Malcolm Brown is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Leeds. He is one of thirteen people who will be recognised for their achievements in a wide array of fields.

Honorary degrees are regarded as one of higher education’s most prestigious awards. The University of Leeds recipients will be honoured alongside undergraduates at degree ceremonies starting from 11 July at the University’s Great Hall.

I started working at Leeds Met in 2002 and not long afterwards a man turned up at the track with two young whipper-snappers who turned out to be the Brownlees.

Brown has a long history in performance sport and plans to retire at the end of this season. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honors List in January 2013.

He is a former endurance running coach for UK Athletics and has coached track athletes and triathletes to international gold medals at Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic level.

He left his post at UK Athletics in 2000 to spend more time with his family. A few years later he met the Brownlee brothers and was asked to help with their development.

Citation from University of Leeds:

Dr Malcolm Brown, Doctor of Laws

A Leeds graduate, Malcolm Brown has coached Leeds-based triathletes to five Olympic medals and 89 multiple World, Commonwealth and European medals (including 37 golds).  He is the founder and current Performance Director of the Leeds Triathlon Centre, widely accepted as one of the leading training centres in the world, bringing together key stakeholders from within and outside the city (University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and British Triathlon). 

In addition to generating world-class athletes, the Centre has also had a significant and positive economic impact on the city of Leeds, for example through the securing of the ITU World Series race. With a background in education, Dr Brown is a proponent of ensuring that his athletes continue to excel academically, and places a major emphasis on engaging with the community and local partners.