Posted: November 15, 2007

Athletics: Brown Changes Allegiance To Canada

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com Jon Brown, twice fourth at the Olympic Marathon wearing the vest of Great Britain, has switched his allegiance to Canada. A long-time resident of British Columbia, Brown had already possessed a Candian passport but still ran for Britain. "I no longer will be representing Great Britain in athletic competition," said the 36 year-old athlete in an e-mail message sent to the Race Results Weekly office. "Instead I will now be running for Canada." A three-time Olympian for Britain, Brown still holds the British record for 10,000m, 27:18.14, set in Brussels in 1998. His best times at the standard distances are 7:45.41 for 3000m, 13:19.03 for 5000m, 61:49 for the half-marathon and 2:09:31 for the marathon. Twice Brown came achingly close to an Olympic medal. In Sydney in 2000 he finished only seven seconds out of third place in the marathon. In Athens in 2004 he was only 15 seconds away from a medal over the same distance. In recent years he has battled injuries, struggling to find his best form. He had planned to run the Flora London Marathon last April, traveling all the way to the race from Canada. But he came down with a fever the night before the race and was forced to withdraw. In his most recent competitive outing at the BUPA Great North Run, he dropped out around eight miles into the race with soreness in his lower leg. But changing his allegiance has sparked new interest for him in the sport. "This decision for me has been long overdue, and has renewed my enthusiasm for the sport which had been waning recently," he added. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest