Brittney Reese: the “underrated” Usain Bolt of long jumping who just couldn’t stop winning 

There are no two ways about it, Brittney Reese was a track & field phenomenon.

The American long jumper, who retired after Tokyo 2020, has an incredible haul of medals that includes one Olympic gold, four World Championships golds and three World Indoor Championships golds, in addition to two Olympic and one World Indoor Championships silvers.

And to top it all, she did it all in a single event. No relays, no sprint doubles, just one phenomenal long jumper.

Recently, Reese entered the public conversation when American sprint legend Michael Johnson commented on a post outlining her achievements, saying:

“Definitely underrated! Does anyone have as many individual medals in one single event?”

And while there are others who have achieved more medals (New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams, for example, has 14 in the same competitions) Reese definitely deserves her place as one of the best - and perhaps underrated - athletes in track & field.

The incredible career of the most decorated long jumper in history 

After her final Olympic appearance in 2021, Reese was asked who the greatest long jumper of all time was. 

“I am. Point blank,” she replied matter-of-factly, before later adding. 

“If I was on the track side of the sport I would be the Usain Bolt of long jump. But just being in the field event side just doesn’t get the attention that it deserves.”

Even within her own sport, there are other athletes who have garnered more attention than Reese herself, including Mike Powell, Bob Beamon and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. 

But Reese, whose record in long jump competes with or beats all of the above, isn’t bitter about the fact that her name is less talked about than her contemporaries in the sport. 

“I was not placed here for the attention,” she said. “I was placed here to inspire, and I hope I did that during my career.”

After making the switch from basketball to athletics, Reese made her way to the USA athletics team, coming home fifth in her first Olympics at Beijing 2008. 

However, what came next was a streak of winning performances that would be difficult to better. 

Gold at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin was followed by medals of the same shining colour in the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul and - best of all - the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

Another gold at the 2013 Worlds in Moscow completed an unbeaten run in six major international competitions. 

No matter where she travelled and what was thrown at her, Reese just couldn’t be beaten. 

Between 2016 and 2019, Reese added another World Championships (2017) and World Indoor Championships (2016) gold to her collection, while her final two participations at the Games produced two silver medals - at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Reese honoured for philanthropy post-retirement

While Reese may not have gained the recognition she deserved for her extraordinary athletic achievements, she has been recognised for the work she has quietly gone about outside of the track & field stadiums. 

In November 2022, she was given the Emerging Young Philanthropist Award for her charitable efforts by the University of Mississippi. 

These include assisting with a range of homeless organisations and the donation and hand delivery of 100 turkeys to help families in her hometown of Gulfport enjoy the holiday season. 

Alongside her agent, she also created the Brittney Reese Allied Sports Scholarship for students with disabilities who are involved with sport. 

“While the world knows Brittney Reese is an extraordinary athlete who has been decorated for her many unparalleled accomplishments on track and field’s world stage, the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy is pleased to have this opportunity to highlight Brittney’s generous giving nature and outstanding philanthropic resume as well,” said Suzanne Thames when announcing her award. 

“Brittney is the quintessential example of a genuine servant leader and role model of a multifaceted, successful life with philanthropy woven throughout every aspect of it.”

It seems that this exceptional athlete is undoubtedly using her position to continue to do good away from the sporting arena, in much the same way she excelled as one of the greatest long jumpers within it.