Former Hawkeye Brittany Brown makes Olympic finals in 200 dash

PARIS — Appearing in her first Olympic Games, former Iowa standout Brittany Brown will race for a medal on Tuesday night.

She qualified for the Olympic final by winning her 200-meter semifinal race on Monday in a time of 22.12 seconds, an improvement of 0.26 from her qualifying time in Sunday’s heats.

After the race, she said she feels “prepared and confident” heading into the final.

“Obviously, it’s super exciting,” said the 29-year-old who was an 11-time All-American at Iowa. “I’m just happy and grateful to be here to race against these women, and I will put my all out there tomorrow.”

Her qualifying time was the fourth-fastest among the eight sprinters who qualified for the final. Leading the way is fellow American Gabby Thomas, with a time of 21.86.

Brown and Great Britain’s Darryl Neita pulled away from the rest of the field in their semifinal, with Brown, running out of lane 7, separating herself from Neita over the last 20 meters, to finish ahead by about half a meter.

“I think it’s important to show that you can do it in any lane, but also that you can do it from the front and from the back, that you can surge ahead, or you can stay in front,” said the native of Upland, Calif., who finished second in the 200 meters at the 2019 world championships in Doha, Qatar. “I think it’s important to show you can do it from all different angles, and have different tactics in a race. So, I think it’s important to practice that, and practice in a race. And hopefully tomorrow, we put it all together and go out there and get that medal.”

Comparing herself today to who she was as a silver medalist in 2019, the Human Services graduate said she feels quite different this time around.

“I was going in there just like a little baby in that. I feel like I’m a woman now, growing into myself,” said Brown, who ran a personal best of 21.90 at the U.S. trials to qualify for Paris. “I guess I feel a little more sure of myself, and that’s what makes me excited about the final. That last big final I had in 2019 was just going out there gutsy and this time I’m going out there with a different type of motive, a different type of feeling going into the race, and I’m excited to let you guys see that, and let me feel it.”

She also said that she’s looking forward to doing it for everyone at the University of Iowa.

“Iowa fans are great. Go Hawks,” she said. “They love me and I love them, and Iowa has always had a special place in my heart, even though I’m a southern California girl. But I’m excited to have all the Iowa fans supporting me.”