Yannick Allain was in his third season as an assistant coach with the Pepperdine cross country and track teams when he unfortunately passed away in January 2022.
He joined Pepperdine during the 2019-20 school year and worked with the men’s and women’s sprinters. One of his runners, Kennedy Kerr, established Pepperdine school records in the women’s 100 and 200 meters in 2021.
Allain was an assistant coach in charge of sprints and relays at East Los Angeles College from 2013-16.
He was also the head women’s track and field and cross country coach at Los Angeles Valley College from 2006-13, and was an assistant coach in charge of the men’s and women’s sprints and relays there from 2001-05. He coached the 4x100 relay team to All-American honors in 2011 and 2012, and the 4x400 team to All-American status in 2012. The women’s team finished sixth at the state meet in 2011 and ninth in 2012.
Allain was named the Western State Conference Women’s Coach of the Year in 2011.
Allain tutored under legendary coach and athlete Tommie Smith as a volunteer assistant coach at Santa Monica College in 1997 and 1998, and assisted with the sprints and cross country training program there.
He is a certified USA Track and Field Level II Jump Coach.
Originally from Los Angeles, Allain graduated from CSUN with a degree in kinesiology/pedagogy in 2001. He ran at Fairfax High School and Santa Monica College before transferring to CSUN.
He and his wife, Caroline, have a daughter, Sandrine.
