Ontario sprinter speeds to new world 400m indoor record

In a remarkable feat at the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference championships held in Fayetteville, Ark., Toronto’s Christopher Morales Williams raced to a new world indoor record in the men’s 400m. The 19-year-old University of Georgia student clocked a blistering time of 44.49 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 44.57, set on the same track in 2005 by American sprinter Kerron Clement. 

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Earlier this month, Morales Williams broke the Canadian indoor 400m record when he ran 45.39 at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. Smashing a record that had held for 16 years, Morales Williams ran a personal best over 400m by more than half a second. On Saturday, he not only bested that time, but also punched his ticket to Paris by clearing 45.00 seconds in the distance.

The young sprinter is in his second year at the University of Georgia on a track and field scholarship; his decision to join the University of Georgia was influenced significantly by coach Caryl Smith Gilbert, renowned for coaching Canadian sprinter and Olympic champion Andre De Grasse during his time at the University of Southern California. He won his first Canadian senior championship in the 400m last year, marking his presence as one of the country’s top young talents in athletics.

The @UGATrack reactions to watching Christopher Morales Williams break the indoor 400m world record pic.twitter.com/ySXYSBfNIX

— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13) February 24, 2024

This achievement comes just over a month after Morales Williams broke the Canadian indoor 300m record, at the Clemson Invite in South Carolina, where he clocked a speedy 32.47 seconds. He broke the previous record of 32.53, set by former World Championship bronze medallist Tyler Christopher in 2008, by six one-hundredths of a second.

Team Canada has not sent any athletes in the men’s 400m to the past two Olympic Games. With his performance on Saturday, Morales Williams looks to become the first man to represent Canada at an Olympic Games in the event since Daundre Barnaby at the London Olympics in 2012.