Veronica Campbell Brown

Veronica Campbell Brown, CD (born 15 May 1982) is a Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specializes in the 100 and 200 meters.[2] An eight-time Olympic medalist, she is the second woman in history to win two consecutive Olympic 200 m events, after Bärbel Wöckel of Germany at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics.[3] Campbell Brown is one of only nine athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior level of an athletic event.

Veronica Campbell Brown

Veronica Campbell Brown at the 2011 World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Jamaican
Born	15 May 1982 Clarks Town, Trelawny, Jamaica
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	61 kg (134 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	Sprints
College team	Arkansas Razorbacks
Medal record Women's Athletics Representing  Jamaica Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 3 2 World Championships 3 7 1 Commonwealth Games 1 4 0 World Indoor Championships 2 0 0 Continental Cup 2 0 0 World Athletics Final 3 1 0 World Relay Championships 1 1 0 World Junior Championships 2 1 0 CAC Junior Championships 4 0 0 Carifta Games 6 1 1 Olympic Games 2004 Athens 200 m 2004 Athens 4×100 m relay 2008 Beijing 200 m 2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay 2012 London 4×100 m relay 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m relay 2004 Athens 100 m 2012 London 100 m World Championships 2007 Osaka 100 m 2011 Daegu 200 m 2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay 2005 Helsinki 100 m 2005 Helsinki 4×100 m relay 2007 Osaka 200 m 2007 Osaka 4×100 m relay 2009 Berlin 200 m 2011 Daegu 100 m 2011 Daegu 4×100 m relay 2015 Beijing 200 m Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay 2002 Manchester 100 m 2002 Manchester 4 × 100 m relay 2006 Melbourne 200 m 2014 Glasgow 100 m World Indoor Championships 2010 Doha 60 m 2012 Istanbul 60 m Continental Cup 2014 Marrakech 100 m 2014 Marrakech 4x100 m relay Representing Americas World Athletics Final 2004 Monaco 100 m 2004 Monaco 200 m 2005 Monaco 100 m 2005 Monaco 200 m World Relay Championships 2015 Nassau 4×100 m relay 2015 Nassau 4×200 m relay World Junior Championships 2000 Santiago 100 m 2000 Santiago 200 m 2000 Santiago 4×100 m relay CAC Championships 1998 George Town 100 m 1998 George Yown 4x100 m relay 2000 San Juan 100 m 2000 San Juan 4x100 m relay Carifta Games 1997 Bridgetown 4x100 m relay 2000 St. George's 200 m 2000 St. George's 4x100 m relay 2001 Bridgetown 100 m 2001 Bridgetown 200 m 2001 Bridgetown 4x100 m relay 2000 St. Georges's 100 m 1999 Fort-de-France 200 m World Youth Championships 1999 Bydgoszcz 100 m 1999 Bydgoszcz 4x100 m relay

She holds personal bests of 10.76 seconds for the 100 m and 21.74 seconds for the 200 m. She was the 100 m gold medallist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and the 200 m gold medallist at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. She has also won seven silver medals and one bronze medal in her career at the World Championships in Athletics. Over 60 metres, she is a two-time champion at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Early life

Campbell was born to Cecil Campbell and Pamela Bailey[4] in Clarks Town, Trelawny, Jamaica on 15 May 1982. She has nine brothers and sisters and attended Troy Primary and Vere Technical High School in Clarendon before pursuing higher education in the United States at the University of Arkansas.

Junior career

In 1999, she won two gold medals, the 100 m and 4 x 100 m relay at the inaugural IAAF World Youth Championships. The following year, she became the first female to win the sprint double at the IAAF World Junior Championships. She took the 100 m in 11.12 s (which was a championship record at the time) and the 200 m in 22.87 s. At the 2000 Olympic Games, she ran the second leg on the silver medal winning 4 x 100 m relay team. In 2001, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the 2001 CARIFTA Games.[5][6] That year, she won 3 gold medals (100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m relay) in the junior (U-20) category.

College career

Campbell attended Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, where she set several records and won many titles, including four national junior college titles in the 60, 100 and 200 metres both indoors and outdoors. She holds the current record for Barton County CC in the outdoor 100 m and 200 m. Campbell also excelled academically, earning an associate degree from Barton County in 2002 with a 3.8 grade average. She later attended the University of Arkansas, where she stood out as a sprint star in a programme dominated by long-distance runners.

Professional career

At 18 years old, Campbell Brown won the first Olympic medal of her illustrious career. She competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 4 x 100 m relay along with Tayna Lawrence, Beverly McDonald, Merlene Frazer and sprint veteran and Olympic legend, Merlene Ottey where the team finished second in the finals in a time of 42.13 seconds behind Caribbean neighbors, Bahamas. Campbell Brown had shown herself to be a promising athlete as a junior, having won at the junior level and at Jamaica's yearly Boys and Girls Championship for her high school Vere technical High, the same high school as sprint legend and her icon Merlene Ottey. The Championship has been credited as the engineer behind Jamaica's success on Track and Field World stage. It was here that VCB, as she is known to many, blossomed. The same can be said for fellow Jamaican compatriots such as Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake for example.

At the age of 22, Campbell Brown represented Jamaica at the 2004 Athens Olympics.. She competed in both the 100 m and 200 m. In the finals of the 100 m she placed third. Campbell Brown later competed in the 200 m finals, a race American Allyson Felix was favored to win. VCB went on to decimate the field in the 200 m finals. She ran a blistering curve, and held her form down the final stretch to become the first Jamaican and Caribbean woman in the history of the Olympic games to win a sprint Olympic title. At the medal ceremony, a visibly emotional Campbell Brown was brought to tears as her national anthem was played in the stadium and flag hoisted.

Campbell Brown then teamed up with Aleen Bailey, Tayna Lawrence, and Sherone Simpson in the finals of the 4 × 100 m. VCB ran a scintillating anchor leg as Jamaica went on to win the women's 4 × 100 m. Jamaica created history as it was the first time Jamaica had won the 4 × 100 m relay at the Olympics.

In August 2005, Campbell won the silver medal in the 100 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. She won another silver medal in the 4 x 100 m relay (together with Daniele Browning, Aleen Bailey and Sherone Simpson).

At the 2007 World Championships, Campbell won three medals, a gold in the 100 m, silver in the 200 m (second to Felix) and silver in the 4 x 100 m relay.

At the 2008 Jamaican Olympic trials, she finished fourth in the 100 m, thereby missing the qualifying requirement to automatically make the Jamaican Olympic roster for that event. She clocked 10.88 s in the final, which is the second fastest time ever for a fourth-place finish. She however bounced back to take the 200 m final in what was then a personal best time of 21.94 s. Having failed to qualify for the 100 m, she only competed in the 200 m and the 4 x 100 m relay at the Olympic Games. At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, Veronica Campbell Brown carried the Jamaican flag during the Athletes' Parade. She successfully defended her Olympic 200 m title in a new personal best time of 21.74 s. She competed at the 4 x 100 m relay together with Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sheri-Ann Brooks and Aleen Bailey. In the first round heats, Jamaica placed first in front of Russia, Germany and China. The Jamaican teams' time of 42.24 s was the first time overall out of sixteen participating nations. With this result, Jamaica qualified for the final, replacing Brooks and Bailey with Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart. Jamaica did not finish the race due to a mistake in the baton exchange.[2]

At the end of the 2008 season, Campbell Brown was selected the top 200 m runner in the world as well as the fourth best in the 100 m (following three other Jamaicans) by Track and Field News. She also finished eighth overall in voting for the magazine's Woman of the Year.[7]

She qualified for her third World Championships by winning the 200 m national title. She beat runners up Shelly Ann Fraser and Simone Facey with a time of 22.40 seconds in June 2009, although a toe injury had left her lacking full fitness.[8] At the 2009 World Championships Campbell Brown was fourth in the 100 m final behind teammates Fraser and Stewart. She then won her second World 200 m silver behind American Allyson Felix. She closed the season at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, recording her fastest of the year (10.89) to take second behind Carmelita Jeter, who became the second fastest ever with 10.64 seconds.[9] Although she was beaten by Jeter, Campbell Brown was the fourth fastest 100 m sprinter overall that season.[10]

In 2010, she won her first World Indoor 60m Gold medal in a time of 7.00. She later went on to run the fastest time for the 200 m in 21.98 in New York. She also ran a 10.78 in Eugene Oregon beating Fraser Pryce and Jeter.

In 2011 Veronica Campbell Brown won the Jamaican athletic trials in both the 100 & 200 m and was one of the favorites for both gold medals at the world championships in Daegu. At the championships she won the silver medal in the women's 100 m in 10.98 behind Jeter, who won in 10.90. She later went on to win her first 200 m world title in a timer of 22.22, beating Jeter and Felix who were second and third respectively. In 2015 Campbell made it to the Semi's and Finals of the World Championships 100 and 200m, Finishing 3rd in the 200m which was won by Dafne Schippers.

In 2012, she defended her 60m World Indoor Gold medal where she won in a time of 7.01. Later in June Veronica qualified for the 2012 Olympic games in London in both the 100 m and the 200 m. In the 100 m she came third behind Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce and Carmelita Jeter.[11] In the 200 m she finished just outside the medals in 4th place, 0.24 of a second outside of bronze.[12] In the 4 × 100 m relay final, she and the Jamaican team came second behind the U.S., which won in a new world record of 40.82 s.[13]

In 2014, Campbell Brown competed at the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, and over the 60 m race, ending up in 5th placed with a time of 7.13 s.

In 2015, Cambell Brown competed at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, and participated in sprint events of 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay—where she finished in fourth place with a time of 10.91 s, won the bronze medal with a time of 21.97 s and secured the gold with a time of 41.07 s respectively.

Campbell Brown also for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay. In the 200 m, she did not make it out of the heats and finished in 27th place with a time of 22.97 s but won the silver as part of the Jamaican team in the 4 × 100 m relay with a time of 41.36 s behind the US team which finished with a time of 41.01 s.

Positive doping test

On 14 June 2013 it was reported that Campbell Brown had tested positive for diuretics while competing at the JAAA Supreme Ventures, a Jamaican meet.[14] She was provisionally suspended from competition. Campbell Brown denied that she had intentionally taken any banned substances.[15] On 2 October 2013 she was cleared by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to resume competition. The panel said this is not one of the most serious offences and it was appropriate that she should be given a public warning, with no ban from competition. They deemed she did not use the prohibited substance for performance enhancement.[16] The substance in question—Lasix, not necessarily a performance-enhancing drug, but rather a potential masking agent for other banned substances—was contained in a cream the athlete had used for a leg injury.[17][18]

The International Association of Athletics Federations appealed this decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The court decided to clear Campbell Brown of all doping charges as the JAAA doping procedures did not comply with required international standards.[19]

Personal life

In 2007, Campbell married Omar Brown, a fellow Jamaican sprinter and University of Arkansas alumnus, changing her name to Campbell-Brown, a few years later she dropped the hyphen from her name, changing it to Campbell Brown. They currently live and train in Clermont, Florida. She was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in late 2009, and stated that she would use the role to promote gender equity in sport.[20]

Achievements

Campbell Brown's personal best of 10.76 s in the 100 m ranks her all-time top ten in the world (9th place) and fourth among Jamaican women. Her 200 m best (21.74 s) ranks her in the all-time top ten in the world. This time is the third best among Jamaican women. It is the fourth fastest time of the 21st century, and was the fastest since Marion Jones's 21.62 s in Johannesburg 1998.[21] She has earned a total of 46 medals in her illustrious career (27 gold, 16 silver, 3 bronze).

Personal bests

Event	Time (seconds)	Venue	Date	Remarks
60 metres	7.00	Doha, Qatar	14 March 2010
100 yards	9.91+	Ostrava, Czech Republic	31 May 2011	Official World Best
100 metres	10.76	Ostrava, Czech Republic	31 May 2011
200 metres	21.74	Beijing, China	21 August 2008
400 metres	52.24	Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States	22 January 2005

+ = en route to a longer distance

• All information from IAAF Profile[1]

Competition record

Veronica Campbell Brown at the 2009 World Championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Jamaica
1996	CAC Junior Championships (U-17)	San Salvador, El Salvador	1st	4 × 100 m relay	46.31
1997	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	4 × 100 m relay	45.27
1998	CAC Junior Championships (U-17)	George Town, Cayman Islands	1st	100 m	11.72 w (2.4 m/s)
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	45.35
	World Junior Championships	Annecy, France	17th (qf)	100 m	12.04 (wind: -0.7 m/s)
1999	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Fort-de-France, Martinique	3rd	200 m	23.84 (1.6 m/s)
	World Youth Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	1st	100 m	11.49
2000	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	St. George's, Grenada	2nd	100 m	11.41
			1st	200 m	23.05 (1.2 m/s) CR
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	44.63
	World Junior Championships	Santiago, Chile	1st	100m	11.12 (wind: +2.0 m/s)
			1st	200m	22.87 (wind: +0.7 m/s)
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	44.05
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	4 × 100 m relay	42.13
2001	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	100 m	11.32 (0.0 m/s)
			1st	200 m	22.93 (−1.6 m/s) CR
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	44.96
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	2nd	100 m	11.00 (1.5 m/s)
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	42.73
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	3rd	100 m	10.97
			1st	200 m	22.05
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	41.73 NR
	World Athletics Final	Monaco, Monaco	1st	100 m	10.91
			1st	200 m	22.64
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	100 m	10.95
			4th	200 m	22.38
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	41.99
	World Athletics Final	Monaco, Monaco	1st	100 m	10.92
			2nd	200 m	22.37
2006	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	2nd	200 m	22.72
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	1st	100 m	11.01
			2nd	200 m	22.34
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	42.01
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	200 m	21.74 (0.6 m/s)
			DNF	4 × 100 m relay
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	4th	100 m	10.95
			2nd	200 m	22.35
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	1st	60 m	7.00
2011	World Championships	Daegu, Korea	2nd	100 metres	10.97 (−0.4 m/s)
			1st	200 metres	22.22 (−1.0 m/s)
			2nd	4 x 100 metres relay	41.70 NR
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	1st	60 m	7.01
2012	Olympic Games	London, England	3rd	100 metres	10.81
			4th	200 metres	22.38
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	41.41 NR
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	5th	60 m	7.13
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	4th	100 m	10.91
			3rd	200 m	21.97
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	41.07
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	27th (h)	200 m	22.97
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	41.36

References

1. "IAAF: Veronica CAMPBELL-BROWN - Profile". iaaf.org.
2. Athlete biography: Veronica Campbell Brown, beijing2008.cn, ret: 30 August 2008
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "LIFE - TIME" – via time.com.
5. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 2 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
6. Carifta Games Magazine, Part 3 (PDF), Carifta Games 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012, retrieved 12 October 2011
7. Track & Field News February 2009
8. Foster, Anthony (29 June 2009). Bolt completes double; ‘Not 100%’ Veronica Campbell Brown runs 22.40 – JAM Champs, Day 3. IAAF. Retrieved on 29 June 2009.
9. Yung, Jean (20 September 2009). Gay 9.69 and Jeter 10.64 at 100 m; Liu Xiang makes dazzling comeback – Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. IAAF. Retrieved on 7 October 2009.
10. 100 Metres 2009. IAAF (2 October 2009). Retrieved on 7 October 2009.
11. "London 2012 - Athletics - Women's 100 m". www.olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
12. "London 2012 - Athletics - Women's 200 m". www.olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
13. "London 2012 - Athletics - Women's 4 x 100 m relay". www.olympic.org. IOC. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
14. Veronica Campbell Brown tests positive for banned substance: Jamaican news report Archived 18 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
15. VCB camp breaks silence, says athlete will vigorously try to clear name . Jamaica Gleaner (18 June 2013). Retrieved on 29 July 2014.
16. Veronica Campbell Brown clear to compete after failed drugs test. BBC Sport (3 October 2014). Retrieved on 29 July 2014.
17. "Veronica Campbell-Brown receives warning, no suspension from Jamaican track and field panel". nbcsports.com. 3 October 2013.
18. Ingle, Sean (3 October 2013). "Veronica Campbell-Brown clears hurdle in bid to compete again". The Guardian.
19. Veronica Campbell Brown cleared of doping due to 'deplorable' mistakes. The Guardian (15 April 2014). Retrieved on 29 July 2014.
20. Campbell Brown, Veronica (7 October 2009). Veronica Campbell Brown named Unesco Ambassador – IAAF Online Diaries. IAAF. Retrieved on 7 October 2009.
21. 200 Metres All Time. IAAF. Retrieved on 7 September 2015.

External links

Official Website

• Veronica Campbell Brown at World Athletics
• IAAF "Focus on Athletes" article
• Veronica Campbell Photos