Bryshon Lorenzo Nellum (born May 1, 1989) is an American sprinter. He graduated from

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in 2012 with a degree in Public Administration and Social Service Professions and is currently a graduate student.

Career

A native of

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, Nellum attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, where he also competed in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

as a wide receiver, and was teammates with Terrence Austin, Jurrell Casey, Vaughn Telemaque, and Donovan Warren. He was ranked the No. 70 wide receiver prospect in his class by ''

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''. While still in high school, Nellum was named Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2007. In his sophomore year, Nellum finished second to David Gettis in the

400 meters 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 o ...

at the 2005 CIF California State Meet. As a junior, he doubled as state champion in the 200 and 400 meters. At the 2007 CIF State Meet, Nellum repeated as 200 and 400 meters champion. In a memorable 200 metres dash, Nellum (state meet record 20.43) ran head-to-head with 100 meters champion

Jahvid Best Jahvid Andre Best (born January 30, 1989) is an Olympic track and field athlete, a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at California, set ...

(20.65), narrowly beating him down the stretch. Nellum's and Best's time ranked No. 1 and No. 2 among high school sprinters in 2007, and earned Nellum a consecutive All-USA selection by ''

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''. Nellum's time broke a twenty-year-old state record established by Quincy Watts in 1987. Nellum had to

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the 2009 season at USC, after being shot in the leg by two gang members. Nellum was told by doctors that he would probably never again reach world-class speeds as a runner. On June 24, 2012, in Eugene, Oregon, Bryshon Nellum ran a personal record 44.80—his first sub-45-second time—in the 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic track trials, placing third in the competition and earning a spot on the 2012 Olympic team. At the 2012 Olympics Nellum reached the semi-finals of the individual 400 meters and won a silver medal as part of the 4×400 meters relay team. He carried the US flag at the closing ceremony after being chosen by the US athletes.

References

External links

* * * * * *
Bryshon Nellum at DyeStat

Bryshon Nellum at Rivals.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nellum, Bryshon 1989 births Living people American football wide receivers American male sprinters USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Los Angeles World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists USC Sol Price School of Public Policy alumni World Athletics Championships winners Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni