Former Norfolk State track sprinter Chris Brown ran the anchor leg to help the Bahamian 4x400 meter relay team capture a silver medal on Saturday at the Summer Olympics at the Bird’s Nest.

The United States won the gold medal with an Olympic-record time of 2:55.39. Andretti Bain, the 2008 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the 400 meters at Oral Roberts, ran the lead-off leg for the Bahamas. Michael Mathieu and Andrae Williams ran the next two legs before passing the baton to Brown, who held off Russia to earn his first-ever Olympic medal.

Brown’s silver represents the first Olympic medal for an NSU alumnus since the trio of Brian Lewis (USA), Tim Montgomery (USA) and Chandra Sturrup (Bahamas) each won gold in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney as part of their respective countries’ 4x100 meter relay teams.

Brown, 30, finished fourth on Thursday in the men’s 400-meter final, his best-ever individual Olympic finish in three tries. Brown advanced to the semifinals of the 400 meters at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and also ran in the qualifying heats at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He also ran on the Bahamian fourth-place 4x400 meter relay team in 2000.

Brown was a two-time Division I All-American at NSU (2000-01). He won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships and placed fourth in 2005 and 2007.