Terrence Trammell, Block Start Coach
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Terrence has been working with Jarryd since the fall of 2011. He has been a huge part of Jarryd's growth as a sprinter. From the first day they met, Terrence began tweaking Jarryd's form and mentality to become a great sprinter.
Jarryd credits a large part of his win at the ParaPan American Games to the great coaching and specifically the block start training that Terrence gave him leading up to the event. Born on November 23, 1978, Terrence knew early on that he had been blessed with speed. A football was never far from his grasp, and he dreamed of becoming an NFL superstar. It was in 1996, though, that Terrence -- son of Ann and Leonard -- found his dreams suddenly changed. That year, the Olympic Games were held in his home city of Atlanta, and they captivated the 17 year-old. A new vision was born. "It just inspired me to really want to look into it...I still wanted to play football as well, but it definitely made me want to pursue track and field." The man responsible for his newfound love for track was American Allen Johnson, who Terrence watched dominate the field in the 110-meter hurdles. A year later, Terrence would meet his hero face-to-face. Recruited by South Carolina track and field coach Curtis Frye, Terrence jumped at the chance to attend the school where Allen Johnson trained year-round. "At the time, I did want the chance to play football, but felt I could be in the 2000 Olympics...I felt coming to South Carolina gave me the chance to train with Allen Johnson and learn firsthand from the perennial No. 1 in my event." Terrence was both taught and inspired by Johnson, and after a second-place finish at the NCAA outdoor championships, TT went on an unprecedented run of victories, winning back-to-back NCAA championships, and earning a gold medal at the World University Games in 1999. By the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the pupil was now the tutor's main competition for the gold. "I always considered him a big brother and what-not," Terrence said. "To think what he's been able to show me, not only his experience, but him. He's more than Allen Johnson. His personality is such that he does not make himself a grand superstar. He is who he is." Trammell not only beat his training partner -- he beat every sprinter but one to the finish line in Sydney, earning a silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles. In the years that followed that first Olympic Games, Terrence continued to run his way to the medal podium. He wonin the 60-meter hurdles at the World Indoor Championships and the U.S. National Championships in 2001. He repeated as National Champion in 2002, and maintained his championship-caliber level in the 110 meters, earning silver medals at the World Championships and World Athletics Final in 2003. By 2004 and the Athens Olympics, gold appeared to be in Terrence's future. While he raced well in Athens, earning a second silver medal, he was upset by a new rival from China: the now legendary Liu Xiang Still, Terrence believed that his best races were still to come, and he proved as much, remaining at the top of the world rankings for four more years, and keeping his eyes set on the 2008 Beijing Games and that elusive Olympic gold medal.
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