Michael Brannigan

Michael Brannigan, commonly known as Mikey Brannigan, is an American track and field athlete.

Career

Brannigan was a two-time national champion at Northport High School, winning the individual crown in the 2-mile race as well as the anchor leg of Northport's winning 4 x 1-mile team at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor championships in Greensboro, N.C. in June 2014. He was a six-time National H.S. All-American.
Brannigan was not allowed to compete at the collegiate level because he could not meet National Collegiate Athletic Association academic standards, due to autism.
He announced he would compete as a professional prior to his June 2015 graduation from Northport High School.
He competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the men's 1500-meter race, winning a gold medal.
He finished fourth in the 1500m at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo in September 2021.
He won the bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris in September 2024.

Personal life

Brannigan was born on November 12, 1996, in East Northport, New York, to parents Edie and Kevin Brannigan. Both parents said they knew of his disability at 18 months of age, and he was diagnosed with autism at age 2. He was nonverbal until age 5. He began running at age 8 under the guidance of Steve Cuomo, the founder of the Rolling Thunder program for runners with mental and physical disabilities. He attended Northport High School, accomplishing an extremely successful distance running career at the scholastic level. Despite his disability, he still saw academic success, taking and passing Algebra I against the recommendations of his school. Brannigan has been coached by Sonja Robinson since 2016