Willie Hordge
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1984-02-09) February 9, 1984
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight212 lb (96 kg)
Sport
SportTrack & Field
Event(s)100m, Relays
College teamArkansas/Butler County CC
Achievements and titles
Personal best100m: 10.03
Medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing  United States
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2002 Kingston4×100 m
Bronze medal – third place2002 Kingston100 m
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2003 Bridgetown4×100 m
World Youth Championships
Silver medal – second place2001 Debrecen100 m

Willie Hordge (born February 9, 1984) is an American sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters.

At the 2001 World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, Hordge won a silver medal in 100 meters, finishing behind only Darrel Brown (10.31 to 10.41). In his junior season at Forest Brook High School in Houston, Texas, Hordge narrowly missed winning the Texas 4A 100-meter title to Brendan Christian 10.15 to 10.16. The following month, he won the 100 meters over Kelly Willie and Jonathan Wade in the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a 10.21 clocking (+2.0 m/s wind). Horde still holds the 17-18 USATF Gulf Association record the 100 meters at 10.11 from that era.[1]

Hordge participated in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, and finished with a bronze medal in 100 meters, placing third behind Darrel Brown and Marc Burns. Known for his slow start out of the blocks, officials at the meet were in amazement at how he closed at the finish. A few days later at the same meet, he anchored the United States 4x100 relay squad to Gold. Hordge received the baton identical to Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and then pulled away from him down the stretch, as he and teammates Ashton Collins, Wes Felix, and Ivory Williams set a new world junior record of 38.92. It was the fourth and fastest of five different 4x100 relays he anchored under 40 seconds in the space of three weeks.[2] Just like he is today, Usain Bolt was the talk of the meet back then, and Hordge showed him up on his own soil in Kingston. Bolt was visibly upset after the finish. The day before Bolt had just won the 200 meters.

Hordge was the cover boy of the September 2002 edition of track & Field News.[3] He was the 2002 "Nike Athlete of the Year."[2]

At the 2003 Pan Am Junior Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados, the pair faced off again on anchor leg of the 4x100 meter relay. Hordge shocked Bolt again, and the United States won the gold in 39.29 to Jamaica's 39.40. This was just one day after Bolt had set the World Youth Best and equalled the World Junior Record in the 200 meters.

As a 181 pounds (82 kg) football player with reputed 4.1 (actual 4.3) speed he was invited to play in the 2003 Oil Bowl.[4] He was recruited to several high profile schools, including the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M[5] and Mississippi State University.[6] He committed to Arkansas.

Hordge's entry was dependent on achieving NCAA eligibility. He struggled with the ACT test following football games,[7] but was reported to have passed on his fourth attempt.[8] Arkansas fell through, Hordge ended up going to Butler Community College along with Ivory Williams. He won the 2004 Kansas Relays while representing Butler.[9] He held the 200 meters meet record at the Masked Rider Open for ten years.[10] He ended up at SUNY, Buffalo, winning the 2007 NCAA D3 National Championship at both 100 meters and 200 meters his junior year,[11] but at a reported 212 pounds (96 kg),[12] he was no longer running world class times. He was "New York State Track Athlete of the Year" that year.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-05-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 "Willie Hordge 2002 Nike Athletes of the Year - DyeStat high school track and field".
  3. ↑ "Past Covers 2002". Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  4. ↑ http://www.oilbowl.com/archives/2003/story_rosters.php
  5. ↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Willie-Hordge-9991
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2012-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Defensive Backs: Hordge hopes to clear ACT hump, get on with college career". 26 January 2003.
  8. ↑ http://thecabin.net/stories/061603/spo_0616030028.shtml#.VWT4xs73g2k
  9. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=20040418&id=YlsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xucFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6921,4873454&hl=en Lawrence World-Journal, April 18, 2004 P11C
  10. ↑ "Butler track qualifies 11 individuals for nationals". 2 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "MIT Cross Country and Track and Field".
  12. ↑ "Willie Hordge - 2009 - Men's Track and Field".
  13. ↑ "All Years".
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