Chris Brown World Relays
The Bahamas shocked the world with Olympic gold in the 4x400m at London 2012. In the latest IAAF Inside Athletics episode, Ato Boldon speaks to Chris Brown about how the underdog role suited the team, and why the World Relays in the Bahamas presented a very different challenge.
The life of an athlete involves a lot of travelling, which, alongside a supportive crowd, makes competing on home soil even more attractive. As Brown explains the double bonus: “You don’t have to travel, AND you get the home court advantage”.
But when you’re at home, added pressure is only one challenge the athletes face. “Everybody wants a piece of you, whereas when you’re away at a competition, you just focus on yourself and your bed. You just go straight to the track and train, eat, sleep and get ready to compete.”
In London, no-one could see past the US 4x400m team, but Brown admits he was confident in his team going into the final.
“I told the guys ‘look, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. You can walk away being a silver medallist from Beijing with nothing in your hands, or you can just get hungry and go straight for the gold and attack and be ready to come home with some serious hardware’.”
Watch the full 11-minute interview below: