Three Alabama Track Standouts Advance to 400-Meter Olympic Final

Three of the eight finalists in the 400-meter have Alabama Crimson Tide roots.

Former Alabama/Grenada 400-meter runner Kirani James / Obtained from World Athletics on X/Twitter

History was made in the men's 400-meter semifinal at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Tuesday as all three current and former Alabama track and field standouts advanced to the Final after qualifying in their respective heats.

Only eight of the fastest 400-meter runners in the world will sprint in Wednesday's Final and the Crimson Tide represent nearly half of the elite pool.

Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards, who was a member of the Crimson Tide track and field team in 2016-17, advanced to the Final after being the second runner to cross the finish line in the first heat as he clocked a time of 44.33 seconds.

Richards, 30, made the 200-meter Final in the Tokyo Olympics, but he finished in eighth place. Richards has previously won the 400-meter in the 2022 Belgrade World Indoor Championships and was an alternate member of the Trinidad and Tobago 4x400-meter relay squad at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Grenada's Kirani James, who was a member of the Crimson Tide track and field team in 2010 and 2011, advanced to the Final after crossing the finish line before anyone else in the second heat as he clocked a time of 43.78, which ended up being the best time when combing each heat.

James, 31, is no stranger to the Games, as Grenada's first-ever Olympic medalist and took home the bronze in Tokyo 2020, silver in Rio de Janiero 2016 and gold in London 2012. All his medals are in the 400 meters.

Nigeria's Samuel Ogazi, who wrapped up his freshman year at Alabama this past spring, became the first man in his country to make an Olympic 400-meter Final since 1988 after qualifying for the last spot in the eight-man race in the third heat. He finished in third place in that heat, as he clocked a personal-best 44.41-second time.

Ogazi, 18, is currently in his first Olympics. He's previously won the 400-meter in the 2023 Ndola African U18 Championships and the 2023 Port of Spain Commonwealth Youth Games.

The men's 400-meter Final will take place at 2:20 p.m. CT on Wednesday.