Alabama's Chris Robinson Wins Individual NCAA Title in 400m Hurdles

Crimson Tide runners took home the top two spots in the event.

Alabama Athletics

Another trophy is coming back to Tuscaloosa. 

At day three of the 2023 NCAA Track and Field National Championships in Austin, Texas, Alabama took home the top two spots in the men's 400 meter hurdles race. 

Sophomore Chris Robinson claimed the national title in first place with a school and facility record of 48.12 seconds. It was the fastest time for any collegiate athlete this year. 

Robinson becomes the first Alabama athlete to ever win the national championship in the event. 

"Getting out in the race, I felt pretty good," Robinson said in a press release. "I got out of rhythm on hurdle three – I stood up a little bit – but I was able to get back into my rhythm. When I got to the 200-meter point, I said, 'Ok, I'm feeling good. Time to kick it in and bring it home.'”

Fellow sophomore Corde Long was the national runner up with a personal record of 48.53. 

ALL BAMA!

🥇 Chris Robinson and 🥈 Corde Long claim the top spots in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships!#RollTide | @AlabamaTrack pic.twitter.com/V1afmIlyFb

— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) June 10, 2023

With the points from Robinson and Long, the Alabama men's team finished in eighth place overall with 28 points. Florida won the men's team title. 

"I’m very proud of both Chris and Corde for going one-two in the 400 hurdles – they fought incredibly hard," Alabama head coach Dan Waters said in a press release. "For our guys to compete the way they did in the 4x400m relay, with little rest, speaks volumes about the efforts of Chris, Corde, Tarsis and Khaleb.

"Overall, to bring home yet another top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships speaks to the standard we have established here at Alabama. I’m proud of all our athletes and our coaching staff for the way they represented our program. We missed some opportunities this week that we’ll have to figure out how to better capitalize on, moving forward, and better position ourselves for an even higher finish going forward.

"For our seniors, I’m very thankful for all their hard work and dedication they put in – we’ll miss them and wish them nothing but the best. There are many positives to take away from this championship and season, along with some areas we can improve on going into next season.”