Michael Brannigan
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 12, 1996 Huntington, New York, United States |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Running |
| Event(s) | 1000m, 1500m, Mile |
Michael Brannigan (born November 12, 1996), commonly known as Mikey Brannigan, is an American track and field athlete.[1]
Career
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
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
- ^ a b c "Michael Brannigan". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Unstoppable Star: Mikey Brannigan". runnersworld.com. January 25, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
