March 15, 2005

WACO, Texas - Baylor head track and field coach Clyde Hart was named the 2004 United States Olympic Committee's National Track & Field Coach of the Year, the second time in the last three Olympic years he has earned the honor, the organization announced Tuesday.

"This award is the culmination of all the hard work we did and the exclamation point on a great year for Baylor track," Hart said. "I have to give the credit to our athletes - especially Jeremy (Wariner) and Darold (Williamson), our two gold medalists."

Hart was named the USOC Coach of the Year in 1996 after Baylor great Michael Johnson performed the unprecedented feat of capturing gold in both the 200 and 400 meters. The award is Hart's fifth national honor: the two USOC awards, the 2004 Nike Coach of the Year by USA Track & Field and a pair of NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year honors (1989, 1996).

Hart, in his 42nd year at Baylor, coached Baylor Olympians Jeremy Wariner and current senior Darold Williamson at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Wariner, who won the 400 meters at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, added the U.S. title and the Olympic gold medal for another unprecedented sweep. Wariner handed the baton to Williamson for the anchor leg of the U.S. gold-medal winning 4x400-meter relay, just as he had done when the pair helped Baylor claim both the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in the event.

In his time at Baylor, which now spans parts of six decades, Hart has coached nearly 500 All-America performances, 28 national champions and helped Baylor athletes claim eight gold medals.