Charlotte-area teenager earns second Olympic medal with USA’s 4x400-meter relay team

After helping to secure the United States’ spot in the final of the women’s 4x400-meter relay, Gastonia’s Kaylyn Brown had one of the best seats in the house Saturday as her teammates finished the job in the final, giving the 19-year-old Brown her second medal of these Olympic Games, and her first gold.

Brown ran the anchor leg of the team’s Friday morning qualifier in a 50.54-second split as the team posted a 3:21.44 finish time, a season best as it cruised to a win in its heat.

Saturday, the U.S. loaded the four-person team with previous medal winners, including 400-meter hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone on the second leg, and 200-meter dash champion Gabrielle Thomas on the third.

“It’s such an honour to compete with these women,” Thomas said. “I knew they were going to get the job done. It’s not an easy thing to compete on this stage with this type of pressure. We’re all grateful to be in this position.”

Shamier Little took the U.S. out quickly with a first-lap time of 49.48, and McLaughlin-Levrone essentially put the race away with a 47.71 second leg. The Americans’ chief rival in the race, Jamaica, dropped out during that second leg, leaving the United States with a huge lead it continued to build upon.

Thomas ran a 49.30 on the third leg, and Alexis Holmes finished the race in 48.78.

The team set a new American record with a total time of 3:15.27, just one-tenth of a second off the world record that dates back to the Soviet Union’s Olympic win in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988.

“The US just has so much depth,” McLaughlin-Levrone said. “Every woman from the trials to the final was going to do their job. I’m grateful that we were all able to do that, and come out with a gold medal.”

Brown has been running since she was little, starting with the Sugar Creek Jaguars in Charlotte at age 4, and competed at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte.

“I actually live in Gastonia,” Brown said, “but nobody knows what that is — it’s like 30 minutes away from Charlotte, but honestly I love Charlotte. I love the feel of Charlotte downtown — the big-city lights and everything. A lot of food, a lot of people, a lot of activity in communities you can just like come together and have fun, so I love being from Charlotte.”

The pressure of big moments doesn’t seem to bother her — and she’s been in plenty of them. She won the 2022 World U20 Championships 4x400 mixed relay gold. She took silver in the 400 at the NCAA championships and helped lead her Arkansas 4x400-meter relay team to gold and an NCAA record. She finished fourth in the 400 at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, earning a spot in the Team USA relay pool.

“Honestly, it’s my coach,” she said. “He really made me confident. He made me mentally strong and I’m in the SEC and that’s the toughest conference,” Brown said this week.

And on the toughest stage of all, Brown continued to shine.