Ever wondered what happens to athletes once the spotlight fades? Some, like Usain Bolt, transition into business ventures, while others, like New York City Marathoner Ashley Uhl-Leavitt, struggle financially. Then there are those still in the fight—pushing through injuries, uncertainty, and the relentless ticking clock of elite sports. One of America’s fastest sprinters and a two-time World Championships 60m bronze medalist knows this reality all too well. Despite still competing, he’s urging young athletes to think beyond the track. His message!

Trayvon Bromell has seen it all—the highs of World Championship medals, the lows of crushing injuries, and the agonizing uncertainty that comes with being a professional athlete. He was once the future of American sprinting, the teenage prodigy who ran a 9.97-second 100m in high school. However, sprinting, as he’s learned, is as cruel as it is exhilarating. One wrong step, one miscalculation, and everything changes. Bromell’s latest setback—his withdrawal from the 2025 U.S. Indoor Championships—comes just months before the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, where he was hoping to reclaim his spot among the world’s best. But it wasn’t to be after the 29-year-old suffered an adductor injury at a meet in Italy. And now? Another scratch. Another race gone. Elite sports guarantee no success!

But if there’s one thing Bromell has learned, it’s that the battles don’t end at the finish line. That’s why his message to young athletes has never wavered. “That affliction that you deal with in the real world, it’s not just going to come in athletics. It’s going to come when you get out of sports, which I try to constantly preach to these kids coming up. Get a degree, stay focused,” Bromell said in an Instagram reel shared by the USA Track & Field (USATF) Instagram page on 27th February. 

Because talent fades. Bodies break. Speed declines. “I get sports is cool, but it’s going to have an expiration date,” Bromell’s warnings are backed by stark realities: Less than 2% of NCAA athletes turn pro, and the average NFL career lasts just 3.3 years. And some athletes face an identity crisis post-career.

For Bromell, track has never just been about medals. It’s been about purpose. About faith. It’s about preparing for his post-track career. He’s been through the fire—his body breaking down, his Olympic dreams slipping away, the sport moving on. He continued further. “So for me, it was a test of understanding through long suffering, will I still keep my faith even when things may not look good right away? Because biblically, everything did not look pretty. In the real world, everything don’t look pretty.”

Trayvon Bromell stints with glory and injuries

A young star destined for greatness. But how often does destiny test its chosen ones? The year was 2016. Trayvon Bromell, who was fresh off a World Indoor Championship gold, was America’s fastest rising sprinter. The Olympics loomed. His 9.84 at the U.S. Trials? A statement and the world watched the 20-year-old keenly. Could he challenge Usain Bolt?

Then, disaster happened, the Rio final. Bromell secured a brutal eighth-place finish in 10.06. No medal. If it wasn’t bad, the torn Achilles made it worse for him! He limped off after 4x100m relay final, a once-electrifying sprinter now hobbling on the grandest stage. Surgery followed, and recovery dragged. The track seemed distant. 2017? Lost. 2018? A false dawn. He returned, but the pain lingered. Time slowed. By 2019, doubt crept in. Was Bromell done?

But in 2020, he had a flicker of hope when he clocked 9.90—his fastest time since Rio. By 2021, he had made a giant stride, clocking 9.77. Tokyo was the redemption stage. Or so it seemed. What followed was more heartbreak for the US Star. Another heartbreak. Semifinal exit. No final. No medal.

Yet Bromell refused to fade. In 2022, he roared back, snatching bronze at the World Championships. A Diamond League title followed.  Just when Trayvon Bromell seemed to regain some form, ready for his Olympic moment in Paris 2024, fate struck cruelly—an adductor injury denied him a spot at the trials.