There was a point and time earlier in the 2024 season where vying for a spot on the Olympic Team was foreign concept for Whittni Morgan. But through faith, hardwork and a rock solid support team surrounding her, a miracle took place.
Morgan had patellar tendon debridement surgery on her knee last December, and was going through the process of recovery, maintaining the hope that she would be able to put herself in contention to make the U.S. Olympic Team.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials, she had an impressive performance, finishing in fifth place in the women’s 5000m. Once the dust settled, she received a call from her coach, Diljeet Taylor, saying that she made the team.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, she made the finals of the women’s 5000m, running 14:53.57. She was a recent guest on the Lactic Acid Podcast, where she shared a bit more about her Olympic experience and her journey to being an Olympian.
Dom: I don’t know if there was anybody out there having more fun than you. Has it fully sunk in yet, and how much fun did you have out there?
Whittni: Honestly, it’s one of the craziest things that I did have fun. Because if you ask my coach if I loved the 5k for years, she’d be like, No, she doesn’t like it. And so, it is true, I had so much fun. I’m definitely growing as a person, and I’m growing to really love and appreciate the 5k so that that in itself, is a win. But I truly had a blast. I was just so happy with everything – the way I got to the Olympics and just how everything played out, I just felt extremely blessed. I was just so excited truly to just see what was going to happen, because I’m in better shape than I was. I’m feeling good, I’m feeling the momentum, I’m feeling the blessings, I’m feeling all the things. And so I was like, let’s just see what happens. And I totally ran within myself and I closed hard, and just had a lot of fun.
Dom: The opponents are lucky your knee got reconstructed. Because if that knee had the swag that you carry, everyone would’ve been in trouble.
Whittni: I appreciate that. I have a piece of me that believes what would have happened if I wouldn’t have (gotten hurt). But I can’t even think like that, because what happened was amazing. But, yeah, it’s exciting.
Dom: I’m curious about something I saw, something that you posted (on Instagram) that honestly made me really emotional when I was looking through the pictures at the Olympics. And it was that chocolate muffin that had me on the verge of repentance for whatever sins that I committed. Can we do a deep end dive on that muffin?
Whittni: Okay, I have a lot to say about this. And you had the right response. I took my first bite and I said I’m a better woman because of this muffin. So, yes, it’s as good as you think and you dreamed of it’s so good.
Dom: What did you learn in this season that maybe you didn’t know about God that brought you closer and elevated your faith?
Whittni: I guess something that comes to mind is just that God wants to bless you and you gotta have faith. And it can’t just be like faith if it goes my way, but faith if it goes any way – whatever your way is, I trust it. When I was asking God for miracles, I said it doesn’t need to be for me. Just let me show what you can do to other people. There’s no other way that it could have happened without Him. And so, like, I want to do that too, because I have had so many experiences with him. How do you get through all these injuries? How do you get through all the doubts, all the struggles, all the hardship that comes with going for big dreams like Olympic dreams? Just for me, I truly could not have done it alone. He gave me a big miracle. And it’s just such a blessing.
Dom: How important has your support squad been to you through this entire process? What have they provided you that has helped keep you going?
Whittni: Yeah, they’re very important. It’s kind of crazy how much support I have. And they don’t get all the glory either. But my husband, my coach, my Physical Therapist, my whole town, where I’m from – my small town of Panguitch. they’ve all been backing me this whole time, and it’s pretty insane. Like, just even the little things like Coach Taylor yelling her head off at practice, that makes it more exciting, that makes it more fun. Those little things build up, build upon each other, and create great things. And it takes a ton of different people to make it happen.
Dom: What confidence have you gained as a runner and for yourself throughout this entire process?
Whittni: Something I feel like I really learned is like to just get out of your own way. We work so hard, we put in all the work, day in, day out and check all the boxes. We do literally everything we’re supposed to do, and then sometimes we get on the line and we decide to doubt. And so for me, I feel like the Olympics was kind of a moment for me where I was like, I’ve done absolutely everything I can, I really relied on God, and he’s given me this opportunity. And so I’m not in my own way, I’m going to actually take advantage of every opportunity, and I’m going to just race the way I know how I’ve been running for eight years at a pretty high level, through college and now professionally. And so I have some more confidence moving forward remembering that and like seeing how it played out for me at the Olympics.
