Speed, endurance, rhythm, overcoming obstacles. All are important factors toward success in hurdling. And for Queen Harrison, all were put to the test in her quest for the 2008 Olympic Games.
In late June, Harrison competed in the 400-meter hurdles competition at the Olympic Trials held in Eugene, Ore. After making it through two rounds and into the finals, she was around the top five and entering the second-to-last hurdle with the final stretch in sight.
Harrison was on the outside in lane eight. But so was the falling body of another competitor, who stumbled on the hurdle and fell in Harrison's path. After Harrison leaped over the hurdle she then leaped over the potential carnage.
"My body just naturally reacted," Harrison said. "When I was in the moment, it didn't affect me too much. It just made me go to the outside a little bit."
Watching in the crowd was Tech Director of track and field and cross-country Dave Cianelli, along with Harrison's sprint and hurdles coach, Lawrence Johnson, now the head coach at Clemson University.
"It was pretty amazing to watch that," Cianelli said. "For a split second, you're thinking 'Is she going to go down?'"
Instead of becoming a part of the accident, she maintained her rhythm, composure and speed, making a late race charge. Harrison moved up to second as she crossed the finish line in 54.60 seconds -- her personal best. And with that time, she became a first-time member of the Olympic team.
This was a remarkable and, to some, an unexpected achievement because of the setback she suffered a few weeks earlier.
At the NCAA National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, Harrison suffered a left hamstring injury while running on Tech's 4x100-meter relay. Later, she was told by trainers that she would miss the remainder of the meet.
"That's when I was screaming," Harrison said. "It was just a flood of emotions. I was really upset because I had such high expectations for myself going into the track meet."
Her coaches, as well as Harrison, had doubts about her competing in the 400-meter hurdles -- the only event that she would run at the Olympic trials.
After rehabbing her leg, the opening round proved to be a "test run."
"The first race was pretty rough, but she qualified through," Cianelli said. "Once she did that, you could see that her confidence in the leg then started to rise up."
Harrison's confidence increased even more after she made it into the finals. Regardless, she was out there to give it her all, even if it meant injuring her leg further.
She knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and didn't want to look back on it with regret.
"I've made it this far," Harrison said. "I might as well put it all out there. If something were to happen, it would probably have been my last track meet of the year. You don't want to get hurt, but you might as well lay it on the line."
After her successful run in the finals, it didn't end up being her last track meet of the year.
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.