‘The right attitude’

Veronica Campbell – Brown says she was “born to run”. Born on May 15, 1982, the daughter of Cecil Campbell and Pamela Bailey, and raised in rural Jamaica in the parish of Trelawny, there were no family genes (but for a brief foray by her father, who inherited the nickname “Honda” for his exploits), no cutting-edge equipment and or facilities serving as portent of the success to follow.  

By sheer determination, natural talent and hard work, VCB, according to her official website, parlayed her primary school promise into a scholarship to one of Jamaica’s venerable high school track programs, Vere Technical. 

Incidentally, Vere Technical is the only high school in the world to boast four alumni to run under 11.00 in the 100 metres. The four piloting Vere Technical to that position are Merlene Ottey (VCB’s self-proclaimed role model), Beverley McDonald, Simone Facey and of course VCB herself.

Whilst in high school, VCB in 1999 became the first female to win the World Youth Games 100 meter title; that win marked the first time a Jamaican ever won a global 100m title. In the very next year, she won the first of her five Olympic Games medals courtesy of a relay silver medal at the Sydney Games. 

Interestingly, VCB became the youngest ever Jamaican female to win an Olympic medal. More history was created that same year when in Santiago, Chile, VCB became the first female to win the 100m and 200m at the same World Junior Championships – the two races that she loves. 

Track stats

At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, VCB kept the history buffs busy as her medal haul of 100 metre (bronze), 200 metre (gold) and relay (gold) propelled her to the title of most successful Caribbean athlete ever at a single Olympic Games. Additionally, by virtue of winning the 200 metre, VCB became the first female from the Caribbean to win an Olympic sprint title. 

At the 2007 World Championships, VCB captured the 100m title and in the process became the first athlete (male

or female) to win the full offering of International Association of   Athlethics Federation (IAAF) sprint titles available. She had won World Youth 100m (1999), IAAF World Junior (2000). 

That 2007 World Championship 100m gold medal made her the first Jamaican to win a senior global 100m title. 

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, VCB became only the second woman in Olympic Games history to successfully defend her 200m title. Barbel Wockel of Germany in 1976 and 1980 had previously turned the trick. 

In 2009 she received a special award from the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) in salute of the Caribbean Olympians at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

More history was created by this athletic giant when she became the first female track athlete to be named UNESCO Champion for Sport and peace, with a special mission to improve gender equality in sports. A position she takes seriously. 

According to the Gleaner newspaper, Campbell-Brown noted, “When you are made an ambassador and a champion for sport and peace by UNESCO, it means that you are an ambassador to the world and that you not only represent your country, but you represent what is best in the world and you are a medium through which the United Nations will promote gender equality and sports for peace.” 

Gender equality is an issue that is close to her as well, since she has seen the lack of appreciation for female athletes despite their talent in sports and believes it must be addressed among those in the sporting world. 

She was also named CAC athlete of the year 2010. 

In an interview with the Gleaner last year, VCB admitted that the main challenge in her career has been injuries – what she calls “major setbacks”, to be overcome by determination and commitment to training among other things.

Her advice to aspiring athletes is that they should have the right attitude and determination to succeed. “To be successful in anything,” she said, “a strong positive mindset, continued hard work and love for God are helpful.” 

Off track 

Displaying the ability to juggle academics and athletics with equal ease, (balancing athletics with a sound education something she also promotes) VCB secured her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing in 2006 from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. 

An avid bowler, who also enjoys mini-golf,  she is married to the 2006 Commonwealth Games 200 metre Champion, fellow Jamaican sprinter Omar Brown, but unlike other famous Jamaican athletes Bolt and Powell who have remained in Jamaica, she and Brown reside in Florida in the US. 

Something she says has no effect on her Jamaican fans’ loyalty. “…I get a lot of support from Jamaican and Caribbean people…living in the US I don’t feel like an outsider at all,” she told CBC Sports in an earlier interview. 

And while she may be all business on the track, off track she is described as friendly and modest, serving guests her favourite Jamaican dishes like peas and rice or curried chicken. 

Of herself, she told CBC Sports, “I am humble because I do believe that all I have achieved is a blessing from God. So there is no way to be boastful about it.” 

She has also established the Veronica Campbell-Brown Foundation soon to be officially launched, to “assist and uplift young women who are underrepresented and lacking in the necessary resources to succeed in life.” 

By establishing a mentorship programme to help women improve their self worth, and by providing students with the resources for completing their high schooling, the foundation hopes to empower women out of poverty. 

She has also published an inspirational book online called “Better You, Inspirations for Life’s Journeys” with which she hopes to inspire others to overcome their difficulties. The book stems from her collection of inspiring quotes and poems.

“While I was in Greece I read a few of the poems [that I wrote] to my manager’s wife. She was impressed by it, she went ahead and read a few to a couple of my teammates, and they liked it. So, she was like, ‘I think you should try and put this in a book.’ I took her advice.” 

When she retires, she says, depends upon how fast she is still running. “If I am 30 and running 10.8 or 10.7, I will keep going. But if I am not running as fast, why keep going?” 

She has her eye on London 2012 and even beyond. 

“I can never know what the future holds,” she told Gordon Williams in a 2009 interview, “If 2016, which would be the Olympics after 2012, if I am running fast and competing among the best in the world and still running fast, I don’t know, I’ll just have to see.”

Still determined to create more history, Campbell-Brown, the reigning women’s 60 metres World Indoor champion, will lead the Jamaica women’s challenge against the United States at the Millrose Games later this month at Madison Square Garden.