With hair sprouting from the top of his visor, gold glinting from his ears and Squidward socks on his feet, Joseph Brown is fairly recognizable from the discus ring.
But for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June, the Mansfield, Texas, thrower wore an item he knew would make people remember him: a custom Pokémon-inspired singlet featuring the words, “Who’s that thrower?”
Brown, one of the newest faces of American track and field, has no sponsors and is self-funding his journey to the Paris Olympics.
“In Pokémon commercials, back in the day, they would be like, ‘Who’s that Pokémon?’ And then there would be the silhouette of whatever Pokémon you’re supposed to guess,” Brown told The Dallas Morning News.
“Anything I wasn’t supposed to do, like make the team, or when I surprise people, everybody’s like, ‘Who is this guy? Who’s that thrower?’
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“It just matches perfectly to my story because nobody really knows who I am.”
Brown started to gain some name recognition after his performance at the trials helped him earn a trip to Paris, where he’ll compete Monday in the men’s discus qualifying round. If he advances, he’ll throw in the final on Wednesday.
Looking past Brown’s love of cartoons and playful nature, you wouldn’t expect him to have had the reaction he did after realizing he qualified for Paris with a breakthrough throw at the trials.
“I think I had a panic attack,” he said.
“It was just a lot of things that hit me all at once. A lot of emotions flooding in, and I don’t think I knew how to deal with all that all at the same time,” he said.
A Mansfield High School teenager
Brown has had an unusual rise to the main stage of the track and field world. At Mansfield High School, Brown not only never received a Division I college scholarship offer, but also never even qualified for a state meet.
His high school coach, Matt Walker, said Brown becoming an Olympian is vindication for the teenager he remembers, who also played football.
“Joe was a really solid athlete and a good thrower,” Walker said. “Was he elite? Was he Olympic-level? No, but it shows you he decided to work and continue to grind to reach his dreams. It’s an inspirational story for us.”
After a solid but unspectacular prep career, Brown attended Texas A&M-Commerce. Each year, he incrementally improved in the throwing events, including the discus, shot put and hammer throw. He took home the 2019 NCAA Division II national title in the discus with a toss of 59.54 meters…
