Deworski Odom

{{short description|American sprinter}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Deworski Odom

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| nationality = {{flag|USA|name=American}}

| sport = Running

| event = Sprints, Hurdles

| club =

| collegeteam =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|4|11}}

| birth_place = Cordele, Georgia, U.S.

| residence = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{convert|6|ft|2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|185|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}

| pb =

100m: 10.26 (Lisbon 1994)
110m h: 13.44 (Flagstaff 2000)

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's athletics}}

{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}

{{MedalCompetition|World Junior Championships}}

{{MedalSilver|1994 Lisbon|4×100 m relay}}

{{MedalBronze|1994 Lisbon|100 m}}

}}

Deworski Odom (born April 11, 1977) is a former American sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres. As a 17-year-old, he won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1994 World Junior Championships, surpassing Henry Thomas's World Youth Best over this distance.

Odom was born in Cordele, Georgia, to Lessie Odom, then 16.{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-04-27/sports/25684448_1_penn-relays-meters-hurdles |title=Overbrook Speedster Is Set For Penn Relays Odom Can Leave The Competition In His Dust |newspaper=Inquirer |first=Sally |last=Pollak |date=April 27, 1995 |archivedate=March 3, 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224000/http://articles.philly.com/1995-04-27/sports/25684448_1_penn-relays-meters-hurdles }} When he was 4 years old, he moved with family to Philadelphia. He began running as a sixth-grader at Shoemaker Middle School.{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-28/sports/25830689_1_penn-relays-hurdles-public-league |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070856/http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-28/sports/25830689_1_penn-relays-hurdles-public-league |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |title=Odom Does All He Can To Boost Overbrook |newspaper=Daily News Sports |date=May 28, 1994 |first=Ted |last=Silary }} He later attended Overbrook High School.{{cite news |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006391/index.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410173509/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006391/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2013 |title=Faces in the Crowd |newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=April 3, 1995 }} In the 1995 National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field Championships in Syracuse, New York, Odom set three national records.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/13/sports/results-plus-426595.html |title=Results Plus |date=March 13, 1995 |newspaper=The New York Times }}

Although recruited by every major track program in the United States, Odom did not meet the academic requirements to attend college. He went to Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, where his career derailed.{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/1997-04-22/sports/25531999_1_odom-struggles-hurdles-penn-relays |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065634/http://articles.philly.com/1997-04-22/sports/25531999_1_odom-struggles-hurdles-penn-relays |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |title=His Times Went South In College: Overbrook's Odom Struggles On And Off Track In Alabama |newspaper=Daily News Sports |first=Ted |last=Silary |date=April 22, 1997 }} He eventually attended St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina, for one season before turning professional.

{{As of|2017}}, Odom serves as track and field coach at his alma mater, Overbrook High School in Philadelphia.{{cite news |title=Overbrook track star Deworski Odom to be inducted into the Overbrook High Hall of Fame |first=Donald |last=Hunt |work=Philadelphia Tribune |date=May 12, 2017 |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/overbrook-track-star-deworski-odom-to-be-inducted-into-the/article_3a1f8e18-f5db-5fb7-81df-47023804ea74.html }}