St. Louisan Justin Robinson became a world champion and a world record holder over the weekend.
The former Hazelwood West track star was a member of the USA’s mixed 4×400-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Robinson ran the opening leg of the relay and turned in a split of 44.47 seconds, which was the second fastest in the field. It helped the USA team to not only a gold medal, but a world record time of 3 minutes 08.8 seconds. Robinson was joined on the relay by Rosey Effiong, Matthew Boling and Alexis Holmes.
A 2019 graduate of Hazelwood West, Robinson powered the Wildcats to a Class 5 state championship as a senior. For college, he took his talents West to Arizona State University, where he has been a standout performer for the Sun Devils.
The 44.47 opening leg that he ran on Saturday equaled his personal best performance, which he ran in finishing fourth at the recent USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The world championship is another big moment in Robinson’s stellar 2023 season. He was the national champion at the USATF Indoor Championships in the 400-meter dash and he ran a leg on the Sun Devils’ 4×400-meter relay team that won the Pac 12 championship.
Robinson also won gold medals at the Pan American U20 Championships in 2019 in the 400-meter dash and of the USA’s 4×400-meter relay.
