Sprinter Brown makes parents proud

PARENTS of Darrel Brown, World Championship silver-medallist in the 100 metres sprint, are very pleased with his world class performances and the manner in which he represented Trinidad and Tobago in Paris, France.

Winston Brown (father and manager) and Marlyn Jack Brown returned home from Paris recently where they supported and witnessed his outstanding performances at the Stade de France.  The 18-year-old world junior champion surprised everyone and stunned the world athletics fraternity with his historic performances. Brown established a new junior (Under-19) world record in the quarter-finals when he returned 10.01 secs, which erased the previous six-year-old world record of 10.06 held by England’s European champion Dwain Chambers. And to show that he has the potential to do great things, the Trinidadian “Laser Bullet” stormed through his semi-final showdown with reigning Olympics champion Maurice Greene, Olympic bronze-medallist Darren Campbell and compatriot and quadruple Olympic medallist Ato Boldon. Campbell was third in 10.12 and made it to the final while Boldon, a former world 200 metres champion placed sixth (10.22) and Greene eighth (10.37). They were both eliminated and were spectators of the final.

Despite a slow start and a right hamstring muscle pull midway during the race, Brown held on and was marginally short of snatching the coveted gold medal. It took the photofinish camera to separate him from the winner, Kim Collins. Brown collected the silver with a 10.08 secs timing. Collins, who raced in lane one, was timed at 10.07. It was the best showing by a Trinidadian and eclipsed Boldon’s bronze medal achievement. He also became the youngest sprinter to get an individual medal in the premier event. Brown’s parents, who have made tremendous sacrifices, both financial and otherwise, over the years feel blessed that their young son has achieved so much. They have carefully nurtured Darrel on the road to the top and his father Winston said he feels  happy for his son. “He never likes to lose and he will not quit. He is so focused and determined and he went through a lot to get to the final,” said Brown senior.

“The plan was to go for the world youth record and make the final. He achieved both his goals. And to race among the big guns, some of the greatest sprinters of all time and to come through with the silver is beyond our expectations. But God has been good to us and to Darrel. “We are very pleased and happy. No one probably would understand the pressure Darrel went through to get to the final. When people look at the top runners he faced in the semi-finals, then they would get an idea of how hard it was to qualify. “ Everyone in that race has more experience than Darrel. Can anyone imagine what it means to a young athlete racing against Maurice Greene, the defending champion, and Dwain Chambers, both of whom had ran faster times than everyone else earlier in the year. Then there was Ato (Boldon) who is very experienced and ran a very good time to win his quarter-final race. “The English guy Darren Campbell and Nigerian Deji Aliu were also running very fast times. These were the men he raced against and made it through to the final. It was real pressure for Darrel but he loves the challenge. He wanted to do well for Trinidad and Tobago,” said Winston Brown.

Commenting on Darrel’s race in the 100 metres final and getting the silver medal, his father stressed that being in that final with Tim Montgomery, the world record holder, and all the other top runners would scare any young athlete. “But Darrel knew the responsibility was on him to do well for Trinidad and Tobago, especially so that Ato was out of it. He did not get a quick start and had to put everything he had to catch the front-runners. It was a special moment to see him close the gap on them, but if he didn’t get that pull in the hamstring, we can imagine that the result would have been different,” said Brown. “He did well to finish the race and really showed a lot of courage and determination to get a medal among the best. We are pleased with the silver medal he won. It’s beyond our expectations and we thank God for it. We just wanted him to break the junior record and get to the final. This was his first major senior championships and everybody in France was thrilled with his performance,” he said. “He made a very good impression and we hope everybody is happy with what he did for the country. Darrel is still a young boy. His body is not that strong for all the rigours of going through so many rounds against the best. “But he will strengthen up and his muscles are still developing. He will be well again and return to college in the United States to continue his studies,” added his father who travels with him to all his competitions.