Caleb Dean (born June 20, 2001) is an American track and field athlete who competes as a hurdler. In 2024, he won the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 400-meter hurdles at the Outdoor Championships.
Early life Dean is from Hyattsville, Maryland, where he attended DeMatha Catholic High School.
Collegiate career Dean started his collegiate career at the University of Maryland. He was a two-time Big Ten Champion as well as a two-time Big Ten runner-up. After his junior year, he transferred to Texas Tech University. In his two years as a Red Raider, he accumulated four Big 12 championships and three Big 12 runner-up finishes.
Dean won the 60 meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Texas Tech won the team title that same year.
Dean qualified fastest for the final of the 400m hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon on 5 June 2024. He ran 47.23 seconds to win the title on 7 June 2024 ahead of defending champion Chris Robinson. Only Rai Benjamin had run faster in collegiate history. Dean was also the first Division I male to win nationals in the 60m hurdles and 400m hurdles in the same season. At the end of the 2024 season, he was named national track athlete of the year by the USTFCCCA, and a finalist for the Bowerman Award.
Professional career In July 2024, Dean signed a professional contract with Adidas.
In December 2024, he signed with Grand Slam Track to compete in all four slams of the inaugural season in 2025. In the first slam, held in Kingston, Jamaica, he finished third over 400m hurdles, running 48.58 seconds in April 2025. At the second 2025 Grand Slam Track event in Miami, he finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 49.90 seconds on 2 May 2025, and then third in the 400 meter flat race in 45.18 seconds.
He ran 48.45 seconds to finish as runner-up to Rai Benjamin in the final of the 400 metres hurdles at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene. Selected for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2025, he was a finalist in the men's 400 metres hurdles, placing seventh overall.
In May 2026, he placed sixth in the 300 m hurdles at the 2026 Shanghai Diamond League before placing third in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2026 Xiamen Diamond League, in 47.75 seconds, and 47.42 seconds to place third the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas on 6 June. On 10 June, he placed third over 400 metres hurdles at the 2026 Bislett Games. On 14 July, he also placed third overall at the István Gyulai Memorial, in Budapest. On 26 July, he ran 48.66 seconds in the final of the 400 metres hurdles for a third place finish at the 2026 USA Championships in New York. At the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels in September, he placed fifth in the 400 metres hurdles.
Statistics Circuit performances
Championship results All results taken from World Athletics profile. YearMeetVenueEventPlaceTime2021NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsHayward Field400m hurdlesSF3 4th50.45US Olympic trialsSF1 5th49.782022NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsSF2 DQNA2023NCAA Indoor ChampionshipsAlbuquerque Convention Center60m hurdles2nd7.59NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsMike A. Myers Stadium110m hurdlesSF1 3rd13.56400m hurdles4th48.562024NCAA Indoor ChampionshipsThe TRACK at New Balance60m6th6.6760m hurdles1st7.564x400m4th3:03.37NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsHayward Field400m hurdles1st47.23US Olympic trials400m hurdlesFinalDNF
References