Australian sprinter Rohan Browning announces retirement from athletics
Two-time Olympian and national champion finishes career following gold medal win in the men's 4x100m relay at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Quick Look
- Two-time Olympian Rohan Browning has retired from athletics following Australia's gold medal win in the 4x100m relay at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
- The 28-year-old is the fourth-fastest Australian over 100 metres.
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Why It Matters
Rohan Browning set a personal best of 10.01 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and won gold in the 4x100m relay at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Two-time Olympian Rohan Browning has reflected on the moment that changed his life, as he announcement his retirement from athletics.
Browning finishes his career as the fourth-fastest Australian over 100 metres, having run a personal best of 10.01 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Sporting a distinctive hairstyle which earned the nickname 'Flying mullet', Browning recorded the time in the heats to qualify for the semifinals in his Olympic debut.
"That was a moment that changed my life," Browning said in an Australian Athletics statement.
"It gave me a really healthy dose of self-belief because it had been a quiet period for Australian men's sprinting.
"There weren't many role models on the scene, and I feel like I had to forge that path myself."
A four-time national champion, Browning was content to call time on his career following Australia's shock victory in the men's 4x100m relay at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
The 28-year-old joined Lachlan Kennedy, Josh Azzopardi and Calab Law in winning Australia's first gold medal in the event since 1974.
"I really wanted to go out on a high note, and after winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the relay, it was only going to go downhill from there," Browning said.
"The athlete in me still thinks that I could get back, run personal bests and compete at the highest level, but no athlete is ever going to be truly satisfied.
"The thing that I'm actually proudest of is that I made every team from my debut in 2017 to my retirement in 2026."
Australian Athletics chief executive Simon Hollingsworth said Browning did himself proud during his career.
"Rohan has been a fantastic athlete and ambassador for our sport," Hollingsworth said.
"His 2021 Tokyo performance inspired Australians and the generation of sprinters who followed.
"To go out with a superb relay run for gold in Glasgow is a fitting finale."
Although Browning was unable to dip under 10 seconds legally, he did run a wind-assisted PB of 9.89 in Austria earlier this year.
Browning also competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He ran at five World Athletics Championships, with his best finish in the 100m being a semifinal appearance at the 2023 edition in Budapest.