Kevin Curtis Young (born September 16, 1966) is a former American athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Kevin Young, as an University of California, Los Angeles student, won the NCAA titles in 400 m hurdles in 1987 and 1988.

Young made his debut at the international scene by finishing second at the 1987 Pan-American Games. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Young finished fourth, just one place down of legendary Edwin Moses. At the 1991 World Championships, Young was again fourth.

In 1992, Young won his first US National Championships title and was unbeaten prior the Barcelona Olympics, which he won with a new world record of 46.78. As of 2006, he still is the only person to have run 400 m hurdles in less than 47 seconds. This was achieved using 12 strides between hurdles (nearly 9 feet per stride) switching to 13 later in the race, a technique only Young has ever perfected.

Young's world-record sprint is noteworthy in one other respect: it could have been even faster. During the Olympic final, Young not only failed to clear the last hurdle cleanly (he grazed it and stumbled slightly as he descended from his jump), but being so far ahead of the field, he slowed down and raised his arm in celebration as he crossed the finish line. His world record-breaking run, which has stood for fourteen years, wasn't even a perfect race! (In a related note, Mike Marsh similarly slowed before the finish of a qualifying heat in the 200m dash in Barcelona, and finished in a then-Olympic record 19.73 seconds. Had he run through the finish, he likely would have broken Pietro Mennea's then-world record of 19.72 seconds. Michael Johnson now holds both World and Olympic records with 19.32 in the Atlanta Olympics.)

In 1993, Young won his second US National Championships title and had a 25 consecutive wins until he was beaten by Samuel Matete from Zambia just two weeks before 1993 World Championships. In the World Championships final, however, Young again made a decisive move between hurdles 7 and 8. He held this lead until the finish, beating Matete by 0.42 seconds.

After that, Young continued to compete for a few years, but nowhere near the level of his 1992 and 1993 seasons.

1966 births | Living people | American hurdlers | Athletes at the 1992 Summer Olympics | World record holders

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