A Race to Remember: Fanning brothers to compete together as complete 4×400 relay team

Sibling teammates are prevalent – and powerful – all throughout the world of sports.

Later today at the Randall Hess Invitational, four brothers from Frontier Academy will be competing in the same 1,600-meter relay race. Freshman Kalid Fanning, junior Abuzaid Fanning, senior Landon Fanning and senior Temesgen Fanning have been running track since they were all very young, but this race will mark the first time that these four will ever get to compete in the same event together.

For these four brothers, it will be a race to remember.

“I am very excited to get on the line with them,” Landon Fanning said. “I am just excited about the family competition that we have. Even if none of my brothers want to admit it, I know all of us want to put up the fastest time. I’ve been watching the Young and Sahlman brothers tear it up on the course and track. I am hoping we can get some of that same energy.”

Temesgen, Abuzaid, and Kalid were all adopted at a young age but found a passion in the sport along with their brother Landon. Each one of these brothers competes in different events, but their coaching staff didn’t want to waste an opportunity for them to compete together as a relay team since seniors Landon and Temesgen Fanning will be graduating at the end of this school year.

Kalid Fanning, the youngest brother, runs long-distance races but is also more than capable in a race like the 4×400. He was very excited to find out he’d be able to compete with his older brothers.

“We have been training together for two months,” Kalid Fanning said. “But we spent a lot of our childhood being on the same teams.”

He added that has no expectations for this race either, as he is simply happy to compete with his family.

The connection the Fanning brothers have with one another is obvious. They have been competing against one another for their entire lives and now they get to show the state what they can do together.

“I think we might do pretty well, and we could probably run a 3:45,” said Temesgen Fanning, who will run for Wester Colorado University next year.

While it’s common to see a sibling or two on a relay team, the Fannings are doing something even more special by composing an entire four-runner squad.

“I don’t have any expectations for this race either. It is just for fun,” Abuzaid Fanning said. “This is the first time we’ve been on the same track team and if we all have a good day, we might actually do good.”

Each one of these brothers feels no pressure, though their sibling rivalry won’t allow them not to compete against one another’s times as much as the other teams’. They are all very competitive but realize what matters in this situation – family.

“We have a couple of us that can run a little faster than the others,” Landon Fanning said. “But the goal for me is to compete and hopefully make it a special day. Because it’s not every day that you get four brothers in one relay.”

Win or lose, fast or slow, this will be a day that these four will never forget.