Veteran sprinter Aaron Brown is still learning, still humble
Canadian, 31, enters 7th world championships and credits diligence for his longevity
When it comes to Canadian track and field, he's now a senior citizen at the ripe old age of 31.
But Aaron Brown doesn't see it that way.
"I ran my first time with Team Canada when I was 17 years old, which is 14 years ago and it makes me feel very, very, old, but I don't feel it when I'm running," he mused, a day before winning the 100 metre and the 11th Canadian sprint title of his career in Langley, B.C. at the end of July.
"I'm still learning, even at this very seasoned age. I approach things with a blank slate and I'm still humble. I still listen to my coach and I look for areas where I can improve."
Brown has been a force in international athletics since winning a silver medal in the 100 metre at the World Youth championships in Brixen, Italy in 2009. He served notice he would be a constant threat in the sprints by taking bronze in the 200 metre at the World Juniors at home in Moncton, N.B., the next summer.
Now as he approaches his seventh appearance at the senior World Athletics championships in Budapest – which begin Saturday on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem – while targeting a fourth Olympics in Paris in 2024, Brown credits a focused diligence on honing his craft for his longevity.
"The sport is brutal and it's very cut-throat, so if you don't approach it professionally, you'll be quickly replaced. There's always some young, upstart, hotshot that's coming to take your place," he said. "I know it's hard to do. But I definitely feel my best years are ahead of me and I have room to grow."
For his part, Glenroy Gilbert, the head of coach of the Canadian athletics team since 2017, agrees with Brown's personal assessment.
"I remember thinking to myself when I saw him as a junior that this kid was special," Gilbert estimated. "To see where he is now in terms of his constant and consistent results, it's remarkable.
He works hard and he is a student of the sport. It's not really a surprise to me, but you have to know how difficult it is to be a track and field athlete at the world level and to make finals year on year. It's a difficult task but he has definitely demonstrated that he can do it."
WATCH | Brown captures 5th straight men's 100m national title:
Gilbert should know. He's an Olympic champion in the 4x100 metre relay from the 1996 Atlanta Games and was twice on the gold medal Canadian foursome at the world championships in 1995 and 1997.
So as Brown considers the prospect of Canada repeating as 4x100 world champions in Hungary, he's eager to listen to a man he regards as a mentor.
"He's definitely someone you can lean on who has the expertise and knows what he's talking about. It's hard to talk back to an Olympic champion," Brown chuckled.
"You have to listen to him. Open your head, open your heart, and open your brain, no matter how fast you are. We trust in his plan and listen to what he's saying. We work with him year in and year out and maximize our chances as a relay team. It's gotten us to be world champions so I can't say that he's led us astray."
All of Brown's five medals in senior, global, competition have come in the relay. Bronze in Rio and most recently silver at the Tokyo Olympics. There have been two bronze medals in Moscow in 2013, and Beijing in 2015, before claiming the gold medal at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon a year ago.
'Dedicated to the relay'
Gilbert suggests that it's Brown's respect for the intricacies of the team event, the relay, which allows him to stand apart.
"I can honestly say that Aaron is one of those young men that is dedicated to the relay," he said. "He's always bought in from day one. He treats it as one of his events. Not just a separate event, standing on its own after the 100m and 200m are done.
"He wants to sit down and debrief after the relay and discuss what went wrong and how he can be better. He's the type of guy who always goes back to the drawing board. That to me is a very conscientious athlete."
Brown is fiercely proud of his accomplishments as part of a team in a sport which often celebrates the feats of individual superstars.
"I would be remiss to not treat the relay as seriously as my individual events," he suggested. "We have a great opportunity to add to our legacy and that's just the mentality we have going into it. We handle our business individually and then when it's time, we come together as a coherent, cohesive, unit and try to put it together and go for glory again."
WATCH | Canadian men's 4x100 relay team recieves long-awaited Tokyo Olympic silver medals:
That's what Gilbert admires most about Aaron Brown. The ability to set an example for others to follow, even look up to.
"He is a leader," the coach said. "If you're a young guy coming into the sport of track and field, you look at Aaron and you look at the way he carries himself. You look at his attention to detail. You look at the way he competes and the way he deals with the competition around him. I wouldn't say that it's in a conventional way, but all that he does shows that he leads by
example."
In Budapest, Brown will try to make the 200 metre final again, still hopeful of getting to the podium and winning an individual medal at the world championships – something which he covets.
That said, he's already dialed-in on the relay and Canada repeating as champions and perhaps becoming Olympic gold medal favourites come Paris.
"If you've been there once you can go there again, that's our mindset," he said. "I like things in patterns, you know. We started with the bronze in Rio in 2016 and then we moved up in Tokyo to silver and I think it would be poetic to finish off with the gold in Paris."
As always, Canada's senior sprinter will take it one step at time. But it's safe to say, Aaron Brown will find himself contending in the fast lane when each and every race is on the line.
WATCH | Canadians to watch at the World Athletics Championships:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
