and banned for drug use for two years by the IAAF until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Reynolds due to an apparent drug testing procedural flaw. Reynolds was awarded $27.3 million dollars due to the false accusation damages but he never received the money.
On his competitive return, he became the 1993 World Indoor Champion and won two successive 400 meter silver medals at the World Championships. He also enjoyed success with the 4 × 400 meter relay team, winning the world title three times in his career with the United States (1987, 1993 and 1995). His team's time of 2:54.29 minutes at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics is the current world record. Reynolds remains the third fastest of all-time in the 400 m after Michael Johnson and Wayde van Niekerk, the current world and Olympic record holder.
In 2016, he was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Reynolds was born in Akron, Ohio, and attended Archbishop Hoban High School. His brother Jeff Reynolds was also a professional sprinter.
On 17 August 1988, aged 24 years and 70 days, he set a 400-meter world record with 43.29 seconds, smashing Lee Evans's nearly 20-year-old 1968 world record by 0.57 seconds. Reynolds's record had negative splits, meaning that the second half of the race was completed more quickly than the first half, and was the first time anyone had set a world record for the men's 400 meters with negative splits. His splits were 21.9 seconds for the opening 200 meters and 21.4 seconds for the closing 200 meters, giving a differential of -0.5 seconds. This record stood for 11 years, 9 days and was broken by Michael Johnson (43.18) in August 1999; Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson's record in 2016 in a time of 43.03. As of September 2025[update], over 37 years after running 43.29, in addition to holding the third fastest time ever, he is one of only 8 athletes to run a sub-43.50 race.
He won a silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in the 400 meters and a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. In the IAAF World Championships in Athletics he won a bronze medal in 1987, and silver medals in 1993 and 1995. He also won gold medals on the 4 × 400 meter relays in 1987, 1993 and 1995. The 1993 World Championship team with Andrew Valmon, Watts and Johnson still holds the world record for the relay.
In the 1996 American Olympic trials he finished second behind Michael Johnson, clocking 43.91, the fastest non-winning 400 meters performance until 26 August 2015. However, in the 1996 Summer Olympics semi-final, he suffered a hamstring injury, failed to qualify for the final, and also had to withdraw from the relay team.