Campbell-Brown: one of the world's best

This is the latest in a series of features on the 2009 University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor inductees.

Arkansas’ most decorated Olympian, Veronica Campbell-Brown, spent a short but successful year in Fayetteville that culminated in an NCAA title and collegiate record.

"Veronica is a great ambassador for Razorback nation and the sport of track and field," Arkansas Razorback women’s track and field head coach Lance Harter said. "Not only is she extremely talented but she is humble and hardworking. That is a unique combination and she is greatly admired for how she handles competition on the track and life off the track. Her success is well deserved."

She was the 2004 NCAA Indoor Champion at 200 meters and was named an All-American four times. At the SEC level, she won three individual titles. She earned All-America accolades for the 60 meters, the indoor 200 meters, the indoor 4×400-meter relay and the 4×100-meter relay.

In the Arkansas record book, she holds the school record for in the 60 meters, the 100 meters, the indoor 200 meters, the outdoor 200 meters and as a member of the 4×100-meter relay.

Campbell-Brown continues to be one of the world’s top short sprinters. She was a member of Team Jamaica for the third time in her career at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In Beijing, Campbell-Brown won the 200-meter gold medal.

Campbell-Brown became the first Razorback women’s Olympic gold medalist in school history at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Holding five Olympic medals total, Campbell-Brown is the only Razorback woman to ever win multiple gold medals.

In 2008, Campbell-Brown became only the second woman is history to successfully defend the Olympic 200-meter title. Her clocking, 21.74, is eighth on the all-time list.

Most recently, Campbell-Brown won the 200 meters at the 2009 Jamaican National Championships. She did so in a time of 22.40 to earn her spot on Team Jamaica in the 200 meters for the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, in August. As the 2007 defending World Champion at 100 meters, she will also compete in that event in Berlin.

UA Sports Hall of Honor members are selected by a vote of former letterwinners in conjunction with the “A” Club. The official induction is Friday, Sept. 18, at the Holiday Inn in Springdale. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased from the Razorback Foundation. For more information, call the Razorback Foundation at 479-443-9000.