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Talia Brooks, two time World 
Championship bronze medalist. 

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How's that sound? 
It's crazy. 

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I think it's always something I 
imagined for myself, but then it

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feels different. 
Like when you actually do it, 

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it's like God think I could do 
that when you actually do it. 

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Still crazy. 
I slept like 2 hours last night.

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Yeah, I was gonna ask, like, how
did the celebration go? 

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You know, it wasn't like a crazy
celebration. 

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I'm going to save that for 
tonight. 

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But my phone was going crazy. 
My dad was calling me at all 

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hours of the night. 
And yeah, I couldn't. 

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I don't think I could bring my 
adrenaline down. 

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I didn't go to sleep till like 
6:00 this morning. 

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Oh my God. 
And then I woke up at like 8. 

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So my aura ring got a nap, 
didn't even get asleep. 

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It registered a nap so. 
Overall, how I mean how does how

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good is this feel compared to I 
guess like the feelings in 

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Budapest? 
We did one of these interviews 

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in Budapest and it was like a 
totally different vibe and feel.

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And then over the last like 2 
years things have started to 

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come together. 
But then, you know, yesterday it

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all lined up. 
It all lined up. 

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It's very different from 
Budapest. 

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I think in Budapest, when I 
fouled out of the long jumps, I 

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think I was in second or third. 
I was in a middle position. 

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But I think at that time I 
didn't really. 

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That wasn't something that I 
imagined for myself. 

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And so I think in the moment, I 
was overwhelmed with the moment 

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and I think I started doing a 
lot of extra stuff because I 

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found myself in a position that 
I didn't expect to be in. 

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And so here it was just it was 
different. 

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I didn't have a strong day one 
and I think I'm usually a strong

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day one hep kind of girl, but I 
didn't really panic. 

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I was angry. 
I went to sleep angry about the 

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day one, but I was still in the 
mix. 

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And I kept telling people like 
I'm a fight back for day 2. 

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And so just being in that 
position and knowing getting a 

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medal was like a real goal 
coming in and it was something 

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that we knew was possible. 
It was easier to like wrap my 

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head around it and not let the 
moment be too big. 

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I think in Budapest the moment 
felt like too big at the time. 

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Ironically, this time around it 
was the long jump that like 

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helped get you into contention. 
So what went right in the in 

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that? 
In the long jump, I think, I 

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mean the approaches were really 
good in the warmups. 

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The long jump is something we've
been working on like heavily 

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since USA's just because it's 
been one of my strongest events,

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but I've been very inconsistent 
with getting on the board and 

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the track meet. 
So we were really trying to hone

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in on that approach. 
And I mean, I hit one on the 

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second one. 
Think the 3rd jump would have 

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been pretty good too if I didn't
get over rotated. 

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And obviously it was a foul, but
I was just really excited with 

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that series. 
But it was just good to see me 

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do something well that I had 
been practicing. 

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Like that's literally what I've 
been practicing since USA so it 

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worked out. 
Most of the beauty of the hip 

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tathon is that just sort of like
sometimes it's like even though 

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you have like all the success in
you know, X event on one day, 

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like in one competition, it 
could be just totally different.

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So I mean take me through each 
of the events and what report 

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card grade you would give. 
Yourself report card grade. 

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OK. 
The hurdles, I'm going to be 

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super. 
I'm a very critical person. 

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So the hurdles I'm going to give
ABAB minus. 

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I was really, it was a bit 
raggedy in the middle of the 

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race, but with the hurdles you 
always get a bit of nerves, I 

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think in the HEP hurdles versus 
open hurdles. 

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So I'll give it AB minus. 
The funny thing about your B 

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minus is that to most people 
they would give themselves an. 

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I know of course I've been 
running so fast in the hurdles 

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in practice and I was, I was 
expecting more in a few of those

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events. 
So, and obviously I'm a really 

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strong curdler, but I was glad 
to win as I've been losing too 

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many hurdle races these days in 
the HEP and I don't like that. 

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And cause Johnson didn't like 
that either, he said that after 

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one meet he's like, we're done 
losing. 

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We never used to lose hurdle 
races. 

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So I'll give it AB minus high 
jump. 

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I'm going to give it a solid C. 
That was poor. 

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I was upset with the high jump 
shot put. 

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I'll give it a, I'll give it AAB
minus I. 

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I PR Ed in the shot put like 3 
days before the competition. 

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I was throwing like 14 fifties 
consistently. 

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So that was quite disappointing.
But I think it was hard for me 

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to, I messed up in the high jump
and then I carried that energy 

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into the the shot put and then I
carried that energy into that 

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awful 200. 
That was embarrassing. 

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So I'm going to give that 200 
also AC. 

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But day 2, it gets better. 
So I'm going to give the long 

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jump an A+. 
I'll give the javelin an A also 

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because that was APR and I'll 
I'll give the 800 an A. 

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I'll have to give it an A. 
Yeah. 

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OK. 
So the 800, I want you to kind 

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of take me through your mindset 
going into that because like 

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you're looking at the standings 
and then just sort of how did 

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you expect the race to go? 
Because like, you know, if Anna 

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would have gone totally all out 
like it, it could have also 

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impacted everything else 
happening behind her. 

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So you know, what are you 
thinking in that? 

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Moment. 
Yeah. 

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So, OK, I'll be honest, I did 
talk to Anna. 

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I knew Anna wasn't going all 
out, but I was told that 

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Michelle was, and Anna wanted to
just win the race. 

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She's like, I'm not, I'm doing 
what I can to win the race. 

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So I was trying to wrap my mind 
around like, OK, how fast is 

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this pace going to be? 
Because obviously KJT can run 

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the 800. 
And I just, I told myself going 

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into it and me and Coach Johnson
spoke and he was just like, you 

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just got to go with it. 
Like it doesn't matter how fast 

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they go out, you've got to go 
and just stay. 

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So throughout the 800, I told 
myself, don't look at the clock.

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So I didn't look at the clock at
all, which is unlike me, I 

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usually look at it at 346. 
And I was just like, it doesn't 

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matter what the clock says, like
I have to be within her. 

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So I just tried to keep my eyes 
on her back and it started 

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hurting with about 150 meters to
go. 

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And I think that's when the gap 
started to open a bit. 

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But same thing as Olympic trials
last year, 'cause she also told 

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me to run through the line and 
that's literally all I was 

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thinking the last like 50 
meters. 

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So it was like I have to run 
through the line, like don't 

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slow down. 
And when I went through, well, 

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when she went through, I started
counting in my brain. 

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I don't think that helps. 
I think that like tightens you 

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up. 
But I started counting. 

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So when I came through, I wasn't
actually sure if I got it or 

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not. 
And that's why I laid on the 

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ground so long because I was 
just looking at the scoreboard. 

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I mean, I was tired, obviously, 
but I was, I was more so like, 

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what is the board going to say? 
Because I didn't know. 

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You see the tie and then like. 
Well I didn't even see the tie 

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at first. 
I heard him announce 3rd place 

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to the USA and I just started 
like banging on the ground and 

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then maybe 10 seconds later I 
looked up at the board and I was

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like wait because I didn't even 
hear him announce her. 

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I just looked on board and I saw
2/3 place and I was like wait, 

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wait, does that mean there's a 
tiebreaker? 

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Did he announce that wrong? 
So then I started panicking for 

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about 5 seconds. 
You're. 

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Like is there a tiebreaker rule?
Like what? 

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Right, because. 
I know there is one, but I 

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didn't, I didn't know how they 
were going to do it. 

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And then I heard him say shared 
bronze and I was like, hey, 

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shared shared bronze. 
I'm fine with that. 

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So there was like a little bit 
of Team USA, kind of like, I 

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don't know, teamwork there, I 
guess like with you and talking 

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to Anna, just sort of like how 
that last event could have gone.

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Yeah, I think, I mean, Anna and 
I just get along really well. 

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I really like Anna, really like 
her family, her coaches. 

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They've always been good to me. 
I'd say we've always been good 

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to each other. 
So throughout, I think me and 

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Anna were just, we cheer each 
other on like we know the common

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goal. 
And so yeah, at the 800 she was 

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like just go with it. 
Yeah, I was like, Yep, I'm going

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with it. 
So whatever y'all go in, I'll be

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closely behind hopefully. 
And then afterwards I think we 

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were both like genuinely happy 
for each other. 

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Just we both know where each 
other has, you know, been and to

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be the two that gets a medal at 
the World Championships is 

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really cool. 
All right, so what's it mean? 

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Like I guess celebrating, I 
guess here with your ASICS 

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family. 
I saw downstairs you with one of

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the, you know, execs from the 
company gifting you some nice 

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pairs of shoes that like will go
to. 

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I just saw this like in a clip 
on on Instagram, just like the 

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wall behind you. 
And it's like this collection. 

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How many? 
Shoes are, you know, I'm not 

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actually sure, but I know each 
rack holds five. 

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I think there's there's 10 on 
each, so that's at least 150. 

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But the now the floor is full 
and the closet also has a rack. 

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So I'd like to say that I 
represent well, We'll just say 

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it's a, it's a good thing. 
It's a good thing somebody has 

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to wear it. 
So it might as well be me. 

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But I'm definitely going to wear
those shoes. 

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I think I'm going to put them on
for the podium. 

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Tonight and. 
And I'll, I'll put them up on 

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the shelf and they'll get their 
rightful place. 

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So what's issue for your 
confidence? 

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I guess like now with the runway
being all right next year, off 

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year, you get to experiment I 
guess a little bit. 

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And then from there, 2027 worlds
and then a home Olympics. 

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Yeah, I think it definitely 
gives me confidence. 

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I think in the past year I've 
gained a lot of confidence and I

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put on Instagram might have been
to my close friends, maybe I 

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didn't say it to the world, but 
like I think this year was the 

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first time that I truly felt 
confident in a heptathlon. 

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Like going into USAS, I was a 
bit injured. 

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I was still like fairly 
confident in the event, but 

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coming into worlds, I felt 
really good. 

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And I was like, no, I really, I 
really could get a medal. 

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But I think that's just because 
in years past I just imagined 

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myself as a hurdler, long jumper
that sometimes did the hep. 

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Like I just didn't like doing 
the hep. 

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And so I've finally like 
accepted this is what I do like 

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this is what I can be really 
good at. 

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And it kind of just shifted my 
mindset. 

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And so I think the metal just 
kind of confirmed what I already

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knew. 
And I see how much room there is

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to grow. 
Like it's crazy for me for Tulia

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Brooks to say 1390, whatever 
that was in the shop put is not 

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good 'cause I would have said 
that two years ago. 

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But there's a lot of points 
still like left out there. 

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And so I think over the next few
years, it's just figuring out 

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how to get some of those events 
more consistent so that I'm not,

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you know, relying on just 
hurdles, long jump. 

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I can win or medal in multiple 
different ways, which I've had 

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to do the past year and a half. 
Last year for the Olympic team, 

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I made the Olympic team on my 
bad events or what we would call

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bad events. 
And then yesterday, the day too 

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kind of carried me. 
And so just becoming a more 

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well-rounded athlete leading 
into 2027 and 2028. 

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Yeah. 
Well, Talia, congratulations 

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once again. 
And we're super excited for you 

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to show up as your best self in 
in those future championships, 

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especially in LA. 
But Congrats again. 

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Thank you. 
Thanks for having me. 

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Thank you. 
Sweet. 

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Yes. 
Awesome.