Murfreesboro resident William Yelverton, 61, finished 2021 as the world’s fastest 400-meter sprinter over age 60, running 56.23 in his last meet and breaking the 32-year-old Ontario Masters meet record in Toronto last August.

Yelverton tops the recently completed 2021 World Masters 400m Rankings list in the 60–64 age group, which included performances from over 460 competitors representing 36 countries worldwide. At the 2021 USA Track & Field Masters Outdoor Championships in Ames, Iowa, Yelverton won national titles in the 400-meter and 200-meter races, as well as a silver in the 800 meters and a bronze in the 100 meters, becoming the first person in USATF Masters history to medal in all four events at a national championship in his age group. His world-leading 400-meter time is 1.33 seconds ahead of the next fastest.

Yelverton competed in 16 track meets in 2021, totaling 28 races (including three college meets).

William Yelverton is a professor of music at Middle Tennessee State University, where he teaches classical guitar.