Lendore Capped Dream Year At NCAAs

Going undefeated in an event like the 400 is no small task.

Deon Lendore of Texas A&M was a giant among men six years ago.

From his first indoor race at the Texas A&M Quadrangular to his final outdoor competition of the season at Historic Hayward Field, Lendore turned away all competitors in his signature event. Lendore posted a perfect 8-0 record in 400-meter finals and added another victory in the 200 to boot. He was also a member of the Aggies’ vaunted 4×400 relay team that won the NCAA outdoor title and helped them finish runner-up in the 4×100 relay.

That resume led Lendore, who celebrates his 28th birthday today, to win The Bowerman, collegiate track & field’s highest honor, over a pair of incredible distance runners who rewrote the record book that year – Oregon’s Edward Cheresk and Arizona’s Lawi Lalang.

Lendore introduced himself to the world in late February when he won the 400-meter title at the SEC Indoor Championships with a world-leading time of 45.03. That mark also made him the fourth fastest performer in collegiate history at the time (Lendore has since dropped to 8th). 

Just a few weeks later, Lendore easily won the NCAA title in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He went 45.21 for a 0.25-second victory over Vernon Norwood of LSU, who’d win the event the next year.

Lendore then turned his attention outdoors and his 44.90 at the Sun Angel Classic was one of two times that he went sub-45 during the season. The other instance came at the SEC Outdoor Championships at 44.36 to become the seventh fastest collegian ever (Lendore is now 12th).

At the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Lendore held off Oregon’s Mike Berry at the finish line for a 0.05-second victory in the 400 – 45.02 to 45.07. That victory came one day before Lendore anchored the runner-up 4×100 relay as well as his 44.10 final tote on the 4×400 relay that gave Texas A&M a winning time of 2:59.60 for the third fastest mark in meet history.

Lendore is a five-time global medalist, taking home one Olympic bronze medal as part of Trinidad & Tobago’s 4×400 relay team at the 2012 London Games and four other World Championship medals between the indoor (three) and outdoor (one) installments.