Trayvon Bromell on the cusp of taking track and field world by storm

EUGENE, Ore. – Given the rocketing trajectory of his up-and-coming track career, it's easy to forget that Trayvon Bromell was a late bloomer on the national scene.

After being slowed in his early teens by injuries to his left hip and both of his knees, his breakout moment didn't come until June of 2013, when Bromell, then 17, clocked a high-school record 9.99 seconds in the 100 meters at the Great Southwest Classic. That performance helped the St. Petersburg, Fla., native earn recognition as the 2013 Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

By that point, Bromell had already signed a letter of intent to Baylor University, thanks in large part to a strong relationship with sprint coach Michael Ford. Todd Harbour, the Bears' head track and field coach, said Bromwell did his research on the school, which fits into a theme: Even among his many physical attributes, Harbour said, Bromell's mindset is what helps sets him apart.

"I'm just impressed with the perspective he has on the sport, and how young he is," he said. "He wasn't this phenom when he was a freshman. He had injuries. That helped shape him, build his character, to have to go through some real tough injuries.

"So success didn't come easy. He had to work for it. But he remembers the days when he was back there. It keeps him pretty level."

But not even Baylor, with its strong history of track and field success, nor Harbour, the Bears' coach since 2005, could have predicted how quickly Bromell would develop into the next great star in American track.

"I don't think there's any doubt," said Harbour. "They all know that. They see him. He's got the things that you look for in a sprinter. He's got the great work ethic. He's focused. The perspective I think is as big as anything. It's big for a sprinter."

There were hints of Bromell's rise heading into this week's USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. As a freshman Bromell set new school and world junior records with a 9.97 in the 100 meters, winning the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships; he added a Big 12 Conference championships in the event and 4x100-meter relay. He then ran a 9.88 at the NCAA outdoor championship earlier this month, finishing second to USC's Andre De Grasse.

Bromell posted the two best times in the 100 during early heats at the outdoor championships, a 9.84 in a preliminary trial on Thursday and a wind-aided 9.76, a new personal best, in one of Friday's semifinals.

He finished second in the 100-meter final to Tyson Gay, clocking a 9.96 to Gay's 9.87, and earned a slot on the U.S. men's 100-meter team at the World Championships in Beijing in August.

Bromell, now 19, is the first teenager to ever make the U.S. men's 100 team for the World Championships, and is just the second American teenager, joining Stanley Floyd in 1980, to ever represent his country at the worlds.

"I feel like over this whole season I accomplished a lot," Bromell said. "With injuries in my past and being able to run this fast and at this age, it's all a blessing. And I keep thanking God every day."

Amid the negativity that pervades the sport – the result of countless doping scandals, the latest involving the Nike-created Oregon Project and its embattled coach, Alberto Salazar – Bromell's rapid ascent is a breath of fresh air for American track and field, which desperately needs a young star upon whom to hang its Olympic sprinting hopes.

"He's got a lot ahead of him still," Harbour said. "I think he's going to be around for a long time. I think he's going to be a great, great young one. And the sport needs that right now with all the negative publicity we've had in the last few years."

It's not just the Olympic-level times that have separated Bromell from the pack; it's also his diminutive size, relatively speaking, as his 5-foot-7 frame is often dwarfed by more prototypically sized competitors – such as Gay, who measures at just under six feet, and 6-foot-1 Justin Gatlin.

"To me, height don't mean nothing," Bromell said. "I've raced a lot of people that are taller than me. People say, 'Oh, because he's this tall he's going to be faster.' I've raced competitors that have been two times taller than me and that hasn't stopped me then and it won't stop God either."

Off the track, Bromell's successful turn at the outdoor championships raises questions about transitioning into a professional career: While he has two years of eligibility still on the table at Baylor, Bromell's stock – particularly among shoe companies, which could sign him to a potentially lucrative contract – and reputation has never been higher.

"I'm still not making a decision right now," he said. "I'm still taking everything slow."

Said Harbour, "If he runs the way he's been running … my gosh. It's going to be hard for some of these shoe companies not to say, 'This is the next one. This is the guy we've been waiting for.' They've been waiting for the next great sprinter to come along.

"He's always been loyal. He loves Baylor. He would love to stay and run two more years with us, but that's probably not going to happen after this weekend."