“You can’t outrun a dog. A dog is going to chase you forever.” – Quincy Hall
Raven Saunders: They Are Their Own Individual
Well, that’s different, you might say, but then so are they – Raven Saunders. She contains multitudes and represents many. Like Simone Biles, Saunders has been public about their struggles to maintain their mental health.
“This is for the people. Once I get on this team, it’s for the people because there are moments where I wanted to quit, there were moments where I did quit. There were moments that I wanted to give up, but it was the people that sat there saying ‘Hey, you got this. Hey, I remember watching you. Hey, keep going. Hey, you inspire me.’ So I’m like, ‘Me?’ So now I have no other choice but to really show people you have to keep going, that you have to keep fighting. No matter how dark it gets, no matter how tough times get, there will be light at the end of that tunnel. Because, oh God, I was so close to quitting. But thank you to all the people that supported me, all the people that doubted me, all the people that wished me well, all the people that told me I could get back to this position.”
There were many times she could have quit.
“For me, it would be like I’m failing not just myself, but so many others who believe in me, that use me as inspiration. So I have no other choice but to keep fighting, to keep pushing. Those dark days, I dragged myself out of bed, dragged myself to the weight room, tears in my eyes, begging when is this gonna be over, and just kept fighting every single day. It felt like months on end, and finally I had a breakthrough. That’s the power of resilience, and persistence, and trust, and faith.”
Saunders qualified for the Olympic final Thursday, wearing a full-faced black mask and gold-hued sunglasses. [Warning: That’s a link to a Xitter post and the comments are not supportive.]
Their hair was dyed neon green on one side and purple on the other. Saunders had gold grills covering their upper and lower teeth, along with long fingernails on their left hand bedazzled and in Team USA colors and the letters H-U-L-K.
“I’m in full form,” Saunders said of their costume. “I had to remind the people, I am who I am.”
They qualified for the Finals, where they will proudly represent the USA. The Hulk, and all the rest of us.
Quincy Hall’s Got That Dog In Him
From Kendall Baker at Yahoo Sports.
Team USA’s Quincy Hall unleashed a stunning comeback on Wednesday to win 400m gold. If you haven’t seen the epic finish, please go watch it now.
As good as it gets: The 400m is widely considered the most painful event in track because it’s basically a really long sprint. You can go all out in the 200m, and the race is over in ~20 seconds. And in longer races, you can pace yourself. But in the 400m, you have to give everything you’ve got for a full lap, even as your body is screaming for you to stop.
As a result, the last 100 meters of this race is all heart and willpower. Your legs are giving out, your energy reserves are tapped, and the lactic acid buildup is burning. You’re left with one simple question: “Do you got that dog in you?”
Hall, who entered the final stretch in fourth place, answered that question with a resounding yes. “You can’t outrun a dog,” he said after finishing in 43.40 seconds, the fourth-fastest time ever. “A dog is going to chase you forever.”
From Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg:
Arms pumping, legs churning, face twisted in a grimace, Quincy Hall kept coming even when he appeared hopelessly far behind. Hall was a distant fourth place in the Olympic 400 meters final and he was running out of purple track between him and the finish line.
With 50 meters to go, he charged past fading former Olympic champion Kirani James. With 40 meters to go, he ran down Jereem Richards like the Trinidadian’s shoes were made of cement. Only pre-race favorite Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain remained ahead of him, and Hall was reeling him in too.
As Hall ran, he said to himself, “Get home, son.” He thought about all those grueling practices running by himself. He thought about putting himself through junior college. He thought about his two brothers who died young, his mom and his two young daughters.
The bottom line: Sports are at their best when they provide a canvas for athletes to make a statement. Hall did just that at Stade de France, using those closing seconds on that track to tell the world, “This is who I am. This is what I’m made of. This is what I went through to get here.”
“This is 18 years in the making, man,” Hall’s brother, Milton, told Fox 4 Kansas City. “Ms. Iecia [Quincy’s mom] and Quincy Hall been through it all to make it, man. God is good.”
Kenneth Rooks And The Slow Burn
From Darnell Dickson. Provo Daily Herald
PARIS — Former BYU track and field alum Kenneth Rooks was a long shot competing in the 3000-meter steeplechase final at the 2024 Paris Olympics Wednesday night. To win, he would have to run a perfect race.
He almost did.
Rooks, who was in last place early in the race, stunned the capacity crowd at Stade de France by taking the lead on the bell lap. Defending Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morroco managed to move to the front down the stretch and Rooks held off Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot with a final kick to claim the silver medal.
Rooks becomes the third American male to medal in the event since 1984 and seventh all-time. With his 8:06.41 finish, Rooks ran the seventh fastest time in the event in Olympic history.
“The goal was to get out and stay relaxed,” Rooks said. “If the race went out fast, I was going to be okay being toward the back. I just wanted to conserve as much energy as possible, but stay within striking distance. I was nervous, especially with where I had positioned myself, but we all were really in it as we got later in the race. I just got up in position to make that move at the end.”
El Bakkali won the gold in a time of 8:06.05 and Kibiwot was third at 8:06.47.
The distance runner from Walla Walla, Washington, began the race in the back of the field. Calculating his moves, Rooks sped up to maintain close position to 2021 Olympic gold medalist Soufiane El Bakkali in the middle of the pack with two laps remaining. Rooks made his move with a surge at the final lap to lead the field in first. El Bakkali caught the BYU alum inside the last 50m to take gold, while Rooks crossed in second in 8:06.41 besting his previous personal best by nearly nine seconds.
Rooks is the first medalist coached under BYU director of track and field and two-time Olympian Ed Eyestone. Rooks has since continued his training under Eyestone since turning professional and joins fellow Cougar alums Conner Mantz and Clayton Young who also are trained by the BYU coach. Mantz and Young will represent the United States in the men’s marathon in Paris Saturday.
I wanted to share the proud hometown report. Bit of a homer myself, I must concede.
Rooks said his strategy was a ‘slow burn.’ Take it easy early, then gradually pick up the pace until you put yourself in position to strike.
So, I am watching. He came up alongside the defending Olympic champ and looked sideways a few times, seemingly a tad incredulous, then picked up the pace. Rooks stormed into the lead, now it was El Bakkali who was surprised. Slow burn took three minutes before BANG!
Rooks’ performance – the entire race – was spectacular. Even featured a near-fatal crash by an Ethiopian. (Since discharged from the hospital.) Well worth watching again.
NBC Sports has uploaded footage of the full race to its YouTube page.
As the race video makes clear, the commentators were shocked by Rooks’ performance.
“The 24-year-old from Washington has said, ‘You want your medal. Come catch me,’” one said.
“The significance of this I can’t even begin to describe,” the other commentator added.
The Kenneth Rooks story is far from over. And the link below is excellent explaining how he got here.
https://www.deseret.com/sports/2024/07/21/byu-runner-kenneth-rooks-journey-to-2024-olympics/