Former Carl Lewis student Louie Hinchliffe makes big career move after forgoing NCAA eligibility

Former Carl Lewis prodigy, Louie Hinchliffe, has made a big career move after forgoing NCAA eligibility. He is now training under coach Richard Kilty after turning professional.

Hinchliffe competed in the men’s 100m and the 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics, also his debut appearance at the quadrennial games. He finished ahead of Noah Lyles (10.04s) in Heat 3 in the 100m, clocking a time of 9.98s, to advance to the semifinals.

However, he couldn’t progress to the final after finishing third in his semifinal heat with a time of 9.97s, behind Oblique Seville (9.81s) and Lyles (9.83s). According to the rules, the top two finishers from the three semifinal heats, along with the next two fastest runners overall, advanced to the final.

The 22-year-old then displayed his brilliance in the men’s 4x100m relay, running the second leg for the Great Britain team and helping them qualify for the finals with a total time of 38.04s. He went on to play a pivotal role in the final, where the team delivered a season-best performance of 37.61s to clinch the bronze medal.

After becoming an Olympic medalist, he has now decided to forego his final year of college eligibility at the University of Houston where he trained under Carl Lewis, one of the renowned track athletes. Notably, Lewis is the Head Coach of the track and field program at the institution.

Recently, the UK Athletics released the names of 65 athletes who have been chosen as nominees to potentially become members of the UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2024/25 season. There, Louie Hinchliffe's name appeared on the list along with Richard Kilty, which indicated that he is now training under Kilty's guidance.

Richard Kilty was also a member of the relay team at the Paris Olympics where he ran in the heats. He was also involved in coaching for British Athletics before making a comeback to the team for his last Olympics in Paris. Notably, he won the gold medal in the 60m at the 2014 World Indoor Championships, and is also a two-time European Indoor Championships gold medalist.

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Louie Hinchliffe on training under Carl Lewis

Noah Lyles and Louie Hinchliffe at Paris Olympics. (Photo via Getty Images)

After qualifying for the Paris Olympics, Louie Hinchliffe spoke in an interview with Sky Sports News on how it felt to train under Carl Lewis, stating (1:08 onwards):

“He gives me a lot of that experience and it's good to see him like at those moments, kind of reminds me like he's a normal person as well. He passes down like a lot of that experience to me.”

He also said that Lewis emphasizes the importance of staying relaxed, focusing on his race, and letting the results happen on their own.