Gavin Brown (9 August 1984 – 28 April 2007), sometimes listed as Gavin Hustler-Brown, was a diver from

Cottingley, Bradford Cottingley is a suburban village within the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England between Shipley and Bingley. It is known for the Cottingley Fairies, which appeared in a series of photographs taken there during the early 20th ce ...

in West

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. The former diving partner of Olympian

Blake Aldridge aldridge was the first british diver to win the world junior 10 metre diving championships in pardubici czekslovakia Blake Aldridge (born 4 August 1982) is a British synchronised diver, who dives for The Crystal Palace Diving Club. He is also ...

, Brown died at the age of 22 following a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

incident.

Early life and career

At age 13, Brown began to train at the City of Leeds Diving Club under Coach Adrian Hinchliffe. In 1998, Gavin took fourth place at the Junior European Championships. A year later, he won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. At age 14, Brown reached the senior European cup finals and in 2000, Gavin won medals at the Six Nations International at Southampton. In 2001, he took part in the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia where he competed with future Olympic diver

. Brown moved to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

to carrying on his training with the Southampton Diving Academy at The Quays, in 2005. After joining Southampton Academy, he was coached by both Steve Gladding and former Olympic diver Lindsey Fraser. The same year, Brown began studying Criminology at

Solent University Southampton Solent University (formerly and commonly known as Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near ...

and took part in the Solent University Talented Athlete Network Development (STAND) programme which offers different levels of support to student athletes. He also started coaching other divers and in 2007 he was preparing a group of teenagers for the National Skills Finals in Plymouth. He was due to compete in the World Cup High Diving Contest the summer of 2007.

Death and aftermath

On 28 April 2007 at about 2 A.M, Gavin Brown was struck by the driver of a blue Vauxhall Astra as he walked near the Hobbit Pub, in Bevois Valley Road, Southampton. He was taken to

Southampton General Hospital Southampton General Hospital (SGH) is a large teaching hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, England run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded in 1900 as the Southampton Union Infirmary in S ...

but despite emergency treatment he died from massive head trauma. The driver of the blue Vauxhall Astra did not stop and the car was discovered abandoned three hours later on a nearby street. Police released a photograph of the car and a firm of solicitors offered a £1,000 reward to find whoever was responsible. Police investigating the fatal crash soon identified Lukasz Banasik, a farm labourer, as a suspect and believed that he fled the country for his native

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The police in Hampshire, England secured a

European Arrest Warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union (EU). Once issued, it requires another member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing stat ...

and worked with police across Europe to try to locate Banasik. Polish police officers, visiting the United Kingdom in March 2009 for an Officer Exchange, were briefed on Operation Rhone (the Hampshire Police code-name for the investigation into the fatal hit-and-run). In July 2009, Lukasz Banasik was arrested near

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland and flown to England. Lukasz Banasik pleaded guilty to

causing death by dangerous driving Causing death by dangerous driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as Hong Kong. It is an aggravated form of dangerous driving. In the UK, it was created by section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 198 ...

, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, driving without insurance and driving without a licence. On 26 February 2010, he was sentenced to five years in jail.

Tributes and legacy

Gavin Brown Trophy

In October 2007, the first Gavin Brown Trophy was given at the Southampton Invitational competition held at the Quays Swimming and Diving Complex. The specially designed trophy was created with the image of a diving Gavin etched into a glass block. Winners of the trophy are divers in any of the age group events (excluding seniors) who achieves the highest raw score on a back or reverse rotating dive.

Gavin Brown Love to Dive Competition

In February 2008, the first "Gavin Brown Love to Dive" Competition for novice and recreational divers was held at the Quays Swimming & Diving Complex in Southampton. Members of the diving squad that Gavin coached before he died formed part of the organizing team. The amateur diving competition has separate categories for springboard and highboard, divided by gender and age group. The competition currently attracts recreational divers from across England.

Blake Aldridge's Charity Jump

In June 2009, Olympic diver Blake Aldridge made a solo parachute jump for the charity Brake in memory of Blake's former synchronized diving partner, Gavin Brown. The

Brake (charity) Brake is a road safety charity. It was established in 1995. It coordinates Road Safety Week, provides support services for people bereaved and injured in road crashes. History Brake was formed in 1995 by former transport journalist Mary Willia ...

is working to stop death and injury on UK roads and to support people who have been bereaved or injured by a road crash. Blake's jump raised over £1,000."SKY DIVE"
http://www.southamptondiving.co.uk. Retrieved on 2010-10-19.

G STAR Diving Championship

Formerly the Northern Cross Diving Championship this was renamed in 2007 to G Star in memory of Gavin Brown. G Star is one of Gavin's old nicknames from his time at Leeds Diving. Each year the Gavin Brown trophy is awarded to the diver of the meet, which is voted on by the coaches attending the event.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Gavin 1984 births 2007 deaths English victims of crime English divers Road incident deaths in England Pedestrian road incident deaths Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games