Photo by: Tim Healy for TrackTown USA
‘SOMETHING BIGGER THAN MYSELF’
7/29/2021 10:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Bromell Caps Amazing Comeback with Another Trip to Olympics
(This is the sixth in a series of features profiling former Baylor student-athletes "Going for the Gold" at the Olympics that began last Friday with opening ceremonies in Tokyo.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Raised by a single-parent mom and constantly surrounded by poverty, gang violence and racial injustice in St. Petersburg, Fla., Trayvon Bromell felt like he was always "running from something."
Now, he's running and representing "something bigger than myself."
"I had a lot of anger hidden that people didn't know about, because I didn't express it a lot," said Bromell, a two-time NCAA champion at Baylor who goes into the Olympics as the gold-medal favorite in the 100 meters.
"I knew I had to make a change. God was saying, 'You can continue to go down this road: hang out late nights with your friends, rip around the streets, do all this craziness. Or, you can make a difference. You can make a change and show people what change looks like.' . . . Once you figure it out, and you feel that fire within, it's hard to extinguish."
Already a household name in track & field circles, Bromell ran a blistering 9.99 at the 2013 Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., a mark that did not count as the junior world record because of a 4.0-meter tailwind.
A year later, he ran a wind-aided 9.77 in winning the Big 12 title and then set the junior world record with a wind-legal 9.97 in capturing the 100 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Bromell turned pro after his sophomore season at Baylor, when he won the NCAA Indoor 200 meters with a 20.19 time and had a pair of top-three finishes in the 100 and 200 at the NCAA Outdoor meet.
Five years ago, Bromell seemed poised to replace legendary Usain Bolt as the "World's Fastest Human." But, he developed a bone spur near his Achilles and placed eighth in the 100 at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five days later, he left the track in a wheelchair after the 4x100 relay.
"Honestly, I didn't think he was going to run in the relay, so I actually flew home (after the 100-meter finals)," said Baylor coach Michael Ford, who worked with Bromell from 2013-19. "I texted him to see what was going on, but one of the USA coaches called me and said it was the Achilles. We tried to get him ready for '17 and then '18, but it felt like we took two steps forward and then we'd take four steps back."
After going through two surgeries that kept him off the track for nearly three years, Bromell blew an adductor muscle in his upper leg in a race on July 6, 2019, in Montverde, Fla., and made the decision to switch coaches to a program in Jacksonville, Fla., run by Rana Reider.
"It was a blessing for him to be able to go somewhere and continue to run fast at a high level," Ford said, "because even when he left here, I thought was probably about 85% back. I just think on the medical side, the therapy side, we didn't have enough for him here (at Baylor)."
Despite the coaching split, Bromell and Ford remain close, talking "probably once a week, even now," Ford said.
"He was much more than just a coach to me," Bromell said of Ford, who was promoted to the head coaching position at Baylor earlier this month. "He was a father figure to me and definitely helped me with so much in my life."
Returning to the track last summer, Bromell clocked a 10.04 in winning his heat at the meet in Montverde, then stamped himself a legitimate Olympic gold-medal contender with a 9.90 at the aptly named "Back to the Track" meet in Clermont, Fla.
Fully healthy, Bromell recorded a world-leading time of 9.77 earlier this summer at the NACAC New Life Invitational in Miramar, Fla., and followed that up with a win at the Olympic Trials in 9.80.
He's baaaack!
"The biggest thing I learned about myself (was) understanding that, internally, I'm not as strong (as I thought)," he said. "It's understanding that I need people, I need my faith, to be able to do what you saw today. We're human. We break down easily. We're not as strong as we think we are. And that's one thing I had to realize. I had to put my faith in something that was bigger than me."
Bromell is at the head of a class of Olympic sprinters that includes South African Akani Simbine, Great Britain's Zharnell Hughes, Andre de Grasse from Canada, Jamaican Yohan Blake and fellow Americans Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley. The 100-meter prelims are scheduled for Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.
"It's a great honor that I can represent something bigger than myself," Bromell said, "but I'm bringing something different to this sport in the Olympics. So, I just can't wait to deliver this message."
"GOING FOR THE GOLD"
John Peers, Men's Tennis, Australia
Wil London, Track & Field, USA
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball, USA
KC Lightfoot, Track & Field, USA
Ekpe Udoh, Men's Basketball, Nigeria
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Raised by a single-parent mom and constantly surrounded by poverty, gang violence and racial injustice in St. Petersburg, Fla., Trayvon Bromell felt like he was always "running from something."
Now, he's running and representing "something bigger than myself."
"I had a lot of anger hidden that people didn't know about, because I didn't express it a lot," said Bromell, a two-time NCAA champion at Baylor who goes into the Olympics as the gold-medal favorite in the 100 meters.
"I knew I had to make a change. God was saying, 'You can continue to go down this road: hang out late nights with your friends, rip around the streets, do all this craziness. Or, you can make a difference. You can make a change and show people what change looks like.' . . . Once you figure it out, and you feel that fire within, it's hard to extinguish."
Already a household name in track & field circles, Bromell ran a blistering 9.99 at the 2013 Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., a mark that did not count as the junior world record because of a 4.0-meter tailwind.
A year later, he ran a wind-aided 9.77 in winning the Big 12 title and then set the junior world record with a wind-legal 9.97 in capturing the 100 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Bromell turned pro after his sophomore season at Baylor, when he won the NCAA Indoor 200 meters with a 20.19 time and had a pair of top-three finishes in the 100 and 200 at the NCAA Outdoor meet.
Five years ago, Bromell seemed poised to replace legendary Usain Bolt as the "World's Fastest Human." But, he developed a bone spur near his Achilles and placed eighth in the 100 at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five days later, he left the track in a wheelchair after the 4x100 relay.
"Honestly, I didn't think he was going to run in the relay, so I actually flew home (after the 100-meter finals)," said Baylor coach Michael Ford, who worked with Bromell from 2013-19. "I texted him to see what was going on, but one of the USA coaches called me and said it was the Achilles. We tried to get him ready for '17 and then '18, but it felt like we took two steps forward and then we'd take four steps back."
After going through two surgeries that kept him off the track for nearly three years, Bromell blew an adductor muscle in his upper leg in a race on July 6, 2019, in Montverde, Fla., and made the decision to switch coaches to a program in Jacksonville, Fla., run by Rana Reider.
"It was a blessing for him to be able to go somewhere and continue to run fast at a high level," Ford said, "because even when he left here, I thought was probably about 85% back. I just think on the medical side, the therapy side, we didn't have enough for him here (at Baylor)."
Despite the coaching split, Bromell and Ford remain close, talking "probably once a week, even now," Ford said.
"He was much more than just a coach to me," Bromell said of Ford, who was promoted to the head coaching position at Baylor earlier this month. "He was a father figure to me and definitely helped me with so much in my life."
Returning to the track last summer, Bromell clocked a 10.04 in winning his heat at the meet in Montverde, then stamped himself a legitimate Olympic gold-medal contender with a 9.90 at the aptly named "Back to the Track" meet in Clermont, Fla.
Fully healthy, Bromell recorded a world-leading time of 9.77 earlier this summer at the NACAC New Life Invitational in Miramar, Fla., and followed that up with a win at the Olympic Trials in 9.80.
He's baaaack!
"The biggest thing I learned about myself (was) understanding that, internally, I'm not as strong (as I thought)," he said. "It's understanding that I need people, I need my faith, to be able to do what you saw today. We're human. We break down easily. We're not as strong as we think we are. And that's one thing I had to realize. I had to put my faith in something that was bigger than me."
Bromell is at the head of a class of Olympic sprinters that includes South African Akani Simbine, Great Britain's Zharnell Hughes, Andre de Grasse from Canada, Jamaican Yohan Blake and fellow Americans Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley. The 100-meter prelims are scheduled for Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.
"It's a great honor that I can represent something bigger than myself," Bromell said, "but I'm bringing something different to this sport in the Olympics. So, I just can't wait to deliver this message."
"GOING FOR THE GOLD"
John Peers, Men's Tennis, Australia
Wil London, Track & Field, USA
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball, USA
KC Lightfoot, Track & Field, USA
Ekpe Udoh, Men's Basketball, Nigeria
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