Jeremiah Brown (born 25 November 1985) is one of few Olympians ever to go from complete beginner to Olympic medalist in less than four years. Brown won an Olympic silver medal at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

as part of the men's eights for Canada. Brown became leader of the Canadian Olympic Committee's athlete wellness and transition programs for four years before becoming an author and keynote speaker on transformation, perseverance, and resilience.

Career

Originally playing as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in college football for the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation department. The unive ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Brown decided to move to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

to begin his transition to rowing after watching the Canadian men's eights win gold at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He started a learn-to-row program with the Canadian national program and spent 1,700 hours in training to learn the sport. In his competitive career he won a silver medal at the 2010 nationals as a singles sculler and he next achieved success when he won a bronze at the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Brown won a silver medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the men's eight with

Andrew Byrnes James Andrew Byrnes (born May 22, 1983) is a Canadian rower and Olympic gold medallist. He was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Ithaca, New York. Byrnes is a 2005 graduate of Bates College in Maine, where he rowed for the Bates Rowing Team ...

Gabriel Bergen Gabriel "Gabe" Bergen (born 6 July 1982 in Dawson Creek) is a Canadian rower. Bergen won a silver medal as part of the men's eights for Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He has also won one medal of every colour at the World Champion ...

Will Crothers Will Crothers (born June 14, 1987 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian rower. He started rowing in grade 9 for KCVI, following his brother into the sport. Within just a few years, Will and his rowing partner Rob Gibson were Canadian high school c ...

Douglas Csima Douglas Csima (born 21 November 1985 in Mississauga) is a Canadian rower. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's eight with Andrew Byrnes, Gabriel Bergen, Jeremiah Brown, Will Crothers Will Crothers (born June 14, 19 ...

, Robert Gibson, Malcolm Howard,

Conlin McCabe Conlin McCabe (born August 20, 1990) is a Canadian rower. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games and two gold medals at the 2015 Pan American Games. Born in Brockville, Ontario, McCabe rowed for the University of Washington from 2009 to ...

and Brian Price. The Canadian eights had performed poorly in the heats, finishing last and casting doubt on their ability to win a medal. However, in the repechage, they finished second, behind the

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crew. In the A final, the Canadian boat managed to pull past Great Britain to finish in the silver medal position - behind the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

boat, who were the reigning three-time world champions.

Memoir

In March 2018, Brown released a memoir called ''The 4 Year Olympian: From First Stroke to Olympic Medallist'' (Dundurn Press). The ''Toronto Star'' wrote of the book, "Tells the story of what it means to train hard, really hard, and develop the mental and physical skills needed for success."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Jeremiah 1985 births Living people Canadian male rowers McMaster Marauders football players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of Canada Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic silver medalists for Canada Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers from Hamilton, Ontario World Rowing Championships medalists for Canada