The Olympic Trials are quickly approaching, and the strain that comes with it is not lost on the athletes who will line up to compete in June. While the Trials brings about a pressure that comes due to having to finish in the top three to qualify for the Olympics, it also can bring perspective for certain athletes.
For Olivia Baker, the outlook of hope, and hope stemming from her faith is what guides her as she looks to accomplish the dream of making the Olympic team that she’s held since she was 5-years old.
Baker has shown consistency throughout her career as an 800m specialist, dating back to her days as a student athlete at Stanford, where she was a standout runner and an 11-time All-American. But this season has been a bit of a challenge for Baker, as she’s looking to find her groove on the track as the Trials draw near.
“It’s hard. I wish I could say that it was easy, but I haven’t had the best start to my season,” she said. “I am usually in a position where I can see the trajectory leading up to the Olympic Trials of improvement and this year is kind of different in that I haven’t really seen it and it has really forced me to lean on that faith.”
Baker’s best time in the women’s 800m this year took place as the LA Grand Prix in mid-May, when she ran 2:02.23. Last season, she dealt with an injury that limited her potential on the track throughout most of the season. She was still able to run 2:00.53 at the Morton Games in Ireland last July despite the injury.
This season, she’s fully recovered from her injury and is healthy, and it’s showing off in her training, which she’s thankful for.
”I know I’m fit, I have a really good base under me,” she said. “I’ve been healthy. That’s a really big thing, because last year, I spent most of the year with a partially torn Posterior Tibial Tendon, and just felt like I kind of limped my way through the season.”
Baker, who is a member of the Atlanta Track Club, endured a coaching transition last summer, as Tommy Nohilly was hired to be the head coach of the club following the departure of Amy and Andrew Begley. Despite the coaching change on the cusp of an Olympic year, Baker says that the transition has been a good one.
“I knew that switching coaches in an Olympic year would be a really risky thing to do,” she said. “But I feel that that has worked out really well. I really like Coach Tommy, I think he’s a great coach. He’s a great leader of our team.”
While the season so far hasn’t gone like Baker has hoped it would go, she leans on her faith, which gives her the perspective and the motivation to keep showing up, especially because her reason and purpose for running is bigger than her.
“I know that on my end, I’m putting in the work, I’m doing the practices, I’m fit. I still haven’t quite figured out why I haven’t been able to translate that to performances on the track just yet,” she said. “But I cling to God’s promises, to His goodness in this time, knowing that His good and perfect will is going to be done. And that doesn’t mean that I’m going to make the Olympic team or that I’m suddenly going to run really fast. That’s what I hope, but I know that God’s ways are higher than ours. And so I’m just kind of waiting to see how He’s gonna move in the situation.”
The perspective of Baker’s faith not only gives her the motivation to keep going, but it gives her hope that everything will work out the way that it’s meant to work out. It also helps her eliminate the distractions around her and keep focus on the prize ahead.
“When I talk to my parents after a bad race, one of the things that they always do is pray for me and with me, and then remind me to keep seeking God on this, keep asking questions to Him, keep searching for His voice through the loudness of everything going on around you,” she said. “And I think that that’s the thing that has really centered me and brought me back to that place of peace and faith through the season.”
Regardless of what the circumstances looks like and even though things may not being going the way Baker initially thought they would this season, the love Baker has for running has not been deterred.
“I still love running,” she said. “Even when it hurts, even when it’s hard. It’s still so fun. Getting out there and pushing myself, and just running free and fast, and working with my teammates.”
Olivia is a five-time grant recipient from the USA Track & Field Foundation (USATFF), in addition to having accessed YourNextSuccess career services with support from the Foundation. The USATFF assists dedicated Olympic hopefuls to realize their dreams, and is committed to promoting the development of Team USA athletes through its Elite Athlete Grants, annually providing over $2 million in grants to athletes through their various programs.
