UBCO lures top triathlete to run cross-country
New head coach Malindi Elmore has landed a blue-chip recruit as she continues to build a cross-country running program at UBC Okanagan toward national medal contention with the signing of Joanna Brown.
Brown is an Ottawa-born athlete who ran for three years with the University of Guelph from 2011-2013.
A dedicated national-level athlete, Brown has multiple reasons for finishing her degree at UBCO, as she looks forward to asserting herself as a groundbreaker and a builder in the young Heat cross country program.
“After a decade as an elite athlete, I am so excited to come to UBCO and be a part of the team that the coaches and the athletes are building,” she said in a press release. “I hope to become an integral part of the team, learn from the coaches and compete in a sport that is my passion. At the same time, pursuing an academic degree in a field that interests me.”
At Guelph, her squads won three straight national championships and Brown earned All-Canadian status. She then paused her university career to concentrate on her number one sport—the triathlon.
A member of Triathlon Canada’s national team since 2010, Brown has been on the path as a world-renowned triathlete for 10 years.
In 2010, she hit the podium with a bronze in the world junior triathlon championship.
In 2012, she was once again the third-best in the world, this time at the U23 world championship.
After a 13th place finish at the 2015 Pan-Am Games, Brown finished top five at several World Cup and other elite international competitions in 2017.
Most recently, in 2018, the future UBCO runner grabbed another bronze, this time at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Elmore, herself an Olympian (1,500 metres, 2004) and the Canadian marathon record holder, said she’s thrilled to have Brown join the team.
“Not only is Joanna a tremendous runner, she is also a strong leader,” says Elmore.
“Having someone with so much experience training and racing at a world-class level will be such a great opportunity for both me as a coach and the other athletes to learn from.”