July 26, 2012
Olympics TV Schedule | Terps In London Blog
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After already reaching the pinnacle of his career as an athlete, University of Maryland track & field head coach Andrew Valmon is in London this week to take his coaching career to the highest level as well. He will serve as the head coach of Team USA in the 2012 Olympics.
Valmon and the Team USA staff will oversee 124 athletes on the world's No. 1 track & field Team at the Olympic Games. In Olympic competition, Team USA track & field athletes have won 315 gold medals and 744 medals overall, by far the most won in any sport by any country. In 2008, track athletes won seven gold and 23 medals overall.
Valmon recently completed his ninth season in College Park as head track & field coach and seventh as head coach of cross country. His experience as an Olympic Gold Medalist, combined with 15 years of collegiate coaching and an expanding experience on the international level have helped bring Maryland's cross country and track programs to prominence.
During his tenure, Maryland athletes in the program have earned 12 All-America honors.
As an athlete, Valmon earned gold medals as a member of the United States 4x400 relay teams at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. He was on 13 U.S. National Teams, earning gold medals at the 1990 Goodwill Games, the 1993 World Championships and the 1994 Goodwill Games. He owns a personal-best of 44.28 in his specialty, the 400-meter dash.
Valmon served as the head coach for the 2010 World Indoor Championships team in Doha, Qatar and as an assistant coach at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany.
Prior to coaching at the World Championship level, Valmon served USA Track & Field as the relay coach for the national team that competed at the 2008 NACAC Championship in El Salvador.
As focused as he has been on improving place finishes in competition, Valmon has also established high expectations for his student-athletes in other areas. During his tenure, the men's team received the ACCs Sportsmanship Award and men's cross country has been honored numerous times with the University of Maryland's President's Cup for having the highest team GPA. Valmon has also made community service a mandatory responsibility of each team member.
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While serving as the Terrapin head coach, Valmon's profile has also continued to rise in the USATF and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) communities. In the summer of 2004, Valmon was selected to a distinguished, NCAA/USOC panel to address Olympic sport concerns. The panel met throughout 2004 and 2005, before presenting its recommendations on creative ways to increase the visibility of various Olympic sports.
In 2002, Valmon was awarded the President's Award by USATF for his contributions to both USATF and to the sport of track and field. He has also served as a member of USATF's Athletes Advisory Committee.
To check out Valmon and Team USA, log on tohttp://www.nbcolympics.com/tv-listings/index.html. The track & field competition opens Friday, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. and will be televised on NBC.
For up to date information, features and notes on Terp Nation in London, log on to http://www.umterps.com/blog/terps-in-london/.