With many veterans of the sport declaring this summer their last hurrah, the world is wondering what the future holds for American sprinting. If 21-year-old Trayvon Bromell’s recent performances are any indication, it’s going to be a whirlwind.
The first U.S. junior sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m and first to make the 100m World team, Bromell has a serious thing for speed.
“I love to see how fast a body can move,” he said. “You get to see people do great things in this sport. You get to see the marks and the records get broken. And on any given day, it’s just a very exciting thing to watch — to see somebody run as fast as they can or go as far as they can and see them break barriers of what people think is possible.”
The entire world is on the edge of their seats watching Bromell break those very barriers. Continually toeing the line with some of the world’s fastest men — and giving them a run for their money — Bromell is the very embodiment of what he loves most about track and field.
But this wasn’t always the case. Sidelined for almost three years due to injuries, Bromell had the odds stacked against him.
“My doctors, they said I’d never run again,” Bromell admitted. But luckily, he wasn’t paying any attention. “I just never listen to people’s words. I’m a believer in God, so that’s the only person I’m going to listen to. It kind of aggravates my mom, because I don’t listen to anyone. I go by the man upstairs, and if he says that I can, then I don’t care about people who say I can’t.”
That determination is a defining quality of Bromell the man and Bromell the athlete. But how, at such a young age, did he develop this single-minded focus?
“When a person comes from a background where you had to see your family struggle, you tend to want to work hard,” he said. “I feel like it made me who I am, but nobody ever wants to go back to the bottom, so I always use that as my motivation. I know my city would be mad at me if I was to come back home, so I always tell myself to stay focused and motivated because if I don’t, I’m going to be back to day one.”
Despite everything he’s overcome, for Bromell, staying focused and motivated also means staying positive.
“Nothing’s ever going to be easy in life,” he said. “Nothing is too hard to overcome. You’ve just gotta put your mind to it. I just zone out all the negatives and focus on the positives. I’ve never known anyone who was negative who lived a happy life.”
With so many achievements already under his belt and August rapidly approaching, it’s easy to guess what Bromell will be putting his mind to next.
“My #OneGoal is to do better than I did last year,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, I’m young. I have many more in me, so no pressure, no rush. I just let God do what he has to do, and I’m just the runner.”
Hustling, humble, and hungry, Trayvon Bromell is about to take the sprint world by storm. And here at Eastbay, we can’t wait to see which barrier he shatters next.
If you agree, find out more about his journey on the Eastbay Playbook, presented by New Balance.
Ready to get pumped up? Listen to Trayvon’s Spotify training playlist and get in the zone. Then lace up in the shoes that help Trayvon push the limits of speed — the new Vazee 2090.
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