Garry Brown (born 27 October 1954) is an Australian former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialised in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. He was the champion in that event 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 a ...

after winning two minor medals at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

. His personal best of 49.37 seconds was set as part of his Commonwealth win.

Career

Raised in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, he began to reach the top level nationally in the late 1970s, taking the runner-up spot at the

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

behind Peter Grant in 1977. He was coached by former hurdler Gary Knoke. Brown's first international appearances came at the

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Overal ...

(sixth in the final) and the 1977 Pacific Conference Games, where he was the gold medallist at the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

-hosted event. He also came third in the 400 m hurdles at the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

in England that year, beaten by Rich Graybehl and

Alan Pascoe Alan Peter Pascoe (born 11 October 1947) is a British former athlete who gained success in hurdles. After his athletics career, he has been successful in events marketing and consulting. Early life and education Pascoe was born in Portsmouth, ...

.AAA Championships
. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-27. Brown was among the favourites for the

, but in the strong wind of the final both he and Alan Pascoe of England (the defending champion) were beaten by Kenya's Daniel Kimaiyo, who was the newly minted

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

champion. Brown was left with the silver medal in the hurdles.Groom, Graham (2013)
THE COMPLETE BOOK OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES
. Lulu. Retrieved on 2015-03-27. After his individual medal, he added a further bronze medal with the Australian

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team of Chum Darvall,

John Higham John Higham is the name of * John Higham (Australian politician) (1856–1927), Western Australian Legislative Assembly Member * John Higham (historian) (1920–2003), American historian * John Sharp Higham John Sharp Higham (14 June 1857 – 5 ...

and Rick Mitchell. After missing 1979, the 1980 season saw Brown become the Australian national champion in the hurdles for the first time. He repeated that feat two consecutive times and his 1982 time of 49.89 seconds was the fastest electronically recorded time at the championships until 1988. He placed sixth at both the 1981 IAAF World Cup and the

1981 Pacific Conference Games The 1981 Pacific Conference Games was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition between five Pacific coast nations: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. This was the first occasion that athletes from beyo ...

, but came away with a relay gold medal at the latter competition. In the last major season of his career, he began with a runner-up finish at the AAA Championships behind America's James King. The

was held in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and he was the home favourite for the 400 m hurdles. Coming into the final straight, Ugandan Peter Rwamuhanda was in first place but, after a stumble at the final hurdle Brown, took the lead. Brown had a lifetime best in the race, running 49.37 seconds to become the Commonwealth champion. This time placed him second to Bruce Field (49.32) on the all-time Australian ranking and 15th in the world rankings that year. Although only in his late twenties, this proved to be the last major outing internationally as he was not part of the Australian relay team and withdrew from the first ever Australian squad for the

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983. Summary The overall med ...

. He still competed successfully at a national level up to 1984. After his retirement from active competition, he went on to become an athletics coach, specialising in teaching hurdling technique. He also published articles on the subject. The Queensland Club Championships was titled the ''Garry Brown Shield'' in his honour. Queensland Club Championships: Garry Brown Shield
. Queensland Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-27.

International competitions

National titles

: 1980, 1981, 1982

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Garry Living people 1954 births Australian male hurdlers Australian male sprinters Sportsmen from Queensland Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games