Douglas Kalembo breaks the 50-second barrier for 4 at age 49.9
Six days short of his 50th birthday, Zambia Olympian Douglas Kalembo today ran his age in the 400-meter dash. This is historic. As the image shows, Douglas posted a 49.77 at the masters meet of the Georgia Games. His mark at Marietta High School — against world-class rival Marcus Shute — lowered his own M45 world record of 50.02 a month ago. According to this info page, the meet was USATF-sanctioned. But the USATF calendar doesn’t list the Georgia Games. So stay tuned on record-acceptability. On the 2010 Age-Graded Tables, Douglas’ latest mark is worth 45.06 as an open mark. Pshaw! He’s this close to breaking 50 at 50! That’s a sub-4 mile in my book. Kudos, Mr. Kalembo. Incredible race. Too bad you’re not entered at Sacramento.
Nobody older than Douglas Kalembo has run a sub-50 for 400 meters.
15 Responses
I would not say a 52 competitor is any world class rival. Maybe compare his rival to Enrico from Italy for the m45. Douglas is in a class by himself and the only rival he has is the clock.
I would say his competition was about 10 meters behind in this race at the Georgia Games.
Please grace us with your presence at the World Meet next year.
Congrats Douglas, that’s quite an performance!
How about Douglas USA, Enrico Italy, Ballard Australia?
Wow ! Simply amazing, and world class feat..by any standard !…He inspires.
And just to respond to Rival’s comment : “I would not say a 52 competitor is any world class rival”.
I humbly disagree wholeheartedly ! Marcus Shute, & Paul Brown are in there age-group in the top 5 best in the world…Let’s just say, Mr. Kalembo, for now,in my view, is in a class by himself. I know you meant no disrespect.
I must disagree with the assessment that Marcus’ 52 second 400 is second rate. How many guys in their upper 40’s can run that?? I’d need my mountain bike to accomplish that feat !!
Yeah really, 52 is not shabby at all. Why would anyone even make a comment like that Just give Mr. Kalembo his well deserved accolades and keep it moving.
Hey Shemayne,
Just ran 52.16 at Mahwah. Felt great ! There again this Friday, then going down to Virginia for 2 races in August.
Remember what we spoke of. Be well.
Great Job to everyone!
Marcus and Paul are def amongst the ranks for the m45 class. Douglas is just a freak of nature.
He would top many of the lower age groups with this kind of of time.
In response to my query, Eric Pfeifer writes: “Yes, our meet was USATF sancitoned. I do not know why the USATF web site does not indicate this. Please check with them.”
Eric Pfeifer is the executive director of the Georgia Games.
Two points:
1. First meaning of “rival” in my dictionary: One of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.
My interpretation: ANYONE else in the race that day was a rival of Mr. Kalembo from the time the gun went off until Mr. K. crossed the finish line.
2. Marcus Shute and Paul Brown are extremely hard hitters in the 400. Their times of 52.37 and 52.99, respectively, are important for establishing the credibility of Mr. Kalembo’s time. Things must have gone right, because these are the times one would expect from Marcus and Paul.
Had Mr. Kalembo rung up his 49.77 against two people we had never heard of, perhaps someone would have said, “What, did the FAT device malfunction?”
@Sal that is fantastic….I do remember what we spoke about. Will try to get up there to see u run on Friday…..
Hey guys,
Love to see those fast 400 times. See you next week in Sacramento. Mike Sullivan
Douglas is a beast and congrats to him on his performance this year! I look forward to running and training with him next season.
@the person who started this discussion: I usually don’t respond to posts like this but couldn’t resist. Thank u for your unsolicited assessment. There are 12 comments posted before my response and all of them signed their names except u. You mentioned that u wanted Douglas to “grace us with his presence at the world meet” but how will we know who u are as u didn’t sign your name?… for all we know, u could have the credibility of a 500 pound couch potato who has never stepped on a track, not to mention tried to sprint 400m…LOL!
@everyone else: Thx!! Stay healthy and see u on the track!
I ran against Sal Allah in 2005 when he ran a 50.5. My time was only 54.08. I knew I was against a great runner but I was very proud of my accomplishment. Marcus Shute is a great 400 runner and ran 51 and change last year. He is one of the best also. He just happens to be running against someone who is running fantastic times.
Leave a Reply