Cameron Burrell
American sprinter (1994–2021)
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Cameron Malik Burrell (September 11, 1994 – August 9, 2021) was an American sprinter. He was the NCAA Division I champion over 100 meters in 2018, and anchored the Houston Cougars to victory in the 4 × 100 meters relay in 2017 and 2018.[7][8] He ran for the United States 4 × 100 m relay team at the World Junior Championships in 2012 and the World Relays in 2019, with the team earning gold and silver from each competition respectively. Additionally Burrell anchored the U.S. 4 × 100 m relay team to gold at the inaugural Athletics World Cup in 2018.
September 11, 1994
Burrell winning at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Cameron Malik Burrell September 11, 1994 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 9, 2021 (aged 26) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employer(s) | Nike and Red Bull[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Houston Cougars (2014–2018)[2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | June 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Leroy Burrell and Carl Lewis[3][1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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He was the son of Olympic champion and former 100 meters world record holder Leroy Burrell and Olympic champion Michelle Finn-Burrell. He was also the godson of former track and field star Carl Lewis.[2][3][9] On June 8, 2017, he became the 121st man to break the 10-second barrier over 100 meters in a time of 9.93 seconds, beating his father's school record set five years before Cameron's birth by one hundredth of a second.[5] He repeated this feat a year later at the USA Championships.[6]
Early life
Cameron Malik Burrell[10] was born on September 11, 1994, to former 100m world record holder Leroy Burrell and Olympic gold medalist Michelle Finn-Burrell.[3] He has two siblings, Joshua and Jaden. Growing up, Cameron Burrell was surrounded by athletics; in addition to his parents' athletic background, his aunt Dawn Burrell was the 2001 World Indoor Champion in the Long Jump. His father's teammate and close friend was Carl Lewis, who knew Cameron his whole life.[3] Despite this, his family never forced him into athletics, though Cameron already knew he wanted to be a sprinter at a very young age.
Cameron attended Ridge Point High School in Missouri City, Texas. Throughout his junior years, he competed at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Lille, the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, and the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships in Medellín. He also formed a close friendship with his rival from Morton Ranch High School, Elijah Hall. After graduating from Ridge Point in June 2013, Burrell chose to follow in his father's footsteps and attend the University of Houston, where his father was coaching.
Collegiate career
2014–2015
During his freshman year, Burrell made the NCAA Indoor 60m final, where he finished 6th.[11] Outdoors, he ran a leg on the 4 × 100 m relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships but finished 7th in the heats and did not qualify for the final.[12] He started out strong in his sophomore season, but suffered an injury and was forced to miss the Indoor Championships and Redshirt his outdoor season.[citation needed]
2016
Burrell returned to competition in 2016, and finished 2nd in the NCAA 60m final,[13] setting a school record at 6.48.[14] Outdoors, he won his first conference title in the 100m[citation needed] and finished 4th at the NCAA Championships in 10.26.[15]
2017
Burrell once again finished 2nd at the NCAA 60m final, this time to Christian Coleman of Tennessee, who equaled the collegiate record of 6.45.[16] During the outdoor season, he broke his father's long-standing school record in the 100m with 9.93 during the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.[17] In the final, he finished second to Coleman again. During the 4 × 100 m however, he anchored Houston to the victory in 38.34.[7]
2018
Having already completed four indoor seasons, Burrell was able to compete only outdoors. At the NCAA Championships, he anchored the Cougars to a collegiate record in the 4 × 100 m, defending their title from the previous year.[1] Then, with two other Cougars in the 100m final, he finally won his first NCAA individual title, with Elijah Hall 2nd and Mario Burke 8th. Burrell dedicated his win to his teammate Brian Barraza, who fell after leading in the steeplechase and finished in 10th.[8]
Burrell equaled his personal best of 9.93 in the heats of the US Championships, then went on to finish 5th in the final.[18] He competed at the inaugural Athletics World Cup in London, England, anchoring the US' 4 × 100 m team to victory in 38.42 seconds.[19] He stayed in London for his Diamond League debut at the Anniversary Games, where he placed 4th in his heat and 9th in the final.[20] Burrell then traveled to Toronto for the NACAC Championships, and picked up a bronze medal in the 100m.[21]
After their seasons ended, Burrell and Elijah Hall turned professional and signed with Nike and Red Bull.[1]
Death
Statistics
- Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[25]
Personal bests
| Event | Time or mark | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m | 6.48 | N/a | Birmingham, Alabama, US | March 12, 2016 | Indoor |
| 100 m | 9.93 | +0.8 | Eugene, Oregon, US | June 7, 2017 | |
| +1.4 | Des Moines, Iowa, US | June 21, 2018 | |||
| 9.90 w | +4.5 | Austin, Texas, US | May 25, 2017 | Wind-assisted | |
| 200 m | 20.75 | +0.1 | Orlando, Florida, US | May 14, 2016 | |
| 20.64 w | +2.7 | Houston, Texas, US | May 7, 2021 | Wind-assisted | |
| 4×100 m relay | 38.17 | N/a | Eugene, Oregon, US | June 8, 2018 | Former collegiate record[note 1] |
| Long jump | 8.06 m (26 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | −0.4 | San José, Costa Rica | August 8, 2015 | |
| 8.17 m (26 ft 9+1⁄2 in) w | +3.5 | Eugene, Oregon, US | June 25, 2015 | Wind-assisted |
International championship results
| Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time or mark | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | World Youth Championships | 15th | Long jump | 7.11 m (23 ft 3+3⁄4 in) | Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France | (+1.6 m/s wind)[26] |
| 1st (semi 1) | Medley relay | 1:51.13 | WYL, PB, Q[note 2][27][28] | |||
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | 1st (semi 2) | 4×100 m relay | 39.25 | Barcelona, Spain | PB, Q[note 2][29][30] |
| 2013 | Pan American Junior Championships | 1st | 4×100 m relay | 39.17 | Medellín, Colombia | PB |
| 2015 | NACAC Championships | 1st | Long jump | 8.06 m (26 ft 5+1⁄4 in) | San José, Costa Rica | (−0.4 m/s wind) Championship record,[31] PB |
| 2017 | Universiade | 3rd | 100 m | 10.27 | Taipei, Taiwan | (−0.9 m/s wind) |
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 38.69 | ||||
| 2018 | Athletics World Cup | 1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.42 | London, England | |
| NACAC Championships | 3rd | 100 m | 10.12 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | (+0.4 m/s wind) | |
| DNF | 4×100 m relay | — | Teammate dropped baton | |||
| 2019 | World Relays | 1st (semi 3) | 4×100 m relay | 38.34 | Yokohama, Japan | Q[note 3][32][33] |
National championship results
| Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time or mark | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | USATF Junior Championships | 9th | Long jump | 6.62 m (21 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | −0.5 | Des Moines, Iowa | [34] |
| 2011 | US World Youth Trials | 9th | 100 m | 10.87 | −1.4 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | PB[35] |
| 1st | Long jump | 7.37 m (24 ft 2 in) | +1.7 | PB[36] | |||
| 2012 | USATF Junior Championships | 4th | 100 m | 10.64 | −1.8 | Bloomington, Indiana | [37] |
| 4th | Long jump | 7.48 m (24 ft 6+1⁄4 in) w | +2.2 | Wind-assisted[37] | |||
| 2013 | USATF Junior Championships | 3rd | 100 m | 10.65 | −4.8 | Des Moines, Iowa | [38] |
| 2014 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 6th | 60 m | 6.66 A | N/a | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Altitude-assisted |
| NCAA Division I Championships | 16th | 4×100 m relay | 39.65 | N/a | Eugene, Oregon | ||
| 2015 | USATF Championships | 6th | Long jump | 8.17 m (26 ft 9+1⁄2 in) w | +3.5 | Eugene, Oregon | Wind-assisted[39] |
| 2016 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 2nd | 60 m | 6.48 | N/a | Birmingham, Alabama | PB |
| NCAA Division I Championships | 4th | 100 m | 10.26 | −2.3 | Eugene, Oregon | ||
| 2nd | 4×100 m relay | 38.44 | N/a | PB | |||
| US Olympic Trials | 16th | 100 m | 10.18 w | +2.4 | Eugene, Oregon | Wind-assisted[40] | |
| 2017 | NCAA Division I Indoor Championships | 2nd | 60 m | 6.54 | N/a | College Station, Texas | |
| NCAA Division I Championships | 2nd | 100 m | 10.12 | −2.1 | Eugene, Oregon | ||
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.34 | N/a | PB | |||
| USATF Championships | 7th | 100 m | 10.19 | −0.7 | Sacramento, California | [41] | |
| 2018 | NCAA Division I Championships | 1st | 100 m | 10.13 | −0.9 | Eugene, Oregon | |
| 1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.17 | N/a | Collegiate record,[note 1] PB | |||
| 1st (semi 2) | 4×400 m relay | 3:06.51 | N/a | Q[note 4] | |||
| USATF Championships | 5th | 100 m | 10.04 | +1.1 | Des Moines, Iowa | [42] | |
| 2019 | USATF Championships | 18th | 100 m | 10.43 | −2.0 | Des Moines, Iowa | [43] |
Seasonal bests
| Year | 60 m | 100 m | Long jump |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | — | 11.06 s | 7.20 m (23 ft 7+1⁄4 in) |
| 2011 | 6.94 s | 10.41 s | 7.49 m (24 ft 6+3⁄4 in) |
| 2012 | 6.82 s | 10.42 s | 7.60 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| 2013 | 6.61 s | 10.36 s | 7.09 m (23 ft 3 in) |
| 2014 | 6.54 s | 10.32 s | 7.73 m (25 ft 4+1⁄4 in) |
| 2015 | 6.60 s | — | 8.06 m (26 ft 5+1⁄4 in) |
| 2016 | 6.48 s | 10.16 s | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
| 2017 | 6.53 s | 9.93 s | — |
| 2018 | 6.69 s | 9.93 s | — |
| 2019 | 6.60 s | 10.12 s | — |
| 2020 | 6.62 s | — | — |
| 2021 | 6.58 s | 10.01 s w | — |
Notes
- Shared with John Lewis III, Elijah Hall, and Mario Burke for the Houston Cougars. Burrell was the fourth runner for the team.[7][1]
- Burrell was replaced in the final, but the four runners that ran in the final finished first, earning the team gold medals.
- Burrell was replaced in the final, but the four runners that ran in the final finished second, earning the team silver medals.
- Burrell was replaced in the final, and the four runners that ran in the final finished fifth.
