Rainford Hunter, a long-time successful track athlete, coach and administrator, joined Pepperdine’s cross country and track programs as an assistant coach in February 2018 and stayed in that role through the conclusion of track season in 2019.
While growing up in Jamaica, Hunter competed at the Penn Relays twice and the Jamaican High School Track and Field Championships, and he was invited to try out for Jamaica’s Olympic team in 1980.
Hunter is a 1983 graduate of Grambling State University with a degree in industrial technology. He was a four-year member of the track team and ran the 100 and 200 meters.
As a coach, he has USATF Level 1 course participation, USATF Level 2 certification (pending) and USATF Level 3 Speed Summit participation. Most recently, he was the head coach at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville, Indiana, and he also held positions at Zionsville High and Pike High in Indiana.
He also served as advisor, mentor and manager for more than 30 professional track athletes as the president and CEO of World-Class Athlete Management Group. Among Hunter’s clients were several former NCAA champions, Olympians, World Championship participants and Commonwealth Games gold medalists, representing countries that span the globe, including the United States, Jamaica, India, Iran, Bahamas, Nigeria, Kenya and Canada.
In his role away from sports, Hunter also served more than 25 years in senior-level corporate leadership positions in industries that include environmental consulting, chemical distribution, pharmaceutical manufacturing, state government and legal.
Hunter also earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of New Haven in 1992.
Hunter and his wife Cynthia, who was also an outstanding track athlete at Grambling State University, have four children: Kadeem, Khalid, Kiana and Kamea. Kadeem graduated from Georgetown University, where he was an All-American sprinter. Khalid attends CSUN, where he plays soccer and runs track. Kiana is a member of the track team at San Diego State. Kamea, the youngest, attends Chaminade Middle School and runs track and plays soccer.
