Brandon SIMPSON

Athlete Brandon Simpson first appeared on the international scene at the 2000 World Junior Championships, where he took silver in the 400m event and gold in a the 4x400 relay with a Jamaican team that included Aldwyn Sappleton. He continued to prove his prowess at that distance for the next several years, capturing one silver medal in the 400m race at the 2001 Central American and Caribbean Championships and two more in the relay at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships (although the former relay was an upgrade from a third-place finish after American Antonio Pettigrew’s team was disqualified from its victory following his doping admission) . At his sole Olympic appearance in 2004, however, he placed fifth in the 400m and did not compete in the relay, despite having been the Jamaican national champion in that distance that year.

After a bronze medal finish at the 2005 World Championships, Simpson parted ways with his native country and began competing for Bahrain in 2006, adopting the nationality on June 20 of that year. He won a silver medal in the 400m event at that year’s Asian Games, but soon became plagued by injuries and retired in January 2008. Since then he has run a religious ministry under the name of Eliyahu Ben Yisrael and spent some time coaching younger athletes as well.

Personal Best: 400 – 44.64 (2006).