Mike Brown

Mike Brown, swimmer (b at Perth, Ont, 5 May 1984). A two-time Olympic Games competitor, Brown has solidified himself as one of the best swimmers in the world.

Early Career

Brown first became a Canadian champion at the age of 16, winning his first national title in the men's open age 200-m breastroke. Two years later, Brown competed for Canada for the first time at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. There, he won a bronze medal, following the success up at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships in the 200 m breastroke, where he broke the Canadian Record at the age of 18.

Olympic Competition

Brown's sporting goal was to be an Olympian for Canada. This came to be in 2004, when he qualified for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Although he placed 6th in his first Olympic final, he broke the Canadian record in the 200-m breaststroke three times in two days. He followed this performance up with a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships, where he broke his Canadian record again. A year later, at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Brown brought home a gold medal for Canada.

Brown had by now proven himself as among the best swimmers in the world, and was among the top ten swimmers in the world when he represented Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Heartbreakingly, he missed the bronze medal by a mere 9/100th of a second, finishing in fourth. His time, however, broke both the Canadian and Commonwealth records.

Continued Success

Following the 2008 Games, Brown announced that he was retiring from swimming in 2009 after eight years on the national team. The retirement did not last long; by 2010, he was back in the pool determined to return for the 2012 Olympics, fueled by his love for the sport and his desire to compete for Canada. Seven months after coming out of retirement, Brown was victorious at the 2011 Speedo Western Championships, winning the 200 m breaststroke.