Veronica Campbell-Brown

Veronica Campbell-Brown

Veronica Campbell at the 2011 World Championships
Personal information
Birth name	Veronica Campbell
Born	(1982-05-15) 15 May 1982 Clarks Town, Trelawny, Jamaica
Residence	Clermont, Florida, USA
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[1]
Weight	61 kg (134 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	Sprints
College team	Arkansas Razorbacks
Medal record Women's athletics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 2 2 World Championships 2 7 0 World Junior Championships 1 2 0 Commonwealth Games 0 3 0 World Indoor Championships 2 0 0 World Athletics Final 3 1 0 CARIFTA Games (Junior) 6 1 1 CAC Championships(Youth) 3 0 0 Total 19 16 3 Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 200 m Gold 2004 Athens 4×100 m relay Gold 2008 Beijing 200 m Silver 2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay Silver 2012 London 4x100 m relay Bronze 2004 Athens 100 m Bronze 2012 London 100 m World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka 100 m Gold 2011 Daegu 200 m Silver 2005 Helsinki 100 m Silver 2005 Helsinki 4×100 m relay Silver 2007 Osaka 200 m Silver 2007 Osaka 4×100 m relay Silver 2009 Berlin 200 m Silver 2011 Daegu 100 m Silver 2011 Daegu 4×100m relay Commonwealth Games Silver 2002 Manchester 100 m Silver 2002 Manchester 4×100 m relay Silver 2006 Melbourne 200 m World Indoor Championships Gold 2010 Doha 60 m Gold 2012 Istanbul 60 m World Athletics Final Gold 2004 Monaco 100 m Gold 2004 Monaco 200 m Gold 2005 Monaco 100 m Silver 2005 Monaco 200 m World Junior Championships Gold 2000 Santiago 100 m Gold 2000 Santiago 200 m Silver 2000 Santiago 4×100 m relay CAC Junior Championships (Junior) Gold 2000 San Juan 100 m Gold 2000 San Juan 4×100 m relay CARIFTA Games (Junior) Gold 1997 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay Gold 2000 St. George's 200 m Gold 2000 St. George's 4 × 100 m relay Gold 2001 Bridgetown 100 m Gold 2001 Bridgetown 200 m Gold 2001 Bridgetown 4×100 m relay Silver 2000 St. George's 100 m Bronze 1999 Fort-de-France 200 m World Youth Championships Gold 1999 Santiago 100 m Gold 1999 Santiago 4×100 m relay CAC Junior Championships (Youth) Gold 1996 San Salvador 4×100 m relay Gold 1998 George Town 100 m Gold 1998 George Town 4 × 100 m relay

Veronica Campbell-Brown C.D (born 15 May 1982) is a Jamaican track and field sprint athlete, who specializes in the 100 and 200 meters.^[2] A seven-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.

On 14 June 2013 it was reported that Campbell-Brown had tested positive for diuretics,^[4] and was provisionally suspended from competition. In October 2013, the JAAA ruled that Campbell-Brown's use of the drug was not for the purpose of enhancing her performance. 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,^[5] and as such, the committee recommended only a public warning without further suspension.^[6] Their ruling faces further ratification from the IAAF.^[6]

Early life

Campbell was born to Cecil Campbell and Pamella Bailey^[7] 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 (the current championship record) 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.^[8][9] That year, she won 3 gold medals (100m, 200m, and 4x100m 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 associates 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 100m and 200m. In the finals of the 100m she placed third. Campbell-Brown later competed in the 200m finals, a race American Allyson Felix was favored to win. VCB went on to decimate the field in the 200m 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 fianls of the 4x100m. VCB ran a scintillating anchor leg as Jamaica went on to win the women's 4x100m. Jamaica created history as it was the first time Jamaica had won the 4x100m relay at the Olympics.

Veronica Campbell-Brown is not just synonymous with history but she has created history.

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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] Although she was beaten by Jeter, Campbell-Brown was the fourth fastest 100 m sprinter overall that season.^[13]

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 200m 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 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 100m and the 200m. In the 100m she came third behind Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce and Carmelita Jeter. In the 4x100m relay final, she and Jamaican team came second behind the U.S. team who won the event with a new world record of 40.82.

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 world challenge meet in her native country, Jamaica. After criticism in the media and support from well-loved fans on social media, Campbell-Brown issued a press release saying that she is no cheat and will clear her name. News further revealed that she may have listed the substance that she took on a form before competing which would discredit any criticism leveled at her as a cheat. The IAAF media spokes-person later did an interview two weeks after the news broke of drug that the case appears to be minor. Campbell-brown, a Christian believer, has been devastated by the news and in her press release stated her belief that "unearned suffering has great redemptive qualities".

On 2 October 2013 she was cleared by the 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. They deemed she did not use the prohibited substance for performance enhancement. This ruling is expected to be sent to the international governing body, International Association of Athletics Federations.

Personal life

In 2007, Campbell married Omar Brown, a fellow Jamaican sprinter and University of Arkansas alumnus, changing her name 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.^[14]

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 second fastest time of the 21st century, and was the fastest since Marion Jones's 21.62 s in Johannesburg 1998.^[15]

Personal bests

+ = en route to a longer distance

• All information from IAAF Profile^[1]

Competition record

Veronica Campbell-Brown at the 2009 World Championships

Year	Competionon	Venue	Place	Event	Result
Representing  Jamaica
1996	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17)	San Salvador, El Salvador	1st	4x100 m relay	46.31
1997	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Bridgetown, Barbados	1st	4x100 m relay	45.27
1998	Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships (U-17)	George Town, Cayman Islands	1st	100 m	11.72 w   (2.4 m/s)
			1st	4x100 m relay	45.35
	World Junior Championships	Annecy, France	17th	100 m	12.04
1999	CARIFTA Games (U-20)	Fort-de-France, Martinique	3rd	200m	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	100m	11.41
			1st	200m	23.05   (1.2 m/s) CR
			1st	4x100m relay	44.63
	World Junior Championships	Santiago, Chile	1st	100 m	11.12
			1st	200 m	22.87
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	2nd	4x100 m relay	42.13 SB
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	4x100 m relay	44.96
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	2nd	100 m	11.00   (1.5 m/s)
			2nd	4x100m relay	42.73
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	3rd	100 m	10.97
			1st	200 m	22.05 PB
			1st	4x100m 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 SB
			4th	200 m	22.38
			2nd	4x100m relay	41.99 SB
	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	4x100m relay	42.01 SB
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	200 m	21.74   (0.6 m/s)
			DNF	4x100m 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 x 100 metres relay	41.41 NR

References

External links

• Veronica Campbell-Brown profile at IAAF
• IAAF "Focus on Athletes" article
• Veronica Campbell Photos

Awards
Preceded by Brigitte Foster Sherone Simpson	Jamaica Sportswoman of the Year 2004, 2005 2007–2011	Succeeded by Sherone Simpson Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Achievements
Preceded by Allyson Felix	Women's 200 m Best Year Performance 2004	Succeeded by Allyson Felix
Olympic Games
Preceded by Sandie Richards	Flagbearer for  Jamaica Beijing 2008	Succeeded by Usain Bolt