University of Georgia Athletics
Butler Is Going Faster Than Ever
March 13, 2025 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The Olympic gold medal is in a safe place. Georgia sprinter Aaliyah Butler hopes to one day have a special display for the medal she earned in Paris last summer as part of the United States 4x400-meter relay team — and she hopes to add to it in Los Angeles in 2028 — but for now, it's in a safe, soft spot.
"It's in a sock," the junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said.
The way Butler is running in 2025, building on her breakout 2024, more hardware is in her future. This weekend, Butler and the rest of the qualifying Bulldogs are in Virginia Beach, Va., for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Georgia's women are ranked No. 3 heading into the indoor season finale and should be in the hunt for a podium finish on Sunday. When it comes to the 400, Butler is the woman to beat. She'll be trying to join former Bulldog great and two-time Olympic 400 gold medalist Shane Miller-Uibo as an NCAA indoor champion in the 400. Miller-Uibo won Georgia's only national title in the event in 2013 with a time of 50.88.
Butler's best time is more than a second faster than Miller-Uibo's winning mark 12 years ago. At the recent SEC Indoor Championships, Butler ran a school- and SEC-record time of 49.78 to win the title. It remains the fastest indoor time in the world this year and it was the second-fastest indoor 400 in NCAA history.
"I was definitely excited," Butler said of running the fastest time in the world in 2025, "but now I know I have to push it to the side because the season's not over yet. I'll probably be more excited about things after nationals."
Butler anchored Georgia's 4x400 relay team at the SEC Indoors, running 49.87 to lead the Bulldogs to the program's first conference title in the event and set a new school record with an overall time of 3:26.42. She will run the 400 and the 4x400 relay at the NCAA Indoors, which get underway Friday.
"She's putting together what we're looking for, what we thought she was capable of," Georgia sprints coach Karim Abdel Wahab said.
While the 400 may be Butler's best event, she's also very fast in the 200. She has the Bulldogs' fastest time of the season at 22.83, set while winning the Razorback Invite earlier this year. That time would have placed second at the SEC Indoors and ranks 13th in the world in 2025, not too far off South Carolina sophomore JaMeesia Ford's world-leading 22.34 time set on Clemson's track in February.
Every great 400 sprinter has to be great at the 200, too, Abdel Wahab said. The key, he said, was getting off to a great start but not running the first 200 meters so fast that you don't have a burst left for the rest of the race.
"My job is to get her to do what she's capable of, and design the training to allow her to do it," he said. "She brings the abilities. She brings the positive attitude. She brings the desire to achieve goals."
Georgia's 400 sprinters do a lot of 200s in practice, building the base upon which all great 400 times are built.
"I actually like the 200s. That's my favorite workout because it doesn't make me as tired (as running the 400)," Butler said. "It's very fast; you can get it done in like six minutes."
Abdel Wahab said "everybody wants to train with Aaliyah," who primarily leads by example.
"She's a woman of few words. ... Her nature is to be a little more quiet than average, but she leads by example, and that's big. I don't need the preacher that will not live it. She lives what we're looking for. She's very positive and she really loves her team."
At the SEC Indoors, Butler was the fastest runner in the 400 preliminary heats, pacing the pack with a time of 50.59 seconds. In the final, Butler had to run the fastest time in the world this year to win because Arkansas' Isabella Whittaker was right there with her at the end. Butler finished in 49.78, with Whittaker running 49.90, which would have been the fastest in the world this year if not for Butler.
It was also the second-fastest women's 400 in NCAA history, behind only the 49.48 that Britton Wilson ran for Arkansas in 2023.
"We did not talk once about winning it," Abdel Wahab said. "We talked about doing our part, following the process, taking care of each segment of the race, and then the results will happen."
Last May, at the SEC Outdoor Championships, Butler placed fourth with a time of 49.79. At the NCAA East Regional, she won the 400 in 50.30. But then in June, at the NCAA Outdoors, she wound up 14th, missing the final, after running 51.64.
But that meet didn't define her 2024 — not at all. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, she placed second and secured her spot on the U.S. team with a time of 49.71, a personal best and a new school record. In the 400 in Paris, Butler wound up 20th overall. She then followed that up by running the third leg of the first round of 4x400 qualifying, earning her gold medal after the U.S. quartet won the final.
"It was definitely life-changing," she said of her Olympic experience. "It definitely changed how I viewed track and field, and my confidence has grown a lot since then. It just made me more confident that I can do things and accomplish my goals."
And she brought that confidence back to Athens.
"Everything's leveled up," Butler said of her improvement from last year to this year. And she believes there are still higher levels that she can reach. Racing at the Olympic Games last summer, after her sophomore year of college, showed her that great things are possible.
"I believe I still have a lot of room to improve," Butler said. "My form isn't perfect and I believe I can finish my races even better."
If Butler keeps believing and keeps improving, she's going to need more than a sock to hold all of her medals and awards by the time she's run her last 400.
Staff Writer
The Olympic gold medal is in a safe place. Georgia sprinter Aaliyah Butler hopes to one day have a special display for the medal she earned in Paris last summer as part of the United States 4x400-meter relay team — and she hopes to add to it in Los Angeles in 2028 — but for now, it's in a safe, soft spot.
"It's in a sock," the junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said.
The way Butler is running in 2025, building on her breakout 2024, more hardware is in her future. This weekend, Butler and the rest of the qualifying Bulldogs are in Virginia Beach, Va., for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Georgia's women are ranked No. 3 heading into the indoor season finale and should be in the hunt for a podium finish on Sunday. When it comes to the 400, Butler is the woman to beat. She'll be trying to join former Bulldog great and two-time Olympic 400 gold medalist Shane Miller-Uibo as an NCAA indoor champion in the 400. Miller-Uibo won Georgia's only national title in the event in 2013 with a time of 50.88.
Butler's best time is more than a second faster than Miller-Uibo's winning mark 12 years ago. At the recent SEC Indoor Championships, Butler ran a school- and SEC-record time of 49.78 to win the title. It remains the fastest indoor time in the world this year and it was the second-fastest indoor 400 in NCAA history.
"I was definitely excited," Butler said of running the fastest time in the world in 2025, "but now I know I have to push it to the side because the season's not over yet. I'll probably be more excited about things after nationals."
Butler anchored Georgia's 4x400 relay team at the SEC Indoors, running 49.87 to lead the Bulldogs to the program's first conference title in the event and set a new school record with an overall time of 3:26.42. She will run the 400 and the 4x400 relay at the NCAA Indoors, which get underway Friday.
"She's putting together what we're looking for, what we thought she was capable of," Georgia sprints coach Karim Abdel Wahab said.
While the 400 may be Butler's best event, she's also very fast in the 200. She has the Bulldogs' fastest time of the season at 22.83, set while winning the Razorback Invite earlier this year. That time would have placed second at the SEC Indoors and ranks 13th in the world in 2025, not too far off South Carolina sophomore JaMeesia Ford's world-leading 22.34 time set on Clemson's track in February.
Every great 400 sprinter has to be great at the 200, too, Abdel Wahab said. The key, he said, was getting off to a great start but not running the first 200 meters so fast that you don't have a burst left for the rest of the race.
"My job is to get her to do what she's capable of, and design the training to allow her to do it," he said. "She brings the abilities. She brings the positive attitude. She brings the desire to achieve goals."
Georgia's 400 sprinters do a lot of 200s in practice, building the base upon which all great 400 times are built.
"I actually like the 200s. That's my favorite workout because it doesn't make me as tired (as running the 400)," Butler said. "It's very fast; you can get it done in like six minutes."
Abdel Wahab said "everybody wants to train with Aaliyah," who primarily leads by example.
"She's a woman of few words. ... Her nature is to be a little more quiet than average, but she leads by example, and that's big. I don't need the preacher that will not live it. She lives what we're looking for. She's very positive and she really loves her team."
At the SEC Indoors, Butler was the fastest runner in the 400 preliminary heats, pacing the pack with a time of 50.59 seconds. In the final, Butler had to run the fastest time in the world this year to win because Arkansas' Isabella Whittaker was right there with her at the end. Butler finished in 49.78, with Whittaker running 49.90, which would have been the fastest in the world this year if not for Butler.
It was also the second-fastest women's 400 in NCAA history, behind only the 49.48 that Britton Wilson ran for Arkansas in 2023.
"We did not talk once about winning it," Abdel Wahab said. "We talked about doing our part, following the process, taking care of each segment of the race, and then the results will happen."
Last May, at the SEC Outdoor Championships, Butler placed fourth with a time of 49.79. At the NCAA East Regional, she won the 400 in 50.30. But then in June, at the NCAA Outdoors, she wound up 14th, missing the final, after running 51.64.
But that meet didn't define her 2024 — not at all. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, she placed second and secured her spot on the U.S. team with a time of 49.71, a personal best and a new school record. In the 400 in Paris, Butler wound up 20th overall. She then followed that up by running the third leg of the first round of 4x400 qualifying, earning her gold medal after the U.S. quartet won the final.
"It was definitely life-changing," she said of her Olympic experience. "It definitely changed how I viewed track and field, and my confidence has grown a lot since then. It just made me more confident that I can do things and accomplish my goals."
And she brought that confidence back to Athens.
"Everything's leveled up," Butler said of her improvement from last year to this year. And she believes there are still higher levels that she can reach. Racing at the Olympic Games last summer, after her sophomore year of college, showed her that great things are possible.
"I believe I still have a lot of room to improve," Butler said. "My form isn't perfect and I believe I can finish my races even better."
If Butler keeps believing and keeps improving, she's going to need more than a sock to hold all of her medals and awards by the time she's run her last 400.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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