McKenzie Long third at Olympic track trials and lands 200m berth for Paris

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

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

Long, the NCAA champion in the 100 and 200m earlier this month, finished third in the 200m final here, qualifying for the Paris Olympics in her best event. She crossed the line in 21.91 seconds, 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, knowing that I’m an Olympian now, it’s so surreal,” Long said afterward, close to tears. “And I know my mom is smiling cheek to cheek, I know she’s proud of me. That’s all I could ever want.”

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 got to 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 during practice.

“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 in that moment and she’s the one who got me 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, not making the final (100) upset me, but I didn’t let it discourage me at all,” she said. “I knew the 200 was really where I conquered.”

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 Jones created. Her lock screen is a photo of Jones. Every time Long reaches for her phone, she kisses him.

Long’s story went viral this week and inspired other runners.

“She’s got something really special,” Thomas said. “I’m just so humbled by her season, how hard she’s worked and what she’s overcome. I’m just so proud of her.”

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

“I was like, 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