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PROVO, Utah (August 18, 2006) - Chris Carter, a BYU hurdler from Roy, Utah, earned the title of World Champion after winning the 400-meter hurdles on Friday at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, China. Carter's victory marked the first gold medal for the United States in the competition.
Running out of lane four, Carter won the event in a time of 50.08, outdistancing Shraheli Bandar of Saudi Arabia, who finished the race in 50.34 seconds. Melnykov Stanislav or Ukraine finished third in a time of 50.43.
According to the International Association of Athletics Federation, Carter got out to a quick lead, took the lead after the second hurdle and never looked back. Entering the backstretch, Carter opened up a comfortable lead and cruised the final 250 meters to win the World Championship.
"I feel great," Carter said. "I am very satisfied with my results and I want to thank my family, my teammates and my coach, who has supported me so much. I started training for this event about this time last year. I love it here. This is an amazing place, amazing people, an amazing country."
BYU head track coach Mark Robison said he is very excited about Carter's performance and is looking forward to coaching him in the future.
"We have never had a hurdler win a gold medal in the World Junior Championships," Robison said of Carter's accomplishment. "He's an amazing athlete and we couldn't be more happy for him."
As a true freshman in 2006, Carter won the Mountain West Conference outdoor 400-meter hurdle championship and later earned All-America honors in the event with a third-place finish at the NCAA National Outdoor Championships in Sacramento. Carter turned in his personal-best time of 49.19 in the competition.
-BYU-
