Jump to content

Michael Brannigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mikey Brannigan
Personal information
Born (1996-11-12) November 12, 1996 (age 28)
Huntington, New York, United States
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)1000m, 1500m, Mile
Medal record
Paralympic athletics
Representing  United States
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 1500m T20
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 1500 m T20
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Kobe 1500m T20
Silver medal – second place 2023 Paris 1500m T20
Parapan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto 1500m T20

Michael Brannigan (born November 12, 1996), commonly known as Mikey Brannigan, is an American track and field athlete.[1]

Career

[edit]

Brannigan was a two-time national champion at Northport High School, winning the individual crown in the 2-mile race as well as the anchor leg of Northport's winning 4 x 1-mile team at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor championships in Greensboro, N.C. in June 2014 (see: The Northport Observer, 6/19/14 and 6/26/14 editions). He was a six-time National H.S. All-American (see: The Northport Observer, 3/19/15 edition).

Brannigan was not allowed to compete at the collegiate level because he could not meet National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) academic standards, due to Autism.[2]

He announced he would compete as a professional prior to his June 2015 graduation from Northport High School (see: The Northport Observer, 5/7/15 edition).

He competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the men's 1500-meter race, winning a gold medal.[1]

He finished fourth in the 1500m at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in September 2021 (see: The Northport Observer, 9/9/21 edition).

He won the bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris in September 2024 (see: The Northport Observer, 9/12/24 edition).

Personal life

[edit]

Brannigan was born on November 12, 1996, in East Northport, New York,[1] to parents Edie and Kevin Brannigan. Both parents said they knew of his disability at 18 months of age, and he was diagnosed with Autism at age 2.[2] He was nonverbal until age 5.[3] He began running at age 8 under the guidance of Steve Cuomo, the founder of the Rolling Thunder program for runners with mental and physical disabilities (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Gtdf2HAM8).[2] He attended Northport High School, accomplishing an extremely successful distance running career at the scholastic level. Despite his disability, he still saw academic success, taking and passing Algebra I against the recommendations of his school. Brannigan has been coached by Sonja Robinson since 2016[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Michael Brannigan". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mikey Brannigan Wasn't Allowed to Compete in College. Now, He's Going for Gold in Rio". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Unstoppable Star: Mikey Brannigan". runnersworld.com. January 25, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
[edit]