By David Melly
October 2, 2024
For those tuning into the Athlos NYC track meet last Thursday, one of the most surprising outcomes for the casual viewer may have come at the end of the night, when Brittany Brown took down Olympic champion, meet headliner, and meet co-founder Gabby Thomas over 200 meters. Sure, Brown is a two-time global medalist in the event, but she was doubling back from the 100m, at the end of a long season, and Thomas was the world leader taking center stage at her event. But that’s why they run the race, and like she’s done throughout her whole career, Brown defied the odds.
Brittany Brown’s statement victory capped off an incredible (and lucrative, to the tune of $150K in prize money alone) season and solidified her spot as one of the most unorthodox figures in the sport right now. The 29-year-old is hardly your prototypical American sprint star. She competed collegiately at the University of Iowa, where she used the hell out of all four years of eligibility from 2014-2018, but her highest NCAA finish was only 5th and she graduated with comparatively modest PBs of 11.28 and 22.55. 2019 was her true breakout season as a pro, when she made her first team in the 200m with a second-place finish at USAs that springboarded her to the silver medal in a surprise performance at Worlds.
Brown trains mostly with long sprinters like Alexis Holmes and Anna Cockrell in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but she’s nearly as strong over 100m as she is over 200m, finishing 7th in the shorter event at Worlds in 2023. In addition to being a big fan of CITIUS MAG, she’s been vocal and forthcoming in the media on hot-button subjects ranging from unfair lane draws to her battle with endometriosis. But what really stands out about Brown is that, unlike many of her rivals in American sprints, she’s a racer.
How do you rack up six-figure totals in prize money in a sport not exactly known for its rich purses? You line up for big races as often as you can. Brown’s 2024 season – which opened on March 30th and concluded at Athlos on September 26th – featured 12 competitions. She competed in seven countries across distances ranging from 100m to 400m, picking up three Diamond League wins and an Olympic bronze medal along the way. And defying contemporary wisdom, Brown’s commitment to racing early and often didn’t seem to hinder her ability to perform in championship settings: her best races of the season were her lifetime best 21.90 at Trials to make her first Olympic team, her medal-winning performance in Paris, and two big paycheck wins at the DL final in Brussels and then Athlos.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
Brittany Brown is proof that you can do both: race the regular-season pro circuit and perform your best when it counts most. In an event group where youth is prized, she’s run her best times in the 100m and 200m over a decade into her career. And with all due respect to the star-making machines of Bobby Kersee, Dennis Mitchell, and Edrick Floreal, she’s succeeding in the short sprints outside the traditional training lanes.
As we think about how athletes themselves can contribute to the growth of the sport more broadly, one of the key elements is the willingness to say yes when an opportunity presents itself. Brown is clearly a “say yes” kind of competitor whose fearlessness extends off the track to her race scheduling, and she’s done all that we as fans and supporters could possibly ask of her. One key part of bringing new fans to track and field is creating the circumstances for stars to shine – the other part is rewarding the athletes that take us up on the offer with the kudos they so richly deserve.
David Melly
David began contributing to CITIUS in 2018, and quickly cemented himself as an integral part of the team thanks to his quick wit, hot takes, undying love for the sport and willingness to get yelled at online.
