5. Incredible Close: Justin Robinson Breaks 45 Seconds At Great Southwest, Wins USA U20s, Pan Americans And Splits Under 44 Seconds In World Junior Record Relay
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Few would have debated that Justin Robinson was talented enough to go after a sub-46 time in the 400 meter run as a high school junior in 2019.
The Hazelwood West High School athlete had shown he was on a progressive path toward stardom, posting times in the low 46s as a sophomore and two more in April in May as a junior.
But there's a calculus for improvement in high school track.
In the sprints, where each tenth of a second clipped off can be considered good progress, development is typically deferred. Patience is key.
But Robinson, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, didn't subscribe to that theory in June when he passed 45 seconds all together and posted the No. 2 effort all-time at the Great Southwest Classic, going 44.84 seconds.
He never seemed quite ready to let that define his season, though.
"What did I do?" Robinson said at the USA U20 Championships in June when asked, just two weeks after his historic run, whether his effort had sunk in yet.
While Robinson may have been aided by over the 5,000 feet of elevation, he would go on to post three more efforts under 46 seconds, including a win at the USA U20 Championships in 45.59 and an incredible individual performance at the Pan American U20 Championships in 45.04.
* Justin Robinson at the Pan American U20 Championships
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Those runs may not have been the most impressive performances, either.
That arguably came as the anchor for Team USA's 4x400 relay at the Pan American U20 Championships, where he split under 44 seconds (43.54, FAT) to help the squad score a new World Junior Record in 2:59.30 -- becoming the first junior team to ever break 3 minutes.
Robinson closed out his season by representing the USA Senior team at the Pan Am Games in Lima in August.
As an aside, Robinson also produced season bests of 10.32 seconds in the 100m and 20.98 in the 200m.
- Cory Mull, MileSplit USA