We never get tired of watching great performances on the track: the season is short, and there are just not that many chances to see world-class running even on TV. It seems others feel the same way, as the almost 5,000 hits on this YouTube clip attest.
Arman Hall is the American runner in lane 4. He’s 17 – the maximum age for competing in the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Youth Games. Arman is also primarily a 200m runner who moved up to 400m for this July 2011 world championship meet. You’ll see immediately that his training, technique, and natural talent are a tough combination for the others to match.
Arman reminds us of LaShawn Merritt, the U.S. 400m current world champion and gold medalist from the Beijing Olympics. Both runners have an effortless way of eating up the track and destroying competitors while making it all look easy. American runners have traditionally dominated this event on the men’s side – track fans of a certain age will remember Lee Evans’ astounding 43.7 world-record Olympic win in Mexico City, 1968; and the current world record holder is – still – American Michael Johnson.
By the way – Arman Hall’s time, 46.01, is just under 3 seconds off Johnson’s world record of 43.18 – and 400m athletes typically keep improving well into their twenties. Keep the name Arman Hall in mind; we’re betting we’ll hear more from him soon.
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