Marvin Bracy sprints back into spotlight at world track championships
The timing never seemed to work out for Marvin Bracy.
Nine years ago, he left the Florida State football team as a redshirt freshman to pursue a professional track career. A few months later, that team won a national championship. Without him.
Five years ago, knowing he needed hernia surgery that would keep him off the track that season, the 2016 Olympian decided he would walk away from that sport to go back to football.
He performed at FSU's Pro Day. He went to training camp with the Indianapolis Colts in August 2017. He went to training camp with the Seahawks in August 2018. He didn't make either team. He played in the Alliance of American Football League in 2019 but injured his shoulder in the first game of the season and was placed on injured reserve.
So, there he was, six years after leaving FSU, three years after competing in Rio de Janeiro for the United States national team, having no professional contract. In either sport. Wondering if his athletic career was essentially over.
Umm, not quite.
Because earlier this week Bracy completed one of the most unique journeys ever to the podium of the World Track and Field Championships by finishing second in the 100-meter finals.
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"It's still surreal," Bracy said in an interview Friday with Warchant.com. "These are the things you dream about. I've had countless dreams of me winning that race. But at the end of day, I'm etched in history forever.
"As long as track and field is a thing, they have to talk about us. My name has to come up with being a medalist."
Bracy ran a 9.88, which was just .02 seconds behind fellow American Fred Kerley's winning time. He finished second when it was determined he finished ahead of training partner Trayvon Bromell by 1/1,000th of a second. Bromell was also officially timed at 9.88 seconds as well.
The trio was only the third set of Americans to sweep the 100-meter finals at the world championships, and the first ones to do it since 1991. Which is why Bracy says his name will be etched in history.
"It means everything," Bracy said. "It didn't really feel real. It's something you work so hard for. You work hard for nine seconds. Just nine seconds. It's unreal because it comes at you so fast. Everything was a blur."
The journey to that podium sure wasn't, though.
When Bracy reflects back on his decision to leave Florida State in 2013, there isn't much regret in his voice. Sure, it would have been great to be on one of the best college football teams of all time. And maybe he could have parlayed that into an actual professional football career.
But it's hard to argue with the results now.
What he does wish he had handled better was that first professional contract. For the previous 13 years of his life, Bracy had been on a set routine: Wake up, go to school, train, practice, play, study. Being an elite athlete in two different sports didn't leave a lot of downtime.
But when he became a pro in the summer of 2013, his lifestyle completely changed. He would practice from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. And then his work day was done.
Living back home in Orlando, with little structure and more money than he ever imagined at that age, created some unique challenges.
"It wasn't very conducive to what I was trying to get done," Bracy said. "At 19 years old, I had more money than I knew what to do with. I come from nothing. And I was raised on Section 8 and food stamps. I don't think I had ever lived in a house or had my own room until I got to Florida State. We still had an apartment (at FSU), but I had my own room.
"So, when I turned professional, they were paying me to run fast. And it's coming so fast, the lifestyle is so different."
It's not like he crashed and burned, though.
Bracy was good enough as a 22-year-old to make the United States Olympic team when he finished third in the 100 at the U.S. trials. He didn't make the finals, though, and then soon decided to try his hand at football again.
When that didn't work out like he had hoped, Bracy decided he was going back to the track. This time for good.
He dropped his extra football weight by running two miles a day for two straight months -- Bracy went from 187 pounds to 170 -- and then called up his old coach, Lance Brauman, to start training again.
Then, in his return, he just happened to go out and win the United States indoor championship in the 60-meter dash. He did it in 6.49 seconds, which was the second fastest time of his career.
"That was after three years being removed from [track]," Bracy said. "So, obviously that turned some heads."
He signed a contract with Nike soon thereafter. And then began -- again -- what he hopes will be a distinguished and decorated track career.
After winning the silver in the 100, Bracy will be trying to take home his first global gold medal this weekend as part of the 4x100 relay team. On Friday night, the team he anchors won their heat with a new world-leading time of 37.87 seconds to qualify for the final. (That race is slated for tonight's NBC broadcast from 9-11 p.m. ET).
Bracy is in the last year of his contract with Nike, and he knows -- now that he's the second fastest human in the world -- he's not going to have a hard time getting a new deal. For substantially more money.
Now in his second act, the timing seems to be working out a lot better. In large part, Bracy says, because he has a newfound focus and dedication that he didn't have before his hiatus.
"When you lose something, you kind of start thinking about all the things you could've done differently," Bracy said. "And so I promised myself once I came back, I was going to do so many things different. I was going to be more professional when it came to track and field. And that's how I got to where I am now. I changed so many things, I sacrificed so many things to be back to where I am now. ...
"Back then, I can be honest and say my off-the-track life didn't resemble that of a professional track athlete. What did? I didn't know at the time. So, it was all trial and error. So, everything I had done in my career up until the Olympic team was just pure talent. A great coach and some talent."
Now, it's a great coach. Some talent. A 4-year-old son (those always seem to change your perspective) and an appreciation for a second chance.
"In hindsight, it was exactly what I needed," Bracy said. "When it was all taken away from me, I realized there was so much more out there.
"So, I took it upon myself to go get it."
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