McKenzie Long, inspired by her mother, wins a place in 200 for Paris

EUGENE, Ore. — Over the past few months, McKenzie Long has experienced pure elation and utter heartbreak.

On Saturday, at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, she felt both.

Long, the NCAA 100 and 200 champion earlier this month, finished third in the 200 final here, qualifying for the Paris Olympics in her best event. She crossed the finish line in 21.91, behind winner Gabby Thomas (21.81) and Brittany Brown (21.90). It was exhilaration.

The heartbreak came when she remembered that her mother was not there to witness it.

Jones, an Ole Miss star, is running in memory of his mother, Tara Jones, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack at just 45 years old, just before the season began.

“To cross that line, to know that I’m now an Olympic athlete, it’s so surreal,” Long said afterward, on the verge of tears. “And I know my mother is smiling brightly, I know she is proud of me. It’s all I could wish for. »

At the NCAA championships, where she won the 100 and 200, an emotional Long told reporters that she talked to her mother every day, and when she arrived in the blocks for her final race, ” I told her, ‘Mom, this is my last race.’ , push me through’ – and she did.

She did the same thing on Saturday at the trials.

“I could hear his voice before I even got on the line,” Long said. “I would just tell her, ‘Let’s do this, Mom,’ and I would come back and say, ‘You have this little girl.’

“I could feel her at that moment and she was the one who helped me get through that race.”

Long told reporters Friday after her first heat that she and her mother had dreamed together of attending the Olympics — with Long on the track and Jones in the stands cheering her on. And even after not making the 100 final at the trials last week, she felt her mother’s encouragement.

“Of course I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the 100m final, but I didn’t let that discourage me,” she said. “I knew the 200m was really my best bet.”

When asked what her mother would have said to motivate her before the race, Long laughed.

“She would probably say, ‘You’re McKenzie Long, they should be scared of you!’ She would probably say, ‘You have this little girl!’

Long said therapy has been key to overcoming grief while trying to dominate the track. Her therapist encouraged her to “not separate” her mother from anything. So Long didn’t do it.

She talks to Jones out loud every day. She listens to a workout playlist created by Jones. Its lock screen is a photo of Jones. Every time Long grabs her phone, she kisses him.

Long’s story has been making the rounds this week and inspiring other runners.

“She’s got something really special,” Thomas said. “I’m really humbled by her season, the hard work she’s put in and everything she’s overcome. I’m really proud of her.”

After crossing the finish line, Thomas told Long she had a dream about her Friday night. In this dream, Long was on the Olympic team with Thomas.

“I said to him, ‘You didn’t want to tell me that before we got here on this line?'” Long said with a laugh, adding that Thomas inspires him every day. “I tell him all the time, I want to be you. That’s my goal, I want to be like Gabby Thomas.”

Since Saturday, she has been like Thomas. Because now they’re both on Team USA.

Email Lindsay Schnell at [email protected] and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McKenzie Long third at Olympic track trials, earns 200 spot for Paris