Malden High’s Johnny Emmanuel wins State 400M Championship, sets MIAA State Meet record

Senior sprinter comes in with best finish ever on the biggest stage: 46.99 seconds

  If the state of Massachusetts did not know the name before Saturday’s MIAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field State Championship, they do now!

  Malden High School senior sprinter Johnny Emmanuel is known for his speed, but the display he put on Saturday brings the word to a whole new level. The 400-meter dash is an all-out sprint for one lap around the track, and 48-to-50 seconds is very fast. Enter Emmanuel.

  Emmanuel led from the start and about 200 meters in, he seemed to hit an afterburner button and accelerated three horse lengths ahead of the second-place competitor. As Emmanuel leaned into the finish line, he may not have known what he had accomplished. The fully automatic time (FAT) clocked Johnny at 46.99 seconds.

  The 46.99 finish was good for a new Malden High School record, an MIAA Division 1 State Championship in the 400 meter event, a new Division 1 State Meet record – and the second fastest recorded time in Massachusetts history.

  “We are very proud of Johnny’s accomplishment,” said Malden Public Schools Director of Athletics Charlie Conefrey. “It took a lot of hard work to get him here, where he can excel against other elite student-athletes.”

  Emmanuel will compete along with dozens of other Massachusetts top track and field competitors in the MIAA All-State Track and Field Meet.