Three-time Olympian Nate Brannen announces retirement
One of Canada's fastest and most consistent middle-distance runners announces that he's storing away his spikes for good


Canada’s only finalist in the men’s 1,500m at the 2016 Olympics announced his retirement today.
Nate Brannen ends his competitive track career with PBs of 1:46.00 for 800m, 3:34.22 for 1,500m and 3:52.63 for the mile. The Cambridge, Ont. native competed for Canada at three Olympic Games including a 10th place finish in Rio.
“It’s hard to believe my career began almost 20 years ago when I made my first national team, and would compete at the 1999 Pan American Junior Championships,” Brannen said in a statement. “As a naive 16-year old, I never would have imagined still competing 19 years and three Olympic Games later. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of ups and downs along the way, some that made me question what I was doing and if I mentally had it in me to keep going. The desire to see how good I could be and also the love for the sport kept the drive going.”

The 35-year-old won silver at both the 2006 Commonwealth Games and 2015 Pan Am Games.
According to Athletics Canada, Brannen holds four Canadian track records and represented Canada on 20 national teams.