McBride on the fast track to success

Canadian 800-metre specialist excels in classroom and in athletics

Brandon McBride wrote his final exam in business policy last Friday, suited up for a track meet on Saturday, and then crammed for more finals on Monday in business law and Tuesday in accounting.

He graduates this weekend with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University.

Somehow, with all those facts and numbers bouncing around his head, McBride ran the 800-metre race of his life at the Jace LaCoste Invitational track and field meet in Starkville, Miss. His time of one minute, 44.63 seconds is the third fastest in NCAA history and the second fastest ever for a Canadian.

In fact, McBride posted the fourth-fastest time on the planet this outdoor season behind three Kenyans.

Not bad for an aspiring corporate lawyer from Windsor, Ont. who just missed out on representing Canada at the 2015 world championships in Beijing.

“I set a personal best, and it didn’t come under the best of circumstances,” McBride, 21, told Postmedia in a quiet moment before the craziness of convocation. “That just means there’s better things to come when the time is right.”

With the countdown clock to the Rio Games sitting at 90 days, the time couldn’t be better for McBride to break through with a career performance. He is not about to receive an $11.25-million shoe deal like sprinter Andre De Grasse. He is not considered a gold-medal favourite, like Brianne Theisen-Eaton in the heptathlon or even a gold-medal threat like high jumper Derek Drouin or pole vaulter Shawn Barber.

But don’t underestimate McBride’s potential. Like De Grasse, McBride is shooting to qualify for an Olympic final in Rio.

“And once you get to the final, it’s anyone’s game,” says Steve Dudley, the head track coach at Mississippi State. “And that’s a very realistic goal for him to have.”

World championship silver medallist Gary Reed of Kamloops set the Canadian record in 2008 with a time of 1:43.68.

“I think the Canadian record is in danger before this year is over,” says Athletics Canada head coach Peter Eriksson. “I think Brandon is the next star for us.”

Looking back, McBride credits his speed to countless nighttime runs through the streets of Windsor to meet curfew. McBride lived two or three kilometres from most of his friends and his mother Marquita, an early childhood educator, simply would not accept tardiness.

For McBride, the thought of disappointing mom proved a better motivator than any coach yelling on the sidelines. “I got pretty good at not getting in trouble but still spending as much time as possible with my friends,” he says.

McBride needs to finish in the top two come July at the Canadian Olympic trials in Edmonton to book his ticket to Rio. And at 21, there’s no pressure.

Provided he avoids serious injury, he could easily compete at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and beyond.

I set a personal best, and it didn’t come under the best of circumstances. ... There’s better things to come.

BRANDON MCBRIDE