Kenneth "Kenny" Brokenburr is a former American sprinter. He won an Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

as part of the 4x100 meter relay team at the

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Early life

Brokenburr was born on October 29, 1968 in Winter Haven,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. He grew up there and graduated from

Winter Haven High School Winter Haven High School is a four-year public high school located in Winter Haven, Florida, a city of 27,855 (2004 census). History The school opened in 1886 on the second floor of Boyd’s Hall, currently where City Hall stands. In 1890, a fr ...

in 1987. After high school, Brokenburr matriculated to Wayland Baptist College in Plainview,

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. There, as a sophomore in 1989, he became the NCAA Division II champion in the 200 meter dash. In 1991, this time as a senior for St. Augustine's College in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

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, Brokenburr became the NCAA Division II champion in the 100 meter dash. After trying out for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

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, Brokenburr took a hiatus from running that lasted from 1993-1995.

Professional career

In 1996, Brokenburr returned to track and field as a professional runner. He acted as his own agent, used George Williams as his coach, and was sponsored by Nike. By 1997, Brokenburr reduced his personal best time in the 100 meter dash to 10.04 seconds. For this, he achieved his first national ranking (#10) among U.S. runners in the 100. Three years later, in 2000, Brokenburr moved up to #5 among U.S. runners in the 100 meter dash and #7 in the 200 meter dash. During this time, he set another personal best by running the 200 in 20.04 seconds. On July 15, 2000, while qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Brokenburr finished fifth out of eight runners in the final Olympic trial for the 4x100 meter relay. This earned him a spot to run on the U.S. national track and field team for the first time in his career, but he only ran a few trial heats in preparation of the 4x100 meter final in that year's Olympics while in Sydney. However, the team that did run finished in first place, and Brokenburr received a gold medal from the team's effort. It was his sole Olympic medal.

Post-Olympic Career

Brokenburr currently resides in Auburndale,

, a small town adjacent to his hometown of Winter Haven.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brokenburr, Kenneth 1968 births Living people American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes from Florida People from Auburndale, Florida Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games