2013 Indoor Track and Field on Flotrack

2013 Indoor Track and Field on Flotrack

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Daring to Dream - The Russell Brown Story

Daring to Dream   BY BEN DEJARNETTE   He has lived this moment in his dreams. The raucous crowd roaring its approval. The wall of noise crashing down onto the track from every direction. The Olympic flame burning as faithfully as the desire that drove him here. Born out of years of humble devotion to his sport, this is Russell Brown’s dream.   But it is not his reality.    As the world’s best milers prepare for the Olympic 1500-meter preliminary round in London, Brown moves gingerly around a turf field in his hometown of Hanover, N.H., anxiously testing the condition of his injured Achilles tendon. He has run faster than any American at 1500 meters this year, but his tentative strides bear no resemblance to the powerful cadence that propelled him to a 3:34.11 personal best in Qatar ten weeks ago.  Today’s run lasts just eight minutes. It’s all his broken body can manage.   Brown never imagined his season would end this way. He entered the U.S. Olympic Trials in June among the favorites to punch a ticket to London. He left without even advancing to the 1500-meter final. Battling an Achilles injury sustained just days before the Trials, Brown barely made it to the starting line of his semifinal heat, limping painfully to the finish in a last-place 3:58.85 clocking—his slowest time since high school.    As he hobbled off the track, Brown didn’t owe the world a dignified exit. The undeterred kids waiting at the gate for an autograph could have found another signature for their souvenirs. The journalists could have interviewed the next athlete to walk through the press area. When asked by a reporter to explain what happened, Russell Brown didn’t need to open his heart to the camera pointed at his face. He could have walked out.    Instead, he answered the question with disarming candor, offering the world a glimpse of an Olympic hopeful’s struggle to draw meaning from a journey that ended at the wrong destination.    * * *

Feb 19, 2013

Daring to Dream - The Russell Brown Story
Daring to Dream - The Russell Brown Story
Event Info
Videos interviews, highlights and races from the 2013 professional, NCAA, and high school indoor track and field season on Flotrack.