Garrett Kaalund
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 25 January 2004 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 100m: 10.31 (2025) 200m: 19.85 (2025) Indoor 200m: 19.95 (2026) NR | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Garrett Kaalund (born 25 January 2004) is an American sprinter. In 2026, he became the second-fastest man to run 200 metres indoors, and the first American to run under 20 seconds indoors at the distance, winning the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships.[1] His time of 19.95 is also the American collegiate record.
Biography
Garrett was born in Stockbridge, Georgia. He is the son of the late Eric Kaalund and Anne Kaalund. He moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2007. He attended Antonian College Preparatory High School. He competed predominantly over 100 metres and 200 metres before later also running over 400 metres, winning the Texan South Region high school titles in the 200m and 400m in May 2022. He later attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.[2][3][4] He transferred to the University of Southern California in 2025.[5]
He won the silver medal over 200 metres at the 2023 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, finishing behind Renan Correa of Brazil in August 2023.[6]
In March 2025, he was a member of the University of Southern California team which won the overall 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships team title in Virginia Beach, their first team title for 53 years.[7] That month, he ran 20.05 seconds for the 200 metres at the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge.[8]
In April 2025, he ran a wind-assisted 9.93 seconds for the 100 metres (+2.4 m/s). In May, at the NCAA West First Round, he ran the 200m in 19.85 seconds (+1.1 m/s), to move to joint seventh on the NCAA all-time list.[9]
He finished third over 200 metres in 19.96 seconds at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, helping his University of Southern California team to a share of the overall men's title.[10][11]
Kaalund opened his 2026 indoor season with a time of 32.10 in the 300 meters at The Spokane Sports Showcase, the second-fastest performance in NCAA indoor history for the distance.[12] On 6 February 2026, he ran 20.12 for the 200 metres in New Mexico, breaking the USC school record set by Olympic champion Andre De Grasse in 2015.[13] That month, he moved to third on the all-time list for the indoor 200 metres, running 20.06 seconds at the Big Ten Indoor Championships to move behind Frankie Fredericks (19.92 in 1996) and Elijah Hall (20.02 in 2018).[14]
Kaalund won the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships on 14 March with a winning time of 19.95 seconds, moving past Hall to set a new American indoor national record and the American collegiate record. He also became second on the world all-time list and the first American to run the distance indoors in under 20 seconds.[15][16]
References
- ^ "Garrett Kaalund". World Athletics. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Hinojosa, David (5 May 2022). "Antonian sprinter chases golden moment". Express News. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Jacobsen, Austin (25 June 2024). "Nebraska Track's Darius Luff Advances in Hurdles, Jenna Rogers Comes Up Short in High Jump at Olympic Trials". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Grundy, William (May 5, 2022). "Meet Preview: TAPPS State Track And Field Championships". Mile Split. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Mull, Cory (31 May 2025). "USC Men Stack Wins At The NCAA West Track And Field Regional, Plus More". Forbes.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Pan American U20 Championships". World Athletics. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ "USC wins first men's indoor track and field title in 53 years". ESPN. 15 March 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Becton, Stan (April 15, 2025). "6 midseason superlatives for the 2025 DI outdoor track and field season". ncaa.com. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Chakrabarty, Prasun (May 31, 2025). "Christian Coleman's NCAA Record in Trouble as 21-Year-Old Inches Closer to Becoming Track and Field Champion". Essentially Sports. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "USC men capture share of NCAA outdoor track and field national title". LA Times. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Omogbeja, Yomi (June 14, 2025). "Makarawu breaks Zimbabwean record, wins NCAA Outdoor 200m gold in Eugene". Athletics.Africa. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ "GARRETT KAALUND, DAJAZ DEFRAND LEAD USC CHARGE AT SEASON-OPENER SPOKANE SPORTS SHOWCASE". Runnerspace. 16 Jan 2025. Retrieved 17 Jan 2026.
- ^ "Kaalund Breaks 200m School Record on Day One of New Mexico Collegiate Classic". usctrojans. February 6, 2026. Retrieved 7 Feb 2026.
- ^ "OREGON MEN CLINCH BIG TEN INDOOR TITLE WITH 20 POINTS IN 3,000 METERS". Dye Stat. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ Gault, Jonathan (March 15, 2026). "NCAA Indoor men: Colin Sahlman wins controversial 3000 via DQ, as sprint records fall". Lets Run. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Kaalund and Tharp threaten world records at NCAA Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.