Brittany McGowan (Qld)

In her early years Brittany McGowan played many other sports including hockey, diving, swimming and soccer. She had always been a good runner, but her parents wanted her to enjoy sport so decided to keep her doing team sports and then if she wanted to train when she was older it would be her choice not theirs. She continued to play hockey until her late teens early 20s, but decided to start to train solely for running at the end of 2012 after she returned from a three-month trip around South America and was inspired by watching the Games that year.

In her first few years as a senior athlete, she hovered around 2:06 to 2:09 in the 800m. The breakthrough came in 2014 when she ran 2:01.26 and won the national title. She was selected for the Commonwealth Games where she progressed to the semi-finals. She had just prior, in May 2014, travelled to the IAAF World Relays where she won a bronze medal in the 4x1500m and fourth in the 4x800m relays.

In 2015 she defended her national 800m crown and at the 2015 edition of the world relays she was again on the podium, this occasion in the 4x800m. She also ran the 800m leg on the Distance Medley Relay which placed fourth.
“In 2015 I left my beloved coach Pat Clohessy due to health reasons,” said McGowan.

In 2016, she defended her national title but just missed the Rio Olympic qualification standard (2:01.50) with two runs 2:01.63 and 2:01.64 in Belgium and Japan.

In 2017, she started racing in May after an injury during the domestic season. She ran another couple of 2:01 800s and twice lowered her 1500m PB. In late July, she received an IAAF roll down position in the 800m and was added to the Australian team for the London IAAF World Championships where she placed sixth in her 800m heat in 2:02.25.

After a long 2017 international season she made a low-key start to the domestic season over 800m which included pre-Christmas times of 2:06 and 2.04. However, there was a glimpse of what she might be capable of when in the Zatopek 1500m race she defeated Zoe Buckman and Georgia Griffith who would later be selected in that event for the Commonwealth Games. McGowan’s next completed race would be the nationals where she ran home strongly to win her fourth national 800m title in a startling 2:00.24 – the fastest time by an Australian for 10 years and elevating her to number 10 all-time.

She competed a Bachelor of Journalism, from the University of Queensland in 2013. Her interests include traveling, cooking, gardening, reading, fashion and interior design. Her mother, Lynne McGowan (nee Prosser) represented Australia at the 1978 Edmonton Commonwealth Games in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m and 400m Individual Medley.