byStuart WeirStuart Weir just did this piece on Trayvon Bromell, who just went 9.90 and 9.94 on the weekend. This is the best sprinting that Trayvon Bromell has done since 2016!
We can not wait to see Trayvon Bromell in this abbreviated season.
Trayvon Bromell, photo by Pace Sports Management
Trayvon Bromell is back!
Trayvon Bromell took bronze in the 100m at the 2015 World Championships, then he won the 60m at the World Indoors in Portland the following year before reaching the Olympic Final in Rio. Since then very little has gone right for him. First, there was a bone spur in his Achilles. He twice had surgery on his Achilles, the last in 2018. He ran once in 2017, not at all in 2018 and three times in 2019 – according to the World Athletics website. In late July at the Back to the Track meet in Clermont, he ran 9.90. Trayvon Bromell is back!
2016 Portland, photos by World Athletics
He first came to prominence with the bronze medal in Beijing 2015. He admits that he did not see that coming. He recalled: “2015 was a year of ups and downs. I didn’t get the NCAA title that I wanted but it was a great race and I didn’t win at the USAs. At national Champs I came second against a lot of good competitors so that was pretty good.
2016 Portland, photo 2, 60m, photos by World Athletics
“Going into the race [Beijing final] I just wanted to do my best, for being on that stage was a blessing as was making the team. Then getting a medal was something I didn’t see coming. I really did not see myself in third place. I saw Bolt and Gatlin pass me and I was thinking, ‘man I’m in fifth place’ and then I got to the line I was third. But it was a great year, something I was real happy with, a blessing and something I’ll never forget”.
2016 Portland, 60m, photo 3, photos by World Athletics
While he has been running since he was 6 years old, he also played a lot of football. My family has a strong background in football. Not professional but every guy in my family played football so I grew up loving the sport. Track edged it out at the end being the sport that I chose. I got a lot of injuries so I was like ‘I don’t think football or basketball is my sport’, so I gave track a play”.
2016 Portland, photo 4, photos by World Athletics
He had good reasons for choosing short distances: “My mom had run track, She used to take me to park runs but I used to say ‘I am not a distance runner’. She used to run 10 miles a day but I used to say ‘If I can’t be a sprinter, I’m not running’. My mom did have an influence on me though, because I could see how much she enjoyed it”.
2016 Portland, photo 5, photos by World Athletics
When I spoke to him after Portland, he told me: “I have a long history of being beat up with injuries and things, so to overcome those things is a blessing. What is happened has been a shock for me as I did not see it coming. But being at this level, I am enjoying it. My rise came from my drive, my hard work and motivation”. In view of what happened in the last three years, it is interesting that even in 2016, he was talking about injuries.
Now that he seems to be fully fit again, it will be good to see what he can do.
