The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
U.S. Olympic Trials
06.29.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Current, former track & field stars chasing Olympic dreams
Complete Texas Meet Notes
USATF Olympic Trials | June 30-July 10 | Hayward Field – Eugene, Ore.
Info | Schedule | Live Results |
Heat Sheets | July 1 | July 2 | July 3 | July 4
Television Schedule: Check local listings for NBC, NBC Sports Network
Live Video (times TBA): USATF.TV | NBCSports.com | NBCSportsExtra app
Twitter Accounts to Follow: Texas | USATF | USTFCCCA | FloTrack | T&F News | RunnerSpace | GoTrackTownUSA | #TrackTown16
Jamaican Olympic Trials | June 30-July 3 | National Stadium – Kingston, Jamaica
Schedule | Heat Sheets | Live Results |
EUGENE, Ore. – Texas Longhorns current, past and future are chasing their Olympic dreams this summer and that journey begins this week. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials start July 1 and run through July 10 from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, and more than 20 Longhorns are expected to compete for a spot on Team USA at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
The Jamaican Trials also run June 30-July 3 and a pair of current Longhorns are vying for a chance to wear the Yellow, Green and Black of their home country. Juniors Senoj-Jay Givans and Chrisann Gordon both rank in the top five in Jamaica in their respective events with hopes of making their first Olympic team.
The U.S. Olympic Trials will be aired on NBC and NBC Sports Network. The USATF will also be providing live online coverage at USATF.tv for fans with a subscription to USATF.TV+PLUS services.
Fans can keep up with the action from Eugene and Kingston, Jamaica with updates on the team's official Twitter account @UTexasTrack. The USATF encourages fans to interact with the U.S. Trials by using the official meet hashtag #TrackTown16. Live results from Eugene can be found online at FlashResults.com.
While many Longhorns will be fighting for Olympic bids, two freshman Canadians will be competing at their nation's junior championships in conjunction with the Canadian Trials. Mariam Abdul-Rashid and Raquel Tjernagel will hope to qualify for Team Canada at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland later this summer. The Canadian Trials run July 7-10 from Edmonton.
Texas Head Coach Mario Sategna will be in Rio this summer as well for Team USA. Sategna will serve as a member of the coaching staff as the Men's Assistant Coach for Throws. He said he is excited to see what happens at Trials and then at the Games as a new era is potentially ushered in.
"I think anybody that's been in track and field, the Olympics is the pinnacle," Sategna said. "For any of the U.S. athletes as they prepare for Rio, I think if you make the U.S. team you have a chance in Rio because it is the toughest team in the world to make.
"Just like 2008, I think 2016 is going to be a changing of the guard so to speak in that you will see a lot of young athletes emerge as the next stars of this sport. So, I'm excited to see what happens once we get down to Rio and start competing in these Olympic Games."
Quotes from Press Conference on June 24
Texas Head Coach Mario Sategna
Opening Statement: Obviously, starting next week, it's a very important time for some of our former student-athletes at the University of Texas as well as some of our current ones. We talked about it early on with our team. We even tried to hype it up even with the alumni at the Texas Relays what this year meant. Anytime the Olympics roll around, 2016 is going to be big in our sport of track and field. It's been a long year for a lot of our current student-athletes. We've tried to do everything we can behind the scenes as coaches with tremendous support to get them where they need to be not only with conference, regionals, and NCAA's but, for some, this opportunity only comes around once every four years or once in a lifetime, so we want to do everything we can to put them in a position to hopefully advance and make the Olympic team. The U.S. team is definitely the toughest team to get on. I think the plus to that is if you do make the U.S. team, you're definitely in a position to be on the podium once you get to the Rio Olympics.
On working with past Olympic medalists: Well, I'm still with Mr. Trey Hardee after all these years. This will be his final show for the decathlon. He's had a great career no matter what happens at these Trials or in Rio. I mean, two-time world champion, being the Olympic silver medalist back in London. I still remember the first Olympics I was a part of with these men, with Leo (Manzano), Trey, and Andra (Manson) back in Beijing in 2008. They had to have that experience, which ultimately catapulted them into their professional careers. In 2012, you have two Texas Exes who were on the podium picking up the silver medal. Had they not had that experience back in 2008 to see what this is all about because when you're on the world stage it's completely different when you're behind the scenes in that Olympic Stadium. I'm super excited about that.
On Trey Hardee: By track years, he is pretty old, he's in his early 30's. He's always done a great job. Anybody at this level who's in their latter part of their 20's and early 30's in our sport, day to day you have to take care of your body. You have to be mindful of your diet and nutrition, getting as much medical treatment as you can over the years. I think Trey has always done a great job of building in sleep and breaking up training sessions. More is not always better for a lot of these guys and the ladies. You want the least amount you can do and still get the biggest result. That's a big part of it.
On what he is looking forward to: I'm excited to be there at the trials to see how many of these people we can advance. I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity in Rio and serving on the U.S. coaching staff. For me as a coach, that's a huge stepping stone. Throughout that process, my job will be to assist all the personal coaches like people did for me in Beijing and also in London. Now it's time for me to give back to those people. It can be the littlest things, just the day to day leading up to that, but you're trying to as a staff member to get as many problems solved for those athletes because when that gun goes off, this this is an opportunity of a lifetime.
On what it is like at the Olympics: When you go through the Olympic Park, Beijing was phenomenal. It was a huge venue with not just the Bird's Nest, but also the Cube for swimming and diving. Just the amount of people, even when you're going through the airport, it's the real deal. Same thing in London. You kind of have to take a step back and reflect. As a fan of track and field, it was wonderful to be a part of that. We talked even yesterday with a few people who came out about remembering back even when I was growing up watching the 1984 Olympics on TV. People like Carl Lewis, and the fact that it was in the U.S. And again, for our sport of track and field, not to take away from world championships or anything like that, but the Olympic Games is the pinnacle. To be on the inside of that, I'm very blessed and very fortunate.
On the support of national federations: We've been on a number of calls with USA Track and Field and they're in contact with USOC. They're doing everything they can to provide the staff members and athletes with the very best in terms of medical support and care. They're already coming up with very quick tests and things like that for if somebody becomes ill in Rio. That's the wonderful thing about the sponsorship with the USOC. Each federation is going to do everything they can to provide the athletes the very best.
On senior sprinter Courtney Okolo: It's not just this year. She's had a phenomenal career here at the University of Texas and it just keeps getting better year after year. The first step obviously has to be advancing through the rounds at the Olympic Trials. I think that's one of the big benefits of the current student-athletes, not just for us at the University of Texas, but all those across the country who competed collegiately. When you're at your conference meets, you're used to competing day after day, multiple races, regionals is a three-day format, you get to the NCAA's, same thing. I think Courtney Okolo and the others will be able to use that to their strengths. It doesn't matter if you're at the tail end of your career, a Sanya Richards-Ross, or coming out, like Courtney Okolo. At the end of the day, there is anxiety and there is excitement, but when the gun goes off, it's just about listening to your coach, execute your game plan, and let everything else take care of itself.
On being prepared for the Olympics: This doesn't define your career. It doesn't define you as a person. You've earned this right to get to the Trials, and ultimately for any of those athletes who advance to Rio, when you look back, again that's where behind the scenes, the athletes have anything they need. At the end of the day, you're the best of the best. Just do the things that allow you to be there. When we're on the warm-up area in Eugene, it's not anything different. It's taking care of business. The big thing again for most of our athletes, they've been through the warm-up protocols and the clerking. There are things that are different at a world championship and an Olympic Games, like the amount of down time you have from when you leave the warm-up track to when you step on the stadium facility. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
On the possibility of Longhorns making the Jamaican team: Chrisann Gordon in the 400 meters and Senoj-Jay Givens in the 100 and 200. Same deal. You talk about the U.S. team being hard to make, if there is one event that is the toughest in the world, it would be in Jamaica where there's the No. 1 runner, Mr. Universe Usain Bolt. I think it's going to be a great, great experience for both. Chrisann ran for Jamaica in the world championships last year in Beijing so she's been through that process. This will be the first time Senoj-Jay has been through this process, and I think based on what he was able to achieve at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, running 9.96 with a legal wind, if he takes care of the quarterfinal and semis, he can definitely be in that final. I think the thing for him, in the 100 meters anything can happen. If he just sticks to his game plan and executes his race, he's very mindful of what he needs to do the first 20 to 30 meters when he is accelerating. It would be a great opportunity for him if he could make it individually or in the relay. Same thing for Chrisann.
On Sanya Richards-Ross: Sanya has always done a great job of giving back to the community. She's always made herself available, even at the Texas Relays. Anytime I've seen her, she's always asking how the current team is doing and never shies away from pulling people aside and talking to them. That's important because it's a different message coming from a coach, but when you've had people go through those field house doors and onto what I consider the best track and field facilities in the world, Mike A. Myers, it's important. It's pretty awesome for our current athletes when they do get to see here's the best of the best, and she's been a mainstay not just in the United States but in the world at her event. I'm excited. She's laid the foundation to further her career. I know that her, along with her husband, are going to be huge difference makers after their athletic careers are completed.
Morolake Akinosun – 100m/200m
On how the winter and spring seasons have prepared her for the Olympic Trials: I've just taken it one step at a time, one day at a time, focusing what I have in front of me, whether it was the indoor conference meet or the outdoor conference meet or the regional meet. To just focus on what was there at the time and not getting too far ahead of myself.
On focusing on individual races instead of an array of relay races: Compared to previous years, I haven't raced that much this year, which is something that I know my coach designed for me to be able to run very well at the very end of the season, which I feel like I am. So it feels good to go into a meet and know that I can just focus on myself and the 100 and 200, my primary events.
On what the biggest challenge has been for her: Just staying focused and knowing that I have my own race strategy and race plan, and knowing that I can compete with the best that are out there.
On how long she has dreamed of being a member of the U.S. Olympic Team: I mean, everyone who has ever stepped onto the track has Olympic dreams at one point, and I think it was really in 2008 when I really watched the Olympics for the first time and completely understood what was going on. It became a dream for me, like a realistic thing, that I actually want to go there and I actually want to see myself on the Olympic track one day.
On if she is specifically looking forward to either the 100 or 200 at the Trials: Not necessarily. There's things I like about the 100 more than the 200 and there's things I like about the 200 more than the 100, so I'm just going to take it one step at a time. The 100 is first, so I will focus on that one first. I have some days of recovery and rest in between, and I'll recover and start getting ready for the 200 afterwards.
On if she thinks she is capable of breaking 11 seconds in the 100: Absolutely. I've gotten so close so many times and I've done it wind-aided several times, so I absolutely think that I'm capable of doing it.
On what goes through her head competing again at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.: The fact that we've competed in Eugene at TrackTown USA so many times, I think, is an advantage. You're not really walking into somewhere that you haven't necessarily been before; it's all familiar background to you. We were just there for a week and competed on that very same track, and it's the same hundred meters, so nothing's changing about it besides the seven girls next to you.
Courtney Okolo – 400m
On if she feels like she is going into Olympic Trials as a favorite: I think my mindset is going in as an underdog. The other ladies in the field have a lot more experience than me. Some of them are Olympians, some of them are Olympic gold medalists... so I'm definitely going in as an underdog and I think that's a good position to be in, so I'm looking forward to it.
On her confidence going into Trials: I think I have a good amount of confidence. It's on the line between not too much confidence, but I'm definitely confident in myself, so that's important. I'm going into the race to trust my training and trust my race strategy, so yeah, I have confidence.
On whether her mind is focused on winning Olympic medals or finishing at the top for the U.S.: I've had dreams about it and stuff, but especially now that it's a week away, I'm just thinking about Trials right now. I've thought about what it would be like to be on the podium, but for right now my focus is Trials.
On what it will take to finish in the top three at Olympic Trials: I think to win, I would need a sub-50. The field is going to be strong, so people are definitely going to be running sub-50.
On her relationship with coach Sanya Richards-Ross and what she means to her: Ever since I started running the 400, she's been like my role model and who I'd like to run my race like. I came to this school and she had all the records, so she was someone I looked up to and tried to reach for. So yeah, she is definitely someone who has inspired me to do all of the things that I've done. I definitely want to be a part of the Texas legacy – the legacy that the older girls had. I definitely want to be a part of that, me and my class, in a Texas way, I think of it like that. I haven't thought of it like that in a U.S. 400 runners way, but in a Texas way I want to continue with that legacy.
On what it would mean to her to be on the U.S. Olympic Team: Everything. It would mean the world to me. That's all I think about, that's all I've been thinking about. It would mean everything to me.
On what advice she has gotten from former Olympians about Olympic Trials: Just to stay focused. They told me about what it's like at Trials, how it's going to be the hardest thing, probably harder than the Olympics, to make that team. I'm definitely going in with focus and trying to stay level-headed; not too anxious or too excited. I'm looking forward to it.
Senoj-Jay Givans – 100m/200m (Jamaica)
On breaking school record and posting best NCAA finish by a Longhorn since 1977: It means a lot. It is something that I have worked for since I got here, so it is a goal accomplished on the list.
On comparing yourself to the legends out there that you will be racing against: I just have to do what I always do. I just have to line up and run, run to win. They are all established guys. First, second and third fastest in the world will probably be in the finals, and if I think about that it will slow me down. So I have to go out there and run my race.
On the clout of the 100 meters in Jamaica: I wouldn't say the 100 meters, but track and field as a whole is a really big thing back home. It is a big deal.
On growing up watching the runners of the past: Yeah, I grew up watching them. Most nights before you go to bed, you just want to learn more about the sports you like. You're watching them and see what they did in the past and when they ran super-fast times. I watch them a lot. I really look up to them.
On being in the conversation now of being a top runner: It hasn't dawned on me how fast that I ran yet, but I believe in the program here at Texas. I believe in my coaches, and I always knew that when the time is right, I will be ready to go.
On possibility of feeling starstruck at Jamaican Trials: I think that I am past that stage now. I still have goals to accomplish. It will be good lining up against them, but when we line up, everyone has to run a hundred meters. I just need to focus on my lane, run my race, and probably at the end I might give them a handshake and say you are my idol or something like that.
On being ready for another breakout run: I would hope that I get the next breakout at the [Olympic] Trials. I feel like I am ready to go both mentally and physically, so I am just ready to line up and go.
On the feeling of seeing the 9.96 seconds on the board: It was super exciting to run that fast. At the Trials, man I just hope to make the team, honestly. I feel like I have worked hard enough to be on that team, so when I line up that is going to be my only focus is to just get to line in the top 6, the top 2 would be even better.
On having a number in mind: Not really. I don't predict times like that, because you might have a negative wind and run 11 seconds or something like that. Or you might have a positive wind and run 9.8 or something. You can't really predict times like that, so I just want to be in the finals and know that I got an equal shot with everyone in the race to be down there in Brazil.
Chrisann Gordon – 400m (Jamaica)
On the transition to Texas: I think that I made the best decision of my life to come to Texas. I have a great coach and great training partners. I always want to train with Courtney [Okolo] and Ashley [Spencer], and now I have the opportunity to do that, and so I really appreciate the blessings that God has given to me.
On leaning on experience from 2015 World Championships in Beijing for going into the 2016 Olympic Trials: Going into Beijing was a really exciting experience for me. Every day I look at that medal and it just motivates me to train harder and make the Olympic team this year.
On ties and competitiveness between you and the other girls representing the United States: We try and encourage one another. We all want to make the team, and right now I just want to go to my country without any times in my head. I just want to go into the race and run, because sometimes when I think about a time that I want before the run, it never happens. I learned from that, so I am just going to approach the trials like how I approach my training every day not thinking about the time and just doing what the coach is asking me to do. Running the time will just come naturally.
On if there is a rivalry between teammates: We don't think about our country when we come to train together. We just want to do our best for Texas. When it comes time to run for our country, we will think about that, but we will just take it one step at a time. We run jokes at each other but nothing serious.
On the possibility of running against them in Rio: Earlier in the year at World Indoors we got the opportunity to do that, but there was some problems in the 4x400. Jamaica didn't get to finish the race, and I was really upset. But we have another shot at competing together at Rio.
