# Leroy Burrell

Leroy Russel Burrell (born February 21, 1967) is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the world record for the 100 m sprint.

## Early life

Burrell grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn Wood High School, where he single-handedly won the state championship by winning the 100 m, 200 m, long jump, and triple jump. Suffering from poor eyesight accentuated by a childhood eye injury, he was poor at other sports, but excelled on the track from an early age. He attended the University of Houston from 1986 to 1990, where he was a nine-time NCAA All-American and set the NCAA outdoor record in the long jump.

## Professional career

Burrell was plagued by injuries and bad luck throughout his career, particularly around major championships. He won gold in the 100 m ahead of Carl Lewis at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle. He won the silver in the 100 m behind Lewis at the 1991 World Championships. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Burrell false-started in the 100 m final. When the race finally restarted, his reaction off the line was slow, and he finished fifth. He did manage to win a relay gold as part of the U.S. 4 × 100 m team.
On May 19, 1990, Burrell ran a wind-assisted 200 m at College Station, Texas, in a time of 19.61 seconds. The wind speed was +4.0 m per second. This was the fastest time for the 200 m for over six years until the 1996 Olympic final in Atlanta, where Michael Johnson ran 19.32 seconds.
He first set the 100m world record in June 1991 with a time of 9.90 seconds. This was broken that September by Carl Lewis who ran 9.86 sec at the 1991 World Track and Field Championships where Burrell finished second in a new personal best time of 9.88 sec. In July 1994, Burrell set the world record for the second time when he ran 9.85 sec (a record that stood until the 1996 Olympics when Donovan Bailey ran 9.84 sec).
Since his retirement in 1998, Burrell has replaced his old college mentor, Tom Tellez, as coach of the University of Houston's track and field team. Burrell has led UH to 14 men's Conference USA titles (nine indoor, five outdoor) and nine women's titles (four indoor, five outdoor). He was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014.
In June 2022, Burrell stepped down as head coach at Houston and accepted the head coaching position for Auburn track and field.

## Personal life

Burrell married Michelle Finn, also a sprinter, in 1994, and they have three sons together: Cameron who was a sprinter for the Houston Cougars and died in 2021, Joshua, and Jaden. On June 7, 2017, Cameron joined his father in the sub-10 second club. Burrell's younger sister Dawn also competed in track and field at the highest level, as a member of the 2000 US Olympic team and world indoor champion in the long jump.

## Statistics

Information from IAAF profile unless otherwise noted.

### World records

Includes former all-conditions world best in the 200 meters. All world records are former as of May 24, 2014.
| Event | Time (s) | Competition | Venue | Date | Notes |
| 60 m | 6.48 | Madrid indoor meet | Madrid, Spain | February 13, 1991 | [note 1] [12][13] |
| 100 m | 9.90 | U.S. Championships | New York, New York, U.S. | June 14, 1991 | +1.8 m/s wind |
| 100 m | 9.85 | Athletissima Lausanne | Lausanne, Switzerland | July 6, 1994 | +1.2 m/s wind |
| 200 m | 19.61 | SWC Championships | College Station, Texas, U.S. | May 19, 1990 | +4.1 m/s wind, w |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.79 | Herculis Monaco | Monaco | August 3, 1991 | [note 5] [20] |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.67 | Weltklasse Zürich | Zürich, Switzerland | August 7, 1991 | [note 6] [21] |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.50 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | September 1, 1991 | Former CR |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | August 8, 1992 | Former OR |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | August 21, 1993 | Former CR |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:19.38 | Koblenz meet | Koblenz, Germany | August 23, 1989 | [note 10] [27] |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:19.11 | Penn Relays | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | April 23, 1992 | [note 11] [28][29] |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:18.68 | Mt. SAC Relays | Walnut, California, U.S. | April 17, 1994 | [note 12] [30] |

### Personal bests
#### Sprints

| Event | Time (s) | Wind (m/s) | Competition | Venue | Date | Notes |
| 55 m | 6.09 | n/a | Houston indoor meet | Houston, Texas, U.S. | January 28, 1991 | |
| 60 m | 6.48 | n/a | Madrid indoor meet | Madrid, Spain | February 13, 1991 | Former WR |
| 100 m | 9.85 | +1.2 | Athletissima Lausanne | Lausanne, Switzerland | July 6, 1994 | Former WR |
| 200 m | 20.12 | −0.8 | U.S. Olympic Trials | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | June 27, 1992 | |
| 200 m | 19.61 | +4.1 | SWC Championships | College Station, Texas, U.S. | May 19, 1990 | w |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | n/a | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | August 8, 1992 | Former WR, OR |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | n/a | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | August 21, 1993 | Former WR, CR |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:18.68 | n/a | Mt. SAC Relays | Walnut, California, U.S. | April 17, 1994 | Former WR |

#### Jumps

| Event | Mark (m) | Wind (m/s) | Competition | Venue | Date | Notes |
| Long jump | 8.37 | +0.4 | NCAA Division I Championships | Provo, Utah, U.S. | June 2, 1989 | |
| Long jump indoor | 8.23 | n/a | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | March 9, 1990 | |

### International championship results

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Notes |
| Representing the United States ||||||||
| 1989 | World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd | 100 m | 10.15 | +0.5 | |
| 1990 | Goodwill Games | Seattle, Washington, U.S. | 1st | 100 m | 10.05 | +1.1 | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 100 m | 9.88 | +1.2 | PB |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 6th (qf 4) | 200 m | 21.21 | −0.7 | |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.50 | n/a | WR, CR |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 5th | 100 m | 10.10 | +0.5 | |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | n/a | WR, OR |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 37.40 | n/a | WR, CR |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia | 2nd | 100 m | 10.11 | −1.9 | |

### National championship results

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Notes |
| Representing the Houston Cougars and Santa Monica Track Club ||||||||
| 1988 | NCAA Division I Championships | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | 7th | Long jump | n/a | +4.1 | 8.06 m, w |
| 1988 | NCAA Division I Championships | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | 5th | 100 m | 10.31 | +0.4 | |
| 1988 | U.S. Olympic Trials | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | 6th (semi 2) | 100 m | 10.10 | +4.9 | w |
| 1989 | U.S. Indoor Championships | New York, New York, U.S. | 1st | 55 m | 6.15 | n/a | |
| 1989 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | 1st | Long jump | n/a | n/a | 8.09 m |
| 1989 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | 2nd | 55 m | 6.11 | n/a | |
| 1989 | NCAA Division I Championships | Provo, Utah, U.S. | 2nd | Long jump | n/a | +0.4 | 8.37 m, PB |
| 1989 | NCAA Division I Championships | Provo, Utah, U.S. | 5th | 100 m | 10.19 | +2.4 | w |
| 1989 | U.S. Championships | Houston, Texas, U.S. | 1st | 100 m | 9.94 | +0.8 | WL, PB |
| 1990 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | 1st | Long jump | n/a | n/a | 8.23 m |
| 1990 | NCAA Division I Championships | Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | 1st | 100 m | 9.94 | +2.4 | w |
| 1990 | U.S. Championships | Norwalk, California, U.S. | 4th | Long jump | n/a | +4.1 | 8.06 m, w |
| 1991 | U.S. Championships | New York, New York, U.S. | 1st | 100 m | 9.90 | +1.9 | WR |
| 1991 | U.S. Championships | New York, New York, U.S. | 2nd | 200 m | 20.42 | −2.0 | |
| 1992 | U.S. Indoor Championships | New York, New York, U.S. | 1st | 60 m | 6.55 | n/a | |
| 1992 | U.S. Olympic Trials | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | 3rd | 100 m | 10.10 | −0.7 | |
| 1992 | U.S. Olympic Trials | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | 5th | 200 m | 20.16 | +1.0 | |
| 1993 | U.S. Championships | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | 5th | 100 m | 10.15 | +4.8 | w |
| 1993 | U.S. Championships | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | 4th | 200 m | 20.35 | +2.5 | w |
| 1995 | U.S. Championships | Sacramento, California, U.S. | 5th | 100 m | 10.31 | −1.2 | |
| 1996 | U.S. Indoor Championships | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | 4th | 60 m | 6.60 | n/a | |
| 1996 | U.S. Olympic Trials | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | 6th | 100 m | 10.07 | +1.1 | |
| 1997 | U.S. Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | 6th | 100 m | 10.09 | +0.2 | |

### Circuit wins
#### Overall

* IAAF Grand Prix: 1990

#### 100 meters

* IAAF Grand Prix: 1990
** Athens: 1990