Darvis Patton - Early Career

Early Career

A very versatile athlete, Patton competed at both the long jump and triple jump in his high school and college days but now concentrates his time around the 200 meters and 100 meters events. He had his first successes as a senior in 2002 when he was runner up in the 200 m at both the Indoor and Outdoor US Championships. The following season saw him reach the global podium for the first time: he became the US Champion in the 200 m and went on to win the silver medal in the event at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. He also won a gold medal as part of the American men's 4×100-meter relay team. He also began to improve in the 100 m that year, winning at the ISTAF Golden League meet and improving his personal record to 10.00 seconds at the Weltklasse Zürich meeting.

After a fourth place finish in the 200 m at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, he was nominated as the substitute for the 4×100 m relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Patton helped the American team ease through the heats, recording a time of 38.02 seconds. He was substituted for the newly crowned 100 m Olympic champion Justin Gatlin for the final race, but the move backfired for the team as they finished a little slower (38.08) and had to settle for the silver medal behind Great Britain – who they had easily beaten in the heats. Patton's 2005 and 2006 seasons were wrecked by significant groin and hip injuries and he only returned to major competitions in 2007.