Dawn Burrell facts for kids
Burrell at the 2000 Olympics
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | November 1, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Residence | Houston, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Long jump | |||||||||||||
| College team | University of Houston | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Dawn C. Burrell, born on November 1, 1973, is an amazing American athlete and a talented chef. She used to be a professional long jumper. She even won a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in 2001. Dawn also competed for the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics. After her sports career, she became a chef. She was even recognized as a semifinalist for a special cooking award, the James Beard Foundation Award, in 2020. Dawn is also the younger sister of Leroy Burrell, a famous runner who once held the world record for the 100-meter race.
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Dawn Burrell's Athletic Journey
Dawn Burrell started her sports journey at Penn Wood High School. In 1991, she had her first big wins. She won four state titles in Pennsylvania for jumping and hurdles. She also earned a bronze medal at the United States Junior Championships.
Early Career and Focus on Long Jump
Dawn first competed in the 100-meter hurdles. She reached the final at the 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Over time, she started focusing more on the long jump. This is where she made her first international appearance. She placed fifth at the 1995 Pan American Games. Dawn represented the University of Houston in track and field from 1993 to 1995.
National Success and International Competitions
In 1997, Dawn won the long jump title at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She won it again the next year with a personal best jump of 6.92 meters. That same year, she jumped 6.90 meters outdoors. She also won a bronze medal at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Dawn finished fourth at the 1998 Goodwill Games. She also competed at the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final, finishing eighth.
In 1999, she was second at the national indoor championships. This helped her get chosen for the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She finished eighth in the long jump final there. Dawn won her only outdoor American title with a personal record of 6.96 meters in Eugene, Oregon. She reached the long jump final at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. She finished sixth in this big outdoor competition.
Olympic Dreams and Gold Medal Win
In 2000, Dawn was second at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. This earned her a spot in the Summer Olympics. In August, she set her best outdoor mark of 6.98 meters. She won the long jump at the DN Galan meeting in Stockholm.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she made it to the final. She was the third best qualifier. However, in the final, she couldn't match her earlier performance. She finished tenth. She ended her season with a silver medal at the 2000 IAAF Grand Prix Final. She also ran in the 100-meter hurdles final, finishing seventh.
The year 2001 brought both big successes and challenges. She won her third U.S. Indoor long jump title. She was then chosen for the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, Portugal. Dawn had the best performance of her career there. She jumped 7.03 meters, which was her first time jumping over seven meters. This amazing jump won her the gold medal! She became the second best American long jumper indoors, after Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
After this big win, she started getting ready for outdoor competitions. But in April, she got a serious knee injury. This injury kept her from competing for the rest of the season. It also largely ended her professional athletic career. She competed a few times after that, but never won another national title.
Dawn Burrell's Culinary Career
After her sports career, Dawn Burrell decided to explore the world of food. She enrolled at the Art Institute of Houston to study cooking.
Learning and Leading in the Kitchen
Her first jobs in restaurants were with famous chefs. She worked for chef Tom Aikens in London and Monica Pope in Houston. Next, she worked for Tyson Cole at his restaurant Uchi's Houston location. She then became a sous chef at Uchi’s sister restaurant, Uchiko, in Austin.
Later, Dawn became the executive chef at Kulture. This Houston restaurant focused on dishes from the African diaspora. These dishes are often called "global comfort" food. For her work at Kulture, Dawn was a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award in 2020. This award is for "Best Chef: Texas." She left this role when the COVID-19 pandemic started. At that time, she was caring for her mother, who had recently had a stroke. Working in a restaurant would have put her mother at risk.
Television Appearances and Inspiring Others
Dawn Burrell has also appeared on several cooking TV shows. She was a contestant on Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped. She also competed on Man vs. Master: Chef Battle.
In 2021, she competed on Top Chef: Portland. She made it to the top three and reached the season finale. Dawn shared how important her success on the show was. She said, "I’m happy to reveal on national TV that Black women can cook at a high level. Let’s normalize it.” She later returned for Top Chef: World All-Stars in 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Dawn Burrell para niños
