Leroy Burrell

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title: "Leroy Burrell" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1967-births", "living-people", "sportspeople-from-delaware-county,-pennsylvania", "people-from-lansdowne,-pennsylvania", "track-and-field-athletes-from-philadelphia", "american-men-sprinters", "american-men-long-jumpers", "african-american-track-and-field-athletes", "world-record-setters-in-the-sport-of-athletics", "olympic-gold-medalists-for-the-united-states-in-track-and-field", "athletes-(track-and-field)-at-the-1992-summer-olympics", "world-athletics-championships-medalists", "world-athletics-championships-athletes-for-the-united-states", "houston-cougars-men's-track-and-field-athletes", "houston-cougars-track-and-field-coaches", "medalists-at-the-1992-summer-olympics", "goodwill-games-medalists-in-athletics", "usa-outdoor-track-and-field-championships-winners", "usa-indoor-track-and-field-championships-winners", "world-athletics-championships-winners", "competitors-at-the-1990-goodwill-games", "competitors-at-the-1994-goodwill-games", "21st-century-african-american-sportsmen", "21st-century-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-african-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "ncaa-division-i-outdoor-track-and-field-championships-winners", "ncaa-division-i-indoor-track-and-field-championships-winners"] description: "American track and field athlete" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Burrell" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American track and field athlete ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox sportsperson"]

Field	Value
name	Leroy Burrell
image	Conferencia de prensa de medallistas Carl Lewis y Leroy Burrel - 48468219112.jpg
caption	Burrell in 2019
fullname	Leroy Russel Burrell
birth_date
birth_place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
height	6 ft 0 in
weight	180 lb
sport	Track and field
event	Sprints and long jump
collegeteam	Houston Cougars (1985-1990)
club	Santa Monica Track Club
coach	Tom Tellez
retired	1998
pb	{{Unbulleted list
medaltemplates
::

| name = Leroy Burrell | image = Conferencia de prensa de medallistas Carl Lewis y Leroy Burrel - 48468219112.jpg | caption = Burrell in 2019 | fullname = Leroy Russel Burrell | birth_date = | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | height = 6 ft 0 in | weight = 180 lb | sport = Track and field | event = Sprints and long jump | collegeteam = Houston Cougars (1985-1990) | club = Santa Monica Track Club | coach = Tom Tellez | retired = 1998 | pb = {{Unbulleted list |60 m: 6.48 s (1991) |100 m: 9.85 s (1994) |200 m: 20.12 s (1992) |Long jump: 8.37 m (1989)}} | medaltemplates = 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 100 m 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 at Athletissima, in Lausanne, Switzerland (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. ::data[format=table]

Event	Time (s)	Competition	Venue	Date	Notes
60 m	6.48	Madrid indoor meet	Madrid, Spain	February 13, 1991
100 m	9.90	U.S. Championships	New York, New York, U.S.	June 14, 1991	+1.8 m/s wind
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,
4 × 100 m relay	37.79	Herculis Monaco	Monaco	August 3, 1991	{{refn
37.67	Weltklasse Zürich	Zürich, Switzerland	August 7, 1991	{{refn	group=note
37.50	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	September 1, 1991	Former {{refn	group=note
37.40	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	August 8, 1992	Former
37.40	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	August 21, 1993	Former
4 × 200 m relay	1:19.38	Koblenz meet	Koblenz, Germany	August 23, 1989	{{refn
1:19.11	Penn Relays	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	April 23, 1992	{{refn	group=note
1:18.68	Mt. SAC Relays	Walnut, California, U.S.	April 17, 1994
::

Personal bests

Sprints

::data[format=table]

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
100 m	9.85	+1.2	Athletissima Lausanne	Lausanne, Switzerland	July 6, 1994	Former
200 m	20.12	−0.8	U.S. Olympic Trials	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.	June 27, 1992
19.61	+4.1	SWC Championships	College Station, Texas, U.S.	May 19, 1990	{{refn	group=note
4 × 100 m relay	37.40	n/a	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	August 8, 1992	Former , {{refn
World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	August 21, 1993	Former ,
4 × 200 m relay	1:18.68	n/a	Mt. SAC Relays	Walnut, California, U.S.	April 17, 1994	Former {{refn
::

Jumps

::data[format=table]

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

::data[format=table]

Representing the
1989
1990
1991
6th (qf 4)
1st
1992
1st
1993
1994
::

National championship results

::data[format=table]

Representing the Houston Cougars and Santa Monica Track Club
1988
5th
U.S. Olympic Trials
1989
NCAA Division I Indoor Championships
2nd
NCAA Division I Championships
5th
U.S. Championships
1990
NCAA Division I Championships
U.S. Championships
1991
2nd
1992
U.S. Olympic Trials
5th
1993
4th
1995
1996
U.S. Olympic Trials
1997
::

Circuit wins

Overall

• IAAF Grand Prix: 1990

100 meters

• IAAF Grand Prix: 1990
  • Athens: 1990

Notes

References

References

1. "Leroy Burrell". [[Houston Cougars]].
2. "USA Track & Field {{!}} Leroy Burrell".
3. "Leroy Burrell".
4. (22 August 1991). "Burrell Makes Quest for Best". [[Chicago Tribune]].
5. "Txtfhalloffame".
6. (16 June 2022). "Seeking clean slate after family tragedy, Houston track coach Leroy Burrell leaving for Auburn". [[Houston Chronicle]].
7. Jeré Longman. (May 23, 2013). "In His Parents' Very Fast Footsteps".
8. (11 August 2021). "Former NCAA track champion, Carl Lewis' godson Cameron Burrell dies at 26".
9. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/in_depth/2001/world_indoor_athletics/1213505.stm Burrell strikes gold]. [[BBC Sport]] (2001-03-10). Retrieved on 2011-01-05.
10. "Leroy BURRELL {{!}} Profile". [[IAAF]].
11. Kenny Moore. (September 2, 1991). "THE GREAT RACE". [[Sports Illustrated]].
12. (June 15, 1991). "Burrell Makes His Mark In The 100 -- Sprinter Edges Training Partner Lewis In 9.90 For World Record". [[Seattle Times]].
13. Wayne Coffey. (June 15, 1991). "BURRELL NEW KING OF 100 METERS". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
14. Merrell Noden. (July 1, 1991). "SUPER POWER". [[Sports Illustrated]].
15. (August 4, 1991). "Santa Monica team ties world 400 relay...". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
16. (August 8, 1991). "U.S. REGAINS 400 RELAY RECORD". [[Chicago Tribune]].
17. Enrico Jacomini. (September 2, 1991). "U.S. SETS WORLD RECORD IN THE 4X100-METER RELAY".
18. Frank Litsky. (August 22, 1993). "TRACK & FIELD; U.S. Men Equal World Record in 400-Meter Relay".
19. Bert Rosenthal. (August 22, 1993). "U.S. RELAY TEAM SHOWS IT DOESN'T NEED CARL LEWIS".
20. (August 23, 1989). "Lewis Anchors 800-Meter Relay Record".
21. Paul McMullen. (April 26, 1992). "Lewis' anchor leg clinches world record in 4x200 at Penn Relays Mark set despite faulty transfer". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
22. Frank Litsky. (April 26, 1992). "TRACK AND FIELD; A World Mark in 800-Meter Relay".
23. (January 30, 1992). "U.S. SPRINTER BREAKS WORLD MARK". [[Chicago Tribune]].
24. (February 14, 1991). "BURRELL BEATS WORLD MARK IN 60-METER DASH-TWICE". [[Chicago Tribune]].
25. Juan José Fernández. (February 15, 1991). "El récord anulado a Burrell, una discusión de centésimas".
26. Tim Huebsch. (July 29, 2016). "Remembering Canada's greatest Olympic moments: Donovan Bailey wins 100m gold". Canadian Running Magazine.
27. The Associated Press. (July 7, 1994). "Burrell Eclipses 100-Meter Mark : Track and Field: Time of 9.85 seconds at Swiss meet surpasses Carl Lewis' record of 9.86.".
28. Frank Litsky. (July 7, 1994). "TRACK AND FIELD; Leroy Burrell Breaks Mark For 100 Meters".
29. (May 20, 1990). "Burrell Rides Wind to 19.61 in 200".
30. Julie Cart. (August 9, 1992). "BARCELONA '92 OLYMPICS / Day 15 : Now, Their Silence is Golden : Track: U.S. sprinters, earlier outspoken and feuding, set world records in men's 400 and 1,600 relays. Women place first in 400 and second in 1,600.".
31. Bill Glauber. (August 9, 1992). "Anchoring his place in history Lewis leads 400 team to gold, world record". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
32. Randy Harvey. (April 18, 1994). "Lewis and Friends Smash 800-Meter Relay World Record".
33. (June 23, 1996). "1996 Olympic Team Trials - Men's Results". [[USATF]].
34. (September 8, 1990). "Burrell Beats Lewis Again in 100-Meter Dash".

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