Angelo Taylor [who attended Southwest DeKalb, Georgia Tech, and Morris Brown] first seized the track world’s attention in 2000, winning an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles from Lane 1, the event’s steepest curve and most difficult task.
The feat in Sydney earned the then 21-year-old speedster from Decatur the Jesse Owens Award, given to USA Track and Field’s top male athlete. He had forged his pure natural speed into the discipline’s precise technical boundries. His promise seemed unlimited.
This week in Beijing, Taylor’s potential finally came to fruition as he once again stood atop an Olympic medal stand in the golden spot. On Tuesday, he won the same event and resurrected a career hobbled by injuries, a lack of focus and embarrassing legal problems.
