Cameron Burrell (September 11, 1994August 9, 2021) was an American sprinter. He was the NCAA Division I champion over

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

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, and anchored the Houston Cougars to victory in the meters relay in

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and 2018. He ran for the United States relay team at the World Junior Championships in

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and the World Relays in

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, with the team earning gold and silver from each competition respectively. Additionally Burrell anchored the U.S. relay team to gold at the inaugural

Athletics World Cup The Athletics World Cup was a team-based international athletics competition held in 2018. It featured eight national teams based on world rankings, with each team entering one athlete per event, and points gained on the basis of finishing posit ...

. He was the son of Olympic gold medalist and former 100 meters world record holder

Leroy Burrell Leroy Russel Burrell (born February 21, 1967) is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the men's 100 metres world record progression, world record for the 100 metres, 100 m Sprint (running), sprint. Early life Burrell g ...

and Olympic gold medalist

Michelle Finn-Burrell Michelle Bonae Finn-Burrell (born May 8, 1965, in Orlando, Florida) is an American former sprint athlete from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando. She set the Florida State University record for the 100 ...

. He was also the godson of former track and field star

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, ...

. On June 8, 2017 he became the 121st man to break the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...

over 100 meters in a time of 9.93 seconds, beating his father's school record set five years before Cameron's birth by one hundredth of a second. He repeated this feat a year later at the USA Championships.

Early life

Burrell was born on September 11, 1994 to former 100m world record holder

and Olympic gold medalist

. He has two siblings, Joshua and Jaden. Growing up, Cameron Burrell was surrounded by

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

; in addition to his parents' athletic background, his aunt

Dawn Burrell Dawn C. Burrell (born November 1, 1973) is an American chef and retired long jumper. She won the gold medal at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships

was the 2001 World Indoor Champion in the Long Jump. His father's teammate and close friend was

, who knew Cameron his whole life. Despite this, his family never forced him into athletics, though Cameron already knew he wanted to be a sprinter at a very young age. Cameron attended

Ridge Point High School Ridge Point High School (RPHS) is a public high school located in Sienna (formerly Sienna Plantation), an unincorporated area and planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas. Opened in 2010, the school serves more than 3000 students in grades 9 ...

in Missouri City, Texas. Throughout his junior years, he competed at the 2011 World Youth Championships in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, the 2012 World Junior Championships in

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, and the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships in

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. He also formed a close friendship with his rival from

Morton Ranch High School Morton Ranch High School is a secondary school in the Katy Independent School District. It opened in 2004, and is located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. It is part of a multi-school complex, including Morton Ranch Elem ...

, Elijah Hall. After graduating from Ridge Point in June 2013, Burrell chose to follow in his father's footsteps and attend the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, where his father was coaching.

Collegiate career

20142015

During his freshman year, Burrell made the NCAA Indoor 60m final, where he finished 6th. Outdoors, he ran a leg on the 4x100m relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships but finished 7th in the heats and did not qualify for the final. He started out strong in his sophomore season, but suffered an injury and was forced to miss the Indoor Championships and

Redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

his outdoor season.

2016

Burrell returned to competition in 2016, and finished 2nd in the NCAA 60m final, setting a school record at 6.48. Outdoors, he won his first conference title in the 100m and finished 4th at the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

in 10.26.

2017

Burrell once again finished 2nd at the NCAA 60m final, this time to

Christian Coleman Christian Coleman (born March 6, 1996) is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is the former world champion in the 100 meters. He was a double gold medallist at the World Champions ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, who equaled the collegiate record of 6.45. During the outdoor season, he broke his father's long-standing school record in the 100m with 9.93 during the semifinals of the

. In the final, he finished second to Coleman again. During the 4x100m however, he anchored Houston to the victory in 38.34.

2018

Having already completed four indoor seasons, Burrell was able to compete only outdoors. At the

, he anchored the Cougars to a collegiate record in the 4x100m, defending their title from the previous year. Then, with two other Cougars in the 100m final, he finally won his first NCAA individual title, with Elijah Hall 2nd and

Mario Burke Mario Omar Burke (born 18 March 1997) is a Barbadian sprinter. He currently attends the University of Houston. Burke won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at 2016 World Junior Championships in Athletics. On June 24, 2017, Burke won the 100 metres ...

8th. Burrell dedicated his win to his teammate Brian Barraza, who fell after leading in the steeplechase and finished in 10th. Burrell equaled his personal best of 9.93 in the heats of the US Championships, then went on to finish 5th in the final. He competed at the inaugural

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, anchoring the US' 4x100m team to victory in 38.42 seconds. He stayed in London for his

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

debut at the

Anniversary Games The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Di ...

, where he placed 4th in his heat and 9th in the final. Burrell then traveled to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

for the

NACAC Championships The North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships is a continental track and field athletics event organised by the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association. The last of the six IAAF areas to hold a conti ...

, and picked up a bronze medal in the 100m. After their seasons ended, Burrell and Elijah Hall turned professional and signed with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

Death

Burrell died on August 9, 2021, at the age of 26. It was later revealed he died by suicide from a gunshot in a parking garage in Houston, Texas.

Statistics

*Information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

International championship results

National championship results

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.

Seasonal bests

Notes

References

External links

* * (Track & Field Results Reporting System)
Cameron Burrell
bio at Houston Cougars {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Cameron 1994 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides African-American male track and field athletes American male sprinters Track and field athletes from Houston Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for the United States Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade Suicides by firearm in Texas 21st-century African-American sportspeople