Chris Bailey SEC Co-Runner of the Week
BIRMINGHAM – A world-leading time of 45.09 seconds during victory in the 400m at the Razorback Invitational earned Arkansas senior Chris Bailey SEC Co-Runner of the Week, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
The next fastest 400m time in the world for the 2023 indoor season is currently a 45.91. Bailey is also the current world leader at 600m from a 1:15.18 effort during the Arkansas Invitational.
In winning the Razorback Invitational 400m, Bailey bettered the Arkansas school record as well as the meet record. The previous UA record of 45.29 was set in 2005 by Terry Gatson as silver medalist in the NCAA Championships. The previous meet record of 45.34 was set by Florida’s Najee Glass in 2015.
“Chris had a nice open in the 400m this past weekend,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “Credit to him and his work ethic with how hard he’s worked all fall. He’s a phenomenal athlete and a great kid. Just an outstanding, dedicated athlete who loves to compete.
“Hats off to Coach Case for the marvelous job he’s done in really bringing him to the next level. Chris is certainly at the next level now. He broke our school record, and our school records are not easy to break. It doesn’t happen very often with our rich history. It was a lot of fun and I’m very happy for him.”
As the tight 400m field approached the break to complete the first lap, Bailey remained patient in fourth place among four runners in the final section. Then he made a strategic move and opted for the inside portion of lane one.
Space to pass from the inside became available through the curve and Bailey took advantage, moving into the lead by the end of the curse. The he dramatically pulled away from the field. Runner-up to Bailey in that section was Florida’s Ryan Willie in 46.46, who finished fourth overall.
“He’s a pretty nimble guy,” added Bucknam. “His race mechanics are smooth, and he’s nice and steady. He was able to slip and slide at that critical juncture there at the cut. The guy in front of him went a little wide outside of lane one, and Chris was able to sneak through there.
“I’m not sure the seas are going to part like that every single time for him, but he has an incredible burst of speed. We have a lot of confidence going forward that no matter the situation he’s going to be able to navigate it. He did catch a break on that, and a lot of that is just real smart running on his part.”
In the month of January, Bailey’s time is the fastest ever by a collegian and second fastest ever when including professionals. The top January time is 45.03 by Fred Kerley in 2021 at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The previous collegiate best for the month was 45.29 by Texas A&M’s Bryce Deadmon in Lubbock in 2021.
Bailey improved his previous indoor best of 47.81 from 2019, having not contested an open 400m indoors during 2021 and 2022 while racing on 4 x 400 relays where he produced a 44.66 leg (NCAA Indoor) in 2021 and 44.68 carry (SEC Indoor) in 2022.
In the Razorback Invitational, Bailey also provided a third leg relay split of 45.03, fastest of the meet, on Arkansas’ 3:04.42 effort to place fourth in a very close finish in the 4×400. The top four teams – Florida (3:04.11), USC (3:04.12), Baylor (3:04.37), Arkansas (3:04.42) – were only separated by 0.31 of a second.
