KEMARLEY BROWN NOW LEADS THE PACK

Young Kemarley Brown has stolen a march on his contemporaries. On Saturday, the 21-year-old Brown became the 13th Jamaican to break the 10-second barrier in the 100-metres (16th if you include Donovan Bailey, Linford Christie and Ben Johnson) when he ran a blistering 9.93 at the California State Junior College Championships.

For a few hours between Saturday and Sunday morning, he was the fastest man in the world. That was until Justin Gatlin went a hundredth of a second faster in Shanghai.

When the news of Brown’s performance first hit the media on Saturday in the US and Sunday here in Jamaica, the first reaction of many Jamaicans was, ‘Who is Kemarley Brown?’ It kind of tells you how much we pay attention to our developing athletes. Brown, and Andrew Fisher, the second fastest Jamaican man this year; were members of gold- medal winning sprint relay squad from St. Elizabeth Technical back in 2011. They pretty much beat all before them, but few remember who the individuals were, partly because they were more successful as a team than they were as individuals and partly because they were not from Kingston College, Calabar or Jamaica College; partly too because once these kids transition away from high school, we often forget about them.

It is something I find a bit odd since the greater glory is obtained internationally and not at Champs, but, hey, this is Jamaica where we do everything upside down.

It was a similar situation with Nesta Carter. I remember when he first caught the world’s attention many Jamaicans didn’t even remember that he was a finalist in the 100 metres at Champs back in 2003. But I digress.

After leaving STETHS Brown attended the University of Technology but got hurt. He then opted to attend school in California and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brown’s breakthrough performance however, does teach a very valuable lesson that many Jamaicans and Jamaican athletes must learn. Ever since Asafa Powell exploded onto the scene just over a decade ago, and the subsequent success of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, and Shelly Ann Frazer-Pryce and Warren Weir, we have come to feel that all our athletes must be developed here. It is a foolish way to think.

Of course. we don’t know what would have come of Brown had he remained here, he may very well have run 9.93s at the All Comers meet on the weekend had he stayed here. What we do know is that in one race he surpassed Julian Forte, Andrew Fisher, Oshane Bailey, Dexter Lee, Jason Livermore, Rasheed Dwyer and many others who have been in training here for the past three years. This is not to say our coaches here have not been doing a good job but it does say that Jamaica is not the here all and end all of athletic development.

Earlier I mentioned Donovan Bailey, the 1995 World Champion and 1996 Olympic champion, who attended Knox but migrated to Canada and from there went onto become the fastest man in the world when he broke the world record in Atlanta. Sometimes, we have to leave home to find what is right for us and Kemarley Brown did just that.

He graduates from Merritt College on Wednesday (May 21) with an associate degree in psychology and now ponders what he will do in his immediate future. Texas Christian University (TCU) looks like his best bet for now and we may even see him go much faster while he is there. I am certain there are many agents out there wanting him to go pro right now. He has tough decisions to make.

What we do know is that when he chose to leave Jamaica two years ago, he made the right decision for him. It was one that put him in touch with his coach Brock Drazen who helped push from him the back of the pack chasing Usain Bolt and company to the front. Only God knows if his fortunes would have been the same had he remained here. Sometimes, we need to test ourselves by leaving the nest and Brown has tested himself and has emerged with flying colours.

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9 Responses to “KEMARLEY BROWN NOW LEADS THE PACK”

blinger says:

May 21, 2014 at 12:29 am

yes mr levy i totally agree with you, i too did not remember him from that steths team one thing for sure he is no fluke, and right now he is running off raw talent in the 200m if he can master the curve he is going to be a monster not a beast Lol! and i want to also note that he can run all 3 sprints creditably (100m 200m 400m)he is a gem trust me and if he takes track and field serious it won’t be long before he is at the heels of the beast and ahead of most of our seasoned male sprinters.i think he will be ready for 2015 and 16 if coached by a good coach.
dallo says:

May 21, 2014 at 2:39 am

even without this case, it’s always gonna be different for each individual as to who it suits better to stay or to go away.

kemoy campbell and natoya goule were no-brainers due to their events and so too some of the throwers like a dacres. i also think omar mcleod made a good decision.

then there are those instances where the jury is still out…should anneisha mclaughlin and ramone mckenzie have left, would a dexter lee do better overseas than at home?

it’s certainly not a science and i’m happy it worked out for kemarley.
Gerald Williams says:

May 21, 2014 at 6:50 am

I am in agreement with many of the things you have said but one cannot overlook the fact that many Jamaicans fell by the wayside who have left Jamaica in the late 70′s, 80′s, 90 and early 2000.
One such noticeable young athlete I can recall is Everad Samuels. What happen to him? He was described by Hasley Crawford as the best school boy athlete he has ever seen. He went to the USA and that was that.
Aniesha McLaughlin is also another good example of how athletes leaving Jamaica can be destroyed. As a school girl she was bigger than Bolt, yet she went away and what happen. She did not want to do Tracks again, only the advice of Franco brought her back and she has not regain that form.
There are countless young men and women who have fell by the wayside, those who did not had to used marriage as a way of keeping afloat.
There were the Serene Mitchell, Eugene Beason, and countless more. We are thankful for the few who have survived. Yes, it makes them better to some extent but the bad does not outweigh the good. We are enjoying a good stretch of accolades on the international scene. What we need to do is enhance this movement and good forward with more ambitious plans.
The Kenyans and Ethiopians are dominating long distance races, they do not go anywhere else.
What we need is vision and how we can keep and maintain what we have. Those who choose to go to the USA should be free to do so but keep as many as humanly possible at home.
Gerald Williams says:

May 21, 2014 at 6:52 am

I am in agreement with many of the things you have said but one cannot overlook the fact that many Jamaicans fell by the wayside who have left Jamaica in the late 70′s, 80′s, 90 and early 2000.
One such noticeable young athlete I can recall is Everad Samuels. What happen to him? He was described by Hasley Crawford as the best school boy athlete he has ever seen. He went to the USA and that was that.
Aniesha McLaughlin is also another good example of how athletes leaving Jamaica can be destroyed. As a school girl she was bigger than Bolt, yet she went away and what happen. She did not want to do Tracks again, only the advice of Franco brought her back and she has not regain that form.
There are countless young men and women who have fell by the wayside, those who did not had to used marriage as a way of keeping afloat.
There were the Serene Mitchell, Eugene Beason, and countless more. We are thankful for the few who have survived. Yes, it makes them better to some extent but the bad does not outweigh the good. We are enjoying a good stretch of accolades on the international scene. What we need to do is enhance this movement and go forward with more ambitious plans.
The Kenyans and Ethiopians are dominating long distance races, they do not go anywhere else.
What we need is vision and how we can keep and maintain what we have. Those who choose to go to the USA should be free to do so but keep as many as humanly possible at home.
Keith Wellington says:

May 23, 2014 at 2:35 pm

One of the reasons that Kemarley has been able make the transition abroad is the fact that he still benefits greatly from the support and advice of his local coaches and mentors. The fact that communication has become what it is today makes it a lot easier for a youngster to cope with being away from his natural environment.

The truth also is that our local setup cannot absorb all the talents here due to financial, infrastructural, human resources and other constraints. Many of our students will have still go abroad to develop both as athletes as well educationally!
DonManJ says:

May 24, 2014 at 10:50 am

I share your sentiment. When I saw the pedestrian times Kemar Bailey Cole, Jazeel Murphy, Dexter Lee are still clocking after 3 years into thier professional career I wonder that same question. Would those aforementioned athletes be performaning to expectation (consistently fater times) had they chosen to assume college schlorships abroad? I believe they would have. Being abroad and being obligated to perform for their colleges would be the motivational factor toclock faster times. In Jamaica, I think those athletes lack the will and the motivation to succeed. Its like living at home where mom and dad takes care of living expenses.
levyl says:

May 26, 2014 at 12:49 pm

KBC ran seven sub-10 times last year. I would hardly call that pedestrian.
michael aka "cheri-toe' says:

June 3, 2014 at 7:43 pm

big-up to k.Brown,good run.let us not jump the gun,let’s see a few more run in the 100m.Boss man a nuff youth get mash up going overseas.not Samuels alone.a few quit who stayed home as it was not like how it is now.to name a few great one’s,Thomas Mason,Roy Bailey,Campbell from c-down,Courtney Johnson,Maureen Robinson,Rudolph Mighty,Andrea Lloyd,Revollie Campbell,could go on and on.what we must be thankful for is having coaches like Mills,Frano and Coleman,and the younger set like Clarke,Willo,Danny and Mikie K from wol.the 100m to 400m men and woman at the next two ja.trials will be fire works like you have never seen before.save for your airfare from now.nothing like been in the national stadium on that day to hear on your marks…set…BLAM! nuff said.
Ashley Mylrea says:

January 5, 2015 at 2:03 am

Kemarley Brown is a talented athlete and I have watched him grown from a young athlete and now to a experience pro athlete. Hard work comes with success and I can tell you that kemarley has been pushing since the day I met him, he is a determin person and there is a bright light at the end of the tonnel waiting for him. All I want to say is you have been working hard and where ever your journey takes you may god be with you to watch over you. Remain humbble failure isnt a option keep your eyes glued to the prize and keep a clean heart. God bless.