Philip Andrew Brown (born 6 January 1962) is a British retired athlete who competed mainly in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

Athletics career

Brown was a member of

Birchfield Harriers Birchfield Harriers is an sport of athletics, athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England. As well as welcoming recreational runners they cater for all levels of experience up to and including Olympi ...

and an exceptional

anchor leg The anchor leg is the final position in a relay race. Typically, the anchor leg of a relay is given to the fastest or most experienced competitor on a team. The athlete completing the anchor leg of a relay is responsible for making up ground on the ...

relay runner, anchoring the British team to a number of medals. Brown's career highlight came when he competed for Great Britain in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

held in

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the 4 x 400 metre relay, where, in a dramatic final 100 m, he overtook Rick Mitchell of Australia and then Innocent Egbunike of Nigeria to claim the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

for Great Britain with his teammates Kriss Akabusi, Garry Cook and

Todd Bennett Todd Anthony Bennett (6 July 1962 – 16 July 2013) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. Biography Bennett competed for Great Britain in the 19 ...

. Brown's final leg time of 44.3 seconds resulted in a time of 2:59.13 which was a British and European record at the time and the first time a British team had bettered 3 minutes for the event. The European Championships in 1982 saw the team, once again anchored by Brown, win the silver medal behind the West German team, in 3:00.68. At the Rome World Championships of 1987, he ran another excellent final leg in 44.3, which earned the team a silver medal in a European record time of 2:58.86. He won an individual

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

and two team

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres event and finished sixth in the 400 metres, at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Four years later he represented

and won another gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres event, at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He also earned an individual bronze at the Games in the 400 metres. A third and final Commonwealth appearance for

came at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he competed in the 400 metres.

Personal life

Phil is now a conference speaker and was previously the Regional Director for

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

in the Midlands. After this he became a student mentor at Hilton Spencer Academy.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Phil 1962 births Living people Athletes from Birmingham, West Midlands English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics