LAURINBURG — A small-town kid is making waves on the big stage.
Khaleb McRae has been putting the world on notice with his world-class speed, elite talent and dominance on the track. Coming off a stellar performance at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, where he won gold in the 4×400-meter relay, McRae has proven that you can do anything you put your mind to. From an 11-year-old kid who once dreamed of competing in the Summer Olympics and promised his mom he would be there one day, McRae is on his way to making that dream a reality.
Born in Durham, North Carolina, McRae got his first start in track at 8 years old after a neighbor told his mother he should try the sport. She wasted no time signing him up and watched her son go from running around the neighborhood to turning heads on the track. McRae would begin running for the Durham Striders and was the Durham County middle school district champion and All-American in 2012 for the 800, as well as a 2019 AAU national champion in the 400.
James Issac, a former coach for the Durham Striders who now serves as the associate head coach of track and field at Georgia Southern University, coached McRae during his early years with the program.
“Khaleb didn’t like losing and had a strong work ethic,” Issac said. “He wasn’t polished, but one of his strengths was the ability to adapt to change and take whatever situation was thrown at him and find a way to thrive.”
“He was tenacious, driven and focused; he would always talk about putting his family in a better position, and I just enjoy seeing one of my former athletes live out their dream and put themselves and their family in a better situation.”
He attended Scotland High School for his freshman and sophomore years, where he qualified for the Junior Olympics national championship and later transferred to the Southern School of Energy and Sustainability High School in Durham, won three North Carolina titles and achieved an American-best time of 1 minute, 4.62 seconds in the 500 at Winston-Salem, a record previously held by Randolph Ross.
McRae accepted an athletic scholarship to South Plains College in Texas, where he won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) titles in the indoor 600 and 400 in 2021. He then transferred to the University of Alabama, where his talents took a major step, highlighted by multiple All-American honors, SEC championship performances and contributed a key role in the record-setting 4×400 relay team.
After a fantastic college career, McRae has now transitioned from a small-town kid who had big dreams to someone people are taking notice of. Since 2023, he has competed around the world, such as in Oregon, New Mexico, Iowa, China, Philadelphia, Japan, Boston and Arkansas, and is now a member of the USA Track and Field Team, where he holds the record for running 44.52 seconds at the Tyson Invitational, breaking the world indoor 400 record.