RENO, Nev. - Known worldwide as a pioneer in sports science and medicine, Dr. C. Harmon Brown, was posthumously named the recipient of the Heliodoro and Patricia Rico Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 USA Track & Field Annual Meeting at the Silver Legacy Resort in Reno, Nev.
Formerly known as USATF's Pacesetter Award, the award acknowledges an individual's long-term impact on and contribution to the sport of track and field in the United States. The name change was instituted by USATF President Bill Roe and CEO Craig Masback in June, 2006.
A well-respected author, coach, professor, speaker, endocrinologist, team administrator and track meet official, Dr. Brown, a resident of San Mateo, Calif., served the sport of track and field in countless ways. He died on November 11, 2008 at the age of 78,
A school record-holding hurdler in his younger days, Brown earned his M.D. from the George Washington School of Medicine in 1956. While pursuing his career in medicine in California, he coached in club, high school, collegiate, national and international levels. During his coaching career he mentored numerous All-Americans and three Olympic throwers. He served on coaching staffs with nine Team USA international teams from 1967-1986, including two Olympic and two Pan-American teams.
When he began coaching in 1962, women were not permitted to participate in collegiate competitions. Brown became a tireless advocate on behalf of women athletes and conducted pioneering research on the effects of strenuous exercise on the female body to demonstrate women's physiologic and performance capabilities.
Brown served TAC/USATF as chair of the organization's Sports Science and Medical Committee for two decades, where he was instrumental in developing USATF's innovative drug testing initiatives. The past few years he served as USATF's High Performance Sports Science Chair. Brown was also one of the co-architects of USATF's High Performance Programs philosophy of track and field being an athlete-centered, coach-driven and science-based sport.
Brown was a member of the IAAF Medical and Anti-Doping Commission, and in the early 1980s he helped to initiate and then chair the IAAF Medical Education Working Group, a forerunner to the current Medical and Anti-Doping Commission. In all, Brown's contribution to the IAAF's medical and anti-doping program consisted of 24 years of devoted service, a period which also involved many appointments as Medical Delegate to IAAF championships.
A contributing author to the USA Track & Field Coaching Manual, Brown was a well respected author. He served as the editor and co-author of the IAAF Medical Manual for Athletics and Road Running Competitions: A Practical Guide, a publication which is now in its third edition.
For more information on USA Track & Field and the 2008 USATF Annual Meeting, visit: USATF.org.
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