The 26-year-old Brown ran cross-country and track at the University of Michigan, but spent so much time in the pool rehabbing injuries that he stumbled upon his true calling.
“The track coach took me into [former University of Michigan swim coach] Bob Bowman’s office and asked if I could practice with the swim team,’’ recalled Brown. “I would go there at 6 a.m. and be in the same pool at the same time as Olympians like Peter Vanderkaay and Michael Phelps.’’
As a 500-yard freestyler at Lowell High, Brown also had a background in swimming. It was the biking that was new to him, but as he considers himself “naturally an endurance athlete,’’ he knew he could make the adjustment.
“The summer before my junior year I contacted a local development triathlon club and they provided me with a bike and a coach,’’ said Brown.
With the Northeast Select Camp, Brown found his niche. “I picked it up very quickly and improved a lot that first year,’’ he said.
After graduating in 2007, Brown joined the U23 national team. “They gave me funding to race overseas and gain experience and provided me with a lot of equipment,’’ he said.
Triathlons began to take Brown all over the country and the world. He spent a few months right after college training at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and has since been to Mexico, Germany, and France, among other countries.
“My favorite place has been Australia,’’ said Brown. “Triathlons are really big over there and they have great areas for training. I was there last year for a race in Sydney and I stayed on the Sunshine Coast for two weeks to train. It was beautiful.’’
In 2009, Brown decided to make a coaching change, swapping Tim Crowley for Jesse Kropelnicki. “I had been with Tim since the beginning; there is no ill will or anything,’’ said Brown. “I just had a subpar year and I didn’t really improve with my results and I wanted to try something new.’’
The move has paid off.
