Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 29, 2026

Bailey Lear

Bailey Lear is an American sprinter. She was runner-up over 400 metres at the 2026 USA Indoor Championships. She was a gold medalist in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2025 World Indoor Championships.

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Bailey Lear
Lear at the 2025 World Indoor Championships
Personal information
Nationality United States
Born (2001-03-17) 17 March 2001
Sport
SportAthletics
Event400 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)400 m: 50.42 (Tokyo, 2026)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  United States
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2025 Nanjing 4 × 400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2026 Toruń 4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2024 Glasgow 4 × 400 m relay
World Relays
Gold medal – first place 2026 Gaborone Mixed 4 × 400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2024 Nassau 4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2025 Guangzhou 4 × 400 m relay
NACAC U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 San Jose Mixed 4 × 400 m relay

Bailey Lear (born 17 March 2001) is an American sprinter. She was runner-up over 400 metres at the 2026 USA Indoor Championships. She was a gold medalist in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2025 World Indoor Championships.1

Early life

She attended Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas.2 A successful junior athlete, in February 2018, she became the fastest girls indoor 400 m runner ever in Texas with a 53.20 effort at the Texas Tech Open.3 She committed to attend University of Southern California in late 2017.45

Career

She was a gold medalist at the 2023 U23 NACAC Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, in the mixed 4 × 400 m relay alongside Will Sumner, Caleb Cavanaugh, and Kiah Williams.6

She finished fourth at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in New Mexico in the 400 metres.7 She was selected for the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow as part of the 4 × 400 m relay team.8 She was part of the quartet which qualified for the final, where they finished in the silver medal position.9

In April 2024, she was selected as part of the American team for the 2024 World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas.10

She finished fourth over 400 metres at the 2025 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.11 She was selected for the relay pool at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March 2025, where she won the gold medal in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay.1213 On 24 April 2025, she was named in the American team for the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China in May 2025.14 She competed for the United States in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, running the anchor leg as the team won their heat to secure a place at the 2025 World Championships, and won the silver medal on the second day by finishing runner-up to Spain in the final.1516

On 1 March 2026, she was second to Rosey Effiong in the 400 metres at the 2026 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, running 51.60 seconds.17 She was selected to represent the United States at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland.18 She was a semi-finalist in the individual 400 metres at the championship.19 She later won the gold medal with the women's 4 × 400 m relay team.20 She was named in the United States team for the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.21 She ran as part of the mixed 4 x 400 metres relay team which won the gold medal having also won their heat on the opening day.222324 Later that month, Lear ran a personal best 50.42 for the 400 metres at the Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo.25

Personal life

Lear was named an assistant coach for sprints and hurdles, and operations coordinator, for University of Georgia in October 2023.26

References

References

  1. "Bailey Lear". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. Riddle, Greg (3 February 2018). "Frisco Heritage track star Bailey Lear sets indoor state record in 400 meters". Dallas News. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  3. Grundy, William (February 4, 2018). "Bailey Lear Runs Fastest Indoor 400m Ever By Texan And Kennedy Blackmon Runs No. 4". Milesplit. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. Grundy, William (November 14, 2017). "Bailey Lear Goes From JV To USC". Milesplit. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. Deibel, Bryan (January 24, 2018). "Workout Wednesday: Bailey Lear And Frisco Heritage". Milesplit. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. "CAVANAUGH'S DOUBLE, BRAHE-PEDERSEN'S RECORD, 5,000 AND SHOT PUT SWEEPS PART OF 11 U.S. GOLDS TO OPEN NACAC U23 CHAMPIONSHIPS". Runnerspace. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. "Results: USATF Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. "Global champions Holloway, Moon and Lyles feature on USA's team for WIC Glasgow 24". World Athletics. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. "Women's 4x400m Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. "USA TRACK & FIELD ANNOUNCES FULL TEAM FOR WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS BAHAMAS 24". USATF. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  11. Jampol, Noah (23 Feb 2025). "Nikki Hiltz Completes 1500/3000 Sweep, Resurgent Nia Akins Wins 800". Lets Run. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.
  12. "USA's women win 4x400m to claim final title of WIC Nanjing 25". World Athletics. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  13. Hall, Dan (14 March 2025). "USATF Announces 56 Athletes For Team USA At 2025 World Indoor Championships". Flotrack. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  14. "Global medallists on US team for World Relays in Guangzhou". world athletics. 24 April 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  15. "Two wins out of three for USA in 4x400m heats in Guangzhou". World Athletics. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  16. "USA, Spain and South Africa claim 4x400m titles in Guangzhou". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  17. "HILTZ FOUR-PEAT HIGHLIGHTS FINAL DAY OF USATF INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". usatf.org. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  18. "USA TRACK & FIELD NAMES TEAM FOR 2026 WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". usatf.org. March 13, 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  19. Binder, Doug (21 March 2026). "Anthony Saves Best For Last, Wins Men's 60 Meters; Jackson Wins First World Indoor Title In Shot Put". DyeStat. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  20. "USA wins women's 4x400m to claim final gold of WIC Kujawy Pomorze 26". World Athletics. 22 March 2026. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  21. "USATF NAMES ROSTER FOR WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS GABORONE 26". usatf.org. 21 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  22. "USA smash competition record in mixed 4x400m in Gaborone". World Athletics. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  23. "World leads fall as 4x400m teams light up first round in Gaborone". World Athletics. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  24. "World Athletics Relays". World Athletics. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  25. "Lyles helps to light up Tokyo with 100m win at Seiko Golden Grand Prix". World Athletics. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  26. "Bailey Lear". Georgiadogs. Retrieved 3 March 2024.