At 6’4”, Kevin Young had the height, and the talent, to rise above his fabled countryman, Edwin Moses, and take the 400m hurdles to a new level, one which would last for almost 30 years! Moses famously revolutionised the event achieving a thirteen stride pattern between the hurdles, but Kevin, with his longer legs and stride, used a 12 strides pattern, up to the 6th barrier. Innovation is often a game-changer in Athletics - think of Dick Fosbury and the Fosbury flop in the high jump. Kevin’s achievement was no less significant.

Born and raised in Watts, California, during a time of enormous racial and social disharmony in USA, Kevin was a toddler during the social unrest in his home city in 1968, a decade which brought the civil rights act, mass civil unrest and protest, multiple assassinations of prominent figureheads, and huge cultural changes to the world’s largest economy. Living across the street from the famed Watts Towers, he developed a love of street art as well as excelling at sports including baseball, basketball and athletics.

The 400 metre hurdles is not an event for the faint of heart, combining speed endurance, rhythmic stride patterns, balance, pain and more pain. As a walk-on student (non scholarship) athlete at UCLA in the early mid 1980s, inspired by the exploits of Carl Lewis at the LA 84 Olympics, Kevin transitioned from the sprint hurdles to the longer discipline and set his athletic path to a glorious future.

Kevin progressed quickly in his newly chosen event, qualifying for and finishing fourth at the 1988 Seoul Olympics behind fellow countrymen Andre Philips (gold) and Edwin Moses (bronze) This gave him the determination and confidence to capture his ultimate goal, which he achieved in emphatic style, winning gold and setting a new world record at the Barcelona Games in 1992, breaking Moses’ record in the process, a record that would last almost 30 years until broken by the Norwegian, Karsten Warholm, in 2021. He achieved this feat despite crashing through the final hurdle and raising one arm in celebration prior to crossing the finish line.

The year of his Olympic triumph was contrasted at home with the LA Riots, once again ravaging his hometown, a far cry from the raptures of Olympic success. Kevin retained his global dominance in 1993, winning gold at the Stuttgart World championships, confirming his status as a dominant force in track and field athletics.