Henry Thomas

Who is Henry Thomas?

Henry Thomas is a former American sprinter known for running at the high school and collegiate levels. He demonstrated extremely rare versatility, successful at 100 metres through 400 metres, holding the World Youth best for 100 metres, set in a race 7 days after he set the world Youth best in the 400 metres. He is the only athlete to simultaneously appear in both the 100m and 400m top lists.

Thomas led the powerhouse team at Hawthorne High School, in Hawthorne, California of the 1980s to win the CIF California State Meet in both 1983 and 1984. Individually, he won the 200 metres in both 1983 and 1984—setting the state record that lasted 14 years, the 100 metres in 1984 after finishing second as a sophomore the previous year—setting the state record that lasted 5 years, and anchored his team to 4 × 400 metres relay victories in both years. The 1983 relay was a "come from behind" race passing Danny Harris on the final straightaway. Harris won a silver medal at the Olympics the following year. The time of that 1984 victory is still ranked #3, and 1983 is ranked #4 on the all time list. Hawthorne won that relay 6 years in a row.