Simply put, Veronica Campbell-Brown, the girl from Clark’s Town, in the parish of Trelawny, is a history-making ‘young lady.’ VCB, as she is affectionately called by her many, many fans, won 46 medals – 27 gold, 16 silver and 3 bronze over her illustrious sprinting career, specialising in the 100m and 200m races.

Veronica Campbell-Brown attended Vere Technical High School in Clarendon and benefitted from the excellent sports development programme introduced by the late principal Ben Francis. In 1999, she won the 100m and the 4x100m relay at the first World Youth Championship of the International Association of Athletic Associations (IAAF) held in Poland. In 2000, she became the first female to win both 100m and 200m at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Chile. While studying at the University of Arkansas (USA), she set several records, won many titles and still excelled in her studies.

“At primary school I would run a lot and I would beat the girls, I would beat the boys and I realised that there was something special about this gift I had.” – Veronica Campbell-Brown, CD

At age 18, she won the silver medal in Jamaica’s second place in the 4x100m relay at the Los Angeles Olympics. This was followed by a bronze in the 100m, gold in the 200m and the 4x100m relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. She earned the title of the most successful Caribbean athlete at a single Olympic event. In 2007, when VCB won the 100m gold at the World Championships in Japan, she became the first athlete ever to win the full offerings of the IAAF sprint titles available in that event.

In 2008, she became the second woman in Olympic history to successfully defended her 200m in Beijing, heralding Jamaica’s sprint revival by winning back-to-back 200m Olympic gold medals.

And, there was more to come. VCB created another record when, in 2009, she became the first female track athlete to be named UNESCO Champion Sports Ambassador. In 2011 VCB finally secured the one medal that had eluded her – the 200m gold at the World Championships in South Korea. The nine-time Olympic medallist was honoured with a statue at Jamaica’s National Stadium, along with other champions.

Veronica Campbell-Brown, One of the greatest athletes of all times.

VCB retired in 2021, with the following words to her devoted fans worldwide:
“As I take off my spikes, never to put them on again, this girl from Clarks Town, walks away happy and contented with a race well run.”

Par Excellence : To be first-class, the best or truest of a kind, beyond comparison.