Jacory Patterson hopes that being the world’s fastest 400m sprinter so far this year will ultimately allow him to quit his overnight job loading UPS trucks.
Patterson, 25, notched the biggest race win of his life at Grand Slam Track Miami — taking Saturday’s 400m in 43.98 seconds, a personal best and the world’s best time since last August.
He finished second overall in the men’s 200m-400m sprints group in Miami, having also placed sixth in Friday’s 200m. So he earned $50,000 for the meet.
Both races took place in the early evening around times when Patterson, when he’s home, is often sleeping in between training and loading.
“The goal was to come out here and make some money so I can just focus on training and quit that job,” he said of working for UPS near his base of Columbia, South Carolina, where he’s coached by three-time Grenada Olympian Alleyne Francique.
Patterson, a 2023 University of Florida graduate, wakes up around 8:30 on a typical morning training as a professional sprinter. He sleeps later in the day, gets up again at 9:45 p.m., starts his truck-loading job at 10:45 and works that until 4 or 4:30 a.m.
On the track, he lowered his personal best in the 400m from 44.81 (from 2021) to 43.98 over the last three weeks. He went from ranking outside the top 100 fastest men in U.S. history to becoming the 15th American to ever break 44 seconds.
In days leading up to races, Patterson scales back the overnight shifts to adjust his body.
"(Working two jobs) just helps my mental a lot because it just lets me know I can do it,” he said. “Can’t nobody tell me different.”
Patterson hopes the recent success is enough to earn another invite to a future Grand Slam Track meet. The series concludes its 2025 season in Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29), both live on Peacock. Group winners at each meet receive $100,000.
He joked Saturday about one day leaving the UPS job, but didn’t announce a definitive decision.
“I’m going to celebrate this for today,” Patterson said. “Then when I get back to Columbia on Tuesday, it’s back to work.”
