Once a 'sickly' child, Olympic medalist Brittany Brown now has a mural at her elementary school

U.S. sprinter Brittany Brown celebrates winning the bronze medal in the women's 200-meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Former Vista del Valle Elementary student Brittany Brown wears her 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal at the school's district track and field competition April 24. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Brown's family also faced housing uncertainty and financial struggles during that time. They moved around a lot, and sometimes Brown and her family — mother Yo-Landa, father Wayne, older sister Brandi, twin brother Brandon and younger brother Bryan — found themselves living in a hotel room near the elementary school.

Her mother told The Times that the school and the community provided invaluable support during those trying times.

“I think emotionally, it took a toll on her," Yo-Landa Brown said. "But, of course, she was always joyful. She was very observant. She was kind. I could tell she used to cry a lot, but we all just tried to keep things calm and collected around her.”

The mural ceremony was held April 24 immediately after the school's 50th annual district track meet, where Brown interacted with the participants and handed out ribbons. Vista del Valle Elementary hosts all seven elementary schools in the district each year for the meet. It was as a fourth-grade participant at the same event nearly 20 years ago that Brown discovered she loved to run — and also that she was very good at it.

"I remember running just felt very freeing. Like it just felt like, ‘OK, I'm not the sick kid. I can just try and do something,’" said Brown, who holds the Claremont High School record in the girls 100-meter and 200-meter races. "And I was also winning, so that helped as well. ... Running has brought me opportunities I never thought I would ever experience.”

The mural was painted by local artist Xiucoatl Mejia, who attended Claremont Unified School District schools from kindergarten (Sumner Elementary) through high school (Claremont High). He has painted several murals at district schools in recent years and was already working with first-year Vista del Valle principal Charles Boulden to start an after-school art club for the students.

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The two men thought it would be great to have a mural on campus to tie in with the half-century anniversary of the district track meet. The realization that one of the country's top sprinters was a Vista graduate who got her start at the same meet served as further inspiration.

The mural depicts an adult Brown running while wearing a Vista track uniform and carrying a torch. A large group of children runs behind her, with some of those kids resembling students from the art club.

People gather in front of a mural featuring U.S. sprinter Brittany Brown prior to its unveiling ceremony April 24 at Vista del Valle Elementary in Claremont. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

"It just made sense to include some of the kids who were in the class and make it a little bit more custom to the school and personal to these kids," Mejia said.

Third-grader Levi Adams said being depicted in a mural on a school wall is “special because when you’re older you can go back and look at it.”

Second-grader Holland Ly agreed that "it's pretty special" to be featured in a painting that "many people" will see through the years.

Art club students also helped paint the mural.

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"I had the kids lay out the whole track," Mejia said. "I wanted them to do that very specifically, because I wanted them to understand that that's the foundation for the race in our scene. ... I wanted them to have that part in it, and be able to look back on it and see it."

The theme of the piece initially was victory, Mejia said, but it evolved.

"As it progressed, the theme kind of changed into carrying the torch and paving the way for a better future for our youth and for our communities," Mejia said. "It became a lot bigger than what initially it was. It became something that is a little bit more powerful than any singular victory. It was a collective victory with everyone."

Boulden thinks the mural ended up being a tremendous success.

"I couldn’t be happier with how it is — the colors, how vibrant it is and what it represents to me," the principal said. "I see perseverance in there, and I see chasing dreams, and I see kids chasing after somebody who's chasing their dreams as well."

Brown is also thrilled with how the first mural in her honor turned out.

"I think it’s really good! I’m really, really happy with it," said Brown, who is currently training in Los Angeles with the long-term goal of competing for the U.S. again in the 2028 Summer Olympics. "I love the colors. It even has my choker — I wear a choker when I run a lot. It has the little, fine details, so I think that was really cool."

Her mother said she thought it was "really touching" that Mejia included images of current Vista students in the painting.

“Yes, Brittany is the Olympian, but now you have the next generation involved," Yo-Landa Brown said. "Their stories will continue to live on and they will remember that. And that will give them the inspiration to be better and to do better in their lives. I thought that was phenomenal. I felt so thankful that he was able to capture that.”

Wearing her Olympic medal around her neck, Brown addressed the student body at the mural ceremony and became emotional while talking about the hardships she overcame while attending the school.

Olympian Brittany Brown hands out ribbons and high-fives to participants in Vista del Valle's annual district track and field meet April 24 in Claremont. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

"I really just want them to know you can create beautiful stuff, even in the struggle," Brown told The Times afterward. "It's going to be a lot harder, but you can still create beautiful stuff in the struggle. And I definitely have created a different life for me. ...

"I never thought the little girl in the hotel would freaking have a mural. I never thought, like a little asthma girl, you know, someone who wasn't allowed outside, that this would be my story. So it's definitely crazy. That's what I want them to know."

Brown's message seems to have resonated with the students. Fifth-grader Kaylee Mency said Brown's story of her childhood struggles "really meant a lot to me because she still kept going even though her life wasn’t as good."

Fifth-grader Eliana Ocegueda added: “She went to this school and now she’s an Olympian. It’s really inspiring and it kind of makes you think about you can be anything you want to be.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.