Jason Richardson (born April 4, 1986) is a American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 meter hurdles. He won the silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His personal best for the event is 12.98 seconds, set in June 2012 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Background

Growing up in Cedar Hill, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, he began taking part in sports at the age of 12. Despite having a talent for hurdling, his parents were initially hesitant in encouraging him to compete in track and field. For Richardson and his family, the focus was his education: having represented his school at a national level on their debate team, he saw the discipline more as a way of pursuing further academic study via a college scholarship.[1][2] By the time he graduated from Cedar Hill High School, he had run the third fastest ever time in the 400 meter hurdles for a high school athlete.[3]