BROWN Jamie

Classification
PTS4 (World Triathlon, 25 Jun 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 27 Nov 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (teamusa.org, 27 Jun 2021)

Impairment Details
He was born without the fibula bone in his right leg and two fingers missing on his right hand. His right leg was amputated below the knee at 10 months old and he was fitted for his first prosthesis two months later. "My first foot was cork. Not carbon. Not wood. Cork. It was cork and plaster. It basically looked like a cast with a piece of cork board. Every time there would be an advancement in prosthetics, I would want to experiment. For a kid like me, they were going to err on the side of caution. And I was coming back every other week saying, 'Hey guys, can you fix this thing? I'm trying to go biking, play baseball, or whatever'." (teamusa.org, 27 Jun 2021; forreststump.org, 14 Sep 2020; challengedathletes.org, 25 Nov 2020; Athlete, 27 Nov 2015)

General
FROM BASEBALL TO PARA TRIATHLON
He grew up playing baseball and learned to throw left-handed at age nine due to missing fingers on his right hand. He received his first sport prosthesis during his junior year of high school and he went on to play baseball at high school and university level in the United States of America. "My parents did a great job of never babying me when I was a kid. When I fell, no one was rushing to pick me up. It was like, 'He'll figure it out'. And that made me very resourceful. I was contemplating quitting [baseball] as my inferior prosthesis at the time was literally holding me back. It was during the winter of that year that I remember receiving my first sports prosthesis, an Ossur carbon fibre foot. It immediately allowed me to be more dynamic as an athlete and propelled me [in baseball] through high school and into college. It never registered as 'I'm the disabled kid'. Ultimately, it gave me the opportunity to compete at the College World Series [for Chapman University]." He then worked as a high school baseball coach for nine years before taking up Para triathlon in 2010. "I learned a lot during my time as a baseball player. Focus and determination. I guess I have always just liked pushing myself and my limits." (bendbulletin.com, 21 Aug 2021; teamusa.org, 27 Jun 2021; forreststump.org, 14 Sep 2020; teamzealios.com, 06 Apr 2020; bendmagazine.com, 26 Apr 2018)

MOVE TO COLORADO SPRINGS
In February 2021 he relocated from Bend, OR, United States of America, to join the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as a resident athlete. "In order to train, I needed access to a pool. That [Colorado Springs] just happened to be the one place where I could swim with my team, and basically train and live with my team. The pools in Bend weren't necessarily open [due to the COVID-19 restrictions]." (bendbulletin.com, 21 Aug 2021)

DIABETES
He was diagnosed with diabetes at age 19. "I have been [diabetic] since the age of 19. It's something I don't normally talk about." (Facebook page, 07 Nov 2019)