1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,920
What's up everyone? 
You are listening to the Sidious

2
00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,120
Magic Podcast. 
I'm your host Chris Chavez, and 

3
00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:07,480
every week we go beyond the 
results to bring you 

4
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,480
conversations with the biggest 
names on the track, the roads, 

5
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,760
and behind the scenes. 
From world class athletes and 

6
00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,280
coaches to innovators shaping 
the sport. 

7
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,520
If it's happening on the track, 
we're covering it with real 

8
00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,560
insights that sharpen minds, 
deep dives into the moments that

9
00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,360
define careers and the kind of 
access to the pros you won't get

10
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,360
anywhere else. 
So let's get into it because we 

11
00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:33,160
love track and field. 
Before we get to today's 

12
00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:36,440
episode, you know we love giving
the listeners a shout out when 

13
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,360
they leave us a review on Apple 
Podcast. 

14
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,680
This certainly helps the show's 
discoverability, and we 

15
00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,120
appreciate it. 
To those who just discovered or 

16
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,280
joined us during the World 
Championships, welcome. 

17
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,880
We appreciate all of the kind 
words about our coverage. 

18
00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:51,120
The good thing is that it's not 
over. 

19
00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,960
This week's review comes to us 
from C Gook who writes in Saying

20
00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,240
World Champs coverage. 
So much fun. 

21
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:00,360
What a great 10 days it has 
been. 

22
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,040
Listening to Chris and the 
entire city's team every day has

23
00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,280
continued to increase my passion
for the sport. 

24
00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,240
Their timely professional 
analysis is rivaled only by 

25
00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,920
their genuine joy and happiness 
being trackside. 

26
00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,880
It really shows through that you
love track and field. 

27
00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:15,880
Thanks for sharing that with us 
fans. 

28
00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:18,720
Thank you so much. 
So much more to come before we 

29
00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,880
shift gears to cross country and
marathon season. 

30
00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,440
If you want your review to be 
read and you want to support the

31
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,320
show, leave us a review on Apple
Podcast or a five star rating on

32
00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:33,480
Spotify today. 
My guest for today's episode is 

33
00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,400
Melissa Jefferson Wooden, the 25
year old from Georgetown, SC who

34
00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,360
just pulled off one of the 
rarest feats in track and field,

35
00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,160
the Golden Sprint Triple Crown 
at the World Championships in 

36
00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,320
Tokyo. 
Melissa won the 100, the 200, 

37
00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:50,040
and it was part of Team USA that
took gold in the 4 by 100m 

38
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,840
relay, becoming the first 
American woman ever and the 

39
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,560
second woman in history behind 
the great Shelley Ann Frazier 

40
00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,440
Price to sweep the sprints at a 
single world championship. 

41
00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:06,640
Her winning times, 10.61 in the 
121.68 in the 200, weren't just 

42
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,000
dominant, they cemented her as 
the fourth fastest woman of all 

43
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,600
time and honestly within 
striking distance of Flojo's 

44
00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,880
world record. 
Maybe I'm a little optimistic, 

45
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:18,520
but you'll get to hear talk 
about it. 

46
00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,680
What makes Melissa's story so 
special isn't just the speed, 

47
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,720
it's also the journey. 
If you followed some of her 

48
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,800
career leading into 2025, she 
calls herself a self-described 

49
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,840
village kid who had two partial 
college offers. 

50
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,720
She saved her dad's life at 17 
years old with a bone marrow 

51
00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,240
transplant. 
She built herself up as an NCA 

52
00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,480
champion out of Coastal Carolina
to now a global superstar who 

53
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,160
can boast the title of the 
fastest woman on Earth. 

54
00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,680
In this episode, we talk about 
that rise lessons that come with

55
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,480
greatness all throughout 2025 
with her races in April all the 

56
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,640
way through September and how 
she's thinking about being one 

57
00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,160
of the faces of the sport. 
Melissa Jefferson Wooden is an 

58
00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,760
absolute joy, so I think you're 
going to enjoy this 

59
00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,080
conversation. 
Without further ado, here is 

60
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:19,160
Melissa Jefferson Wooden. 
All right, and now I'm joined by

61
00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:24,160
Trax Golden Girl from 2025, 
Melissa Jefferson Wooden, fresh 

62
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,720
off of 3 gold medals at the 
Tokyo World Championships and 

63
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:32,160
also now making appearances on 
big time TV shows like The 

64
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,360
Jennifer Hudson Show. 
Loved the clip. 

65
00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,800
And I need to hear just sort of 
everything about what life has 

66
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,080
been like now, I guess, coming 
back to the States after just an

67
00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,920
awesome World Championships 
where, I mean, you were the 

68
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,520
star. 
Yeah, life has been good. 

69
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,520
Like, stuff has just been 
popping up left and right. 

70
00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:58,960
Crazy enough, initially I was 
only going to LA for a Nike 

71
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,000
leadership conference. 
And then my publicist found out 

72
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:03,720
about him was like, hey, like, 
would you want to go? 

73
00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,800
And so I'm like a duh, yeah, 
sign me up, Sign me up. 

74
00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,080
So that's kind of how that ended
up happening. 

75
00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,000
The clip of you doing the walk 
down down like the spirit, what 

76
00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:16,399
do they call it? 
The spirit hall or whatever it 

77
00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:21,800
is, was fantastic and it's like 
there's so many viral videos of 

78
00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:26,760
people who have done it wrong. 
And so I need to hear your 

79
00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:28,520
perspective. 
I know you had an awesome 

80
00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,400
interview with her, but it's 
just sort of like that. 

81
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,800
That clip of you walking down 
the hallway is probably just as 

82
00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:36,520
important as nailing the 
interview. 

83
00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,280
What was going through your head
as you prepared to get sang to 

84
00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,560
and walk down that hallway? 
Actually, they don't tell you 

85
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,040
like what the song sounds like 
or anything like that. 

86
00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,760
So you really like when you turn
the corner, you're waiting for 

87
00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,200
them to start and then it's 
like, OK, let's see what I do. 

88
00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,400
So once they started singing and
I heard it, that's why I was 

89
00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,120
kind of like, OK, OK. 
And then I was like, I've got to

90
00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,000
make sure I do my dance. 
Because if I didn't do my dance,

91
00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,720
literally everybody was going to
be upset with me. 

92
00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:04,040
So I was like, make sure I do my
dance and then just have fun 

93
00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,160
with it. 
So I was like, OK, here we go. 

94
00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,000
All right, tell me the story of 
just like how this dance 

95
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,040
originated because like it's 
it's in so many videos and 

96
00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:15,800
obviously, like, I think TT, you
know, has shared a bunch of 

97
00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,360
clips of you also doing the 
dance. 

98
00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,040
You got coach Dennis Mitchell to
do it at 1.2. 

99
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:21,960
And so what's the story behind 
the dance? 

100
00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:27,800
So the story behind the dance. 
Last year, my 23rd birthday, we 

101
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,120
had like game night or whatever,
and then the music was playing. 

102
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,000
Like by that point we had like 
kind of broken away from playing

103
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,920
the games and stuff. 
And I think people just like 

104
00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,680
sitting around talking, eating, 
and this one song was playing. 

105
00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,640
And then all of a sudden I just 
started going like this and 

106
00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:43,800
everyone was like, what are you 
doing? 

107
00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,560
And I was like, I don't know. 
And then I just kept doing it 

108
00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:47,920
the whole night. 
And next thing you know, that 

109
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,120
was just my dance. 
No, it's, it's perfect. 

110
00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,360
It's very simple, it's signature
and like it hopefully catches on

111
00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,640
just sort of as like this a 
celebration post that like fans 

112
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:00,520
could start doing after you keep
winning. 

113
00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,200
So one thing I'm kind of curious
about too, is just sort of like 

114
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,520
this additional spotlight on you
kind of after the Tokyo World 

115
00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,400
Championships. 
It's it's interesting because 

116
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,720
it's like it's a World 
Championships and not an 

117
00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,320
Olympics. 
And so sometimes like that can 

118
00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,360
be different in terms of just 
the general, you know, consumer 

119
00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,360
of sports, like their appetite 
for how much they're paying 

120
00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,080
attention to track. 
And So what have you sort of 

121
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,560
felt as like the difference 
between coming off of an Olympic

122
00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,040
Games and then a World 
Championships? 

123
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,480
Like do you like, is the 
spotlight just as bright or like

124
00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:37,600
how, how is it different? 
I think for me, honestly, it's a

125
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,960
little, it's a little different.
So more spotlight for the World 

126
00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,040
Championships than for the 
Olympics for me, only because I 

127
00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,880
got the bronze medal, I didn't 
get gold or silver. 

128
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,720
And even though like bronze is 
still really good, it doesn't 

129
00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,280
hold the same weight as a silver
medal or gold medal at the 

130
00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:56,600
Olympics. 
So coming into this year, it was

131
00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,600
kind of like, OK, like, yeah, 
let's just let's just see how 

132
00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:02,080
this goes. 
Like let's just see how this 

133
00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,640
balances out. 
And the close, like, I feel like

134
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,240
the closer and closer we got to 
the world champs, it started to 

135
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:12,840
feel more like people actually 
got excited seeing me go to 

136
00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,160
certain meets and just wanting 
to like, see like, what do I do 

137
00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,480
or see how I perform with this 
person in the race or that 

138
00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:21,960
person in the race. 
Like it was actually a really 

139
00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,760
good level of excitement, but it
was centered around the fact of 

140
00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,600
like, what I had done this year 
and then not just because I had 

141
00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,760
gotten a bronze medal last year 
at the Olympics. 

142
00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,360
We're going to jump around I 
think a little bit just sort of 

143
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,080
throughout your career and then 
specifically focusing on the the

144
00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,640
2025 season. 
But how did you sort of handle 

145
00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,360
putting that bronze medal away 
and then reshifting your goals 

146
00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,000
for 2025? 
Like when did that happen? 

147
00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,720
And what does that process look 
like when it came to mentally 

148
00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,280
resetting and focusing on what 
you wanted to do in the year 

149
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,200
ahead? 
I actually started to shift my 

150
00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,480
focus right after whatever the 
last event was that I had to do 

151
00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:01,520
right before I started fall 
training. 

152
00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:06,200
This past year was the last time
I was, I think I had to went to 

153
00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,080
a banquet or something and I had
to bring the medals there, 

154
00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:11,600
obviously. 
So when I brought them back 

155
00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,440
home, I looked at them one more 
time and I was like, all right, 

156
00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,160
like we're closing the chapter 
on 2024, like it's a new year. 

157
00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,880
Like I have them sitting in my 
living room. 

158
00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,800
They're in the big Nike boxes 
that they gave us last year, but

159
00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,640
they're literally closed. 
So every, every once in awhile 

160
00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,440
I'll peek them open and look 
because you know, it's always 

161
00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,320
good to look at. 
It's always a reminder of like 

162
00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,320
how, how much you have already 
accomplished, but also like 

163
00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:37,720
where you're trying to go to. 
So every once in a while I take 

164
00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:39,799
a peek at them, but for the most
part they're closed because I'm 

165
00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,440
like that, that was last year. 
Like this is a whole new year. 

166
00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,320
We need to set the set the 
standard like obviously we 

167
00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,840
already have, but we want to be 
able to still like elevate it 

168
00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,480
and you know, bring something 
new to the table every single 

169
00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,040
time. 
Like, we don't, we don't, I 

170
00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,440
don't want people to get 
comfortable with seeing me in 

171
00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:01,160
3rd place or seeing me this, you
know, just in Olympic or a world

172
00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:02,960
final. 
Like, I want people to be like, 

173
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,920
Oh, no, when she steps to the 
line, like, her chances of 

174
00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,280
winning are really, really high.
So the medals for this year are 

175
00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,520
still out though. 
Oh yeah, yeah, they're like, 

176
00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,040
well, right now they're kind of 
like in the case most of the 

177
00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,000
time because we're travelling 
with them so much and I would 

178
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,200
literally cry if anything were 
to happen to them. 

179
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:20,440
But yeah, they're they are out 
and about. 

180
00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,920
They're being shown around. 
I am picky with when I do take 

181
00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,680
them out versus when I don't or 
like who I like go out of my way

182
00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,040
to make sure they see the medals
versus who I don't. 

183
00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:32,680
And it's like, oh, if you're 
here, you see it. 

184
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:34,280
Oh yeah. 
And then if not, it's like, oh, 

185
00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:35,320
wait, I got to go see the 
medals. 

186
00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,360
I mean, I got to pull out the 
medals so you can see them. 

187
00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:39,280
So definitely being really 
picky. 

188
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,560
Do you fly with them in the 
check bag or are these on the 

189
00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:46,680
carry on at all times? 
I carry on and in my carry on 

190
00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,720
where I can see them, where I 
know they are every single time.

191
00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,000
I will say crazy enough though, 
when we were on the way back 

192
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,200
from Tokyo, I had to stay an 
extra day because I did 

193
00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:00,160
something for Nike and me, my 
husband and TT, we all traveled 

194
00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,640
together. 
And so we got on our last flight

195
00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,760
from Atlanta to Orlando and the 
plane that they normally take 

196
00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,520
from Atlanta to Orlando, you 
come in, you don't come in at 

197
00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,240
the front of the plane. 
You come in where the emergency 

198
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,000
exit door is. 
So our bags were kind of like it

199
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,120
was right above us, but kind of 
like behind us a little bit. 

200
00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,360
And so when we were getting off 
the plane, someone actually 

201
00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,840
grabbed my carry on back with 
the medals in there because 

202
00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:24,840
Roland was rolling. 
Roland was the one Wheeling the 

203
00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,640
bag, but he was like, this isn't
the same handle, like this ain't

204
00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:28,960
the same wheels. 
Like something's wrong. 

205
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:30,720
So the TC got play. 
She's like, what's wrong? 

206
00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,200
I was like, somebody has my 
carry on bag and she said, so 

207
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,040
she switched bags with Roland 
because she walks way faster 

208
00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,040
than all of us. 
So she switched bags with 

209
00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,240
Roland. 
She was like, I'm a go catch 

210
00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,000
them because I'll catch up to 
them before y'all do. 

211
00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,800
So we hurried up and got on the 
little plane train and 

212
00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,040
thankfully the people was 
walking really slow. 

213
00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,280
So we caught up to them and she 
was like, were you just on the 

214
00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,040
Atlanta flight? 
And it was like, yes, I think 

215
00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,800
you have my bag. 
He was like, Oh my gosh, I'm so 

216
00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:55,520
sorry. 
But he was apologizing because 

217
00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,160
the person he was flying with 
was the one who actually picked 

218
00:10:58,160 --> 00:10:59,840
up the bag and he wasn't really 
paying attention. 

219
00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:02,120
So his home misunderstanding. 
I was definitely we kind of like

220
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,880
in my how could you not realize 
you didn't pick up your bag? 

221
00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:07,440
But it worked out. 
So oh. 

222
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,200
My gosh, crisis averted. 
That would have been so bad. 

223
00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,240
What They would have opened that
and saw three gold medals in 

224
00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:14,440
there. 
They would they would hit the 

225
00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,200
jackpot. 
I would have never seen them 

226
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,360
ever again. 
Oh my gosh, that's crazy. 

227
00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,600
Have you had any instance where 
you you put the bag through like

228
00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,760
the detector in the scanning and
then there's it falls over to 

229
00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:27,560
the side and they're like, OK, 
we need to give this one an 

230
00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:29,920
extra look just because, I mean,
you're carrying three gold 

231
00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:31,280
medals. 
So like they have to look at 

232
00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:33,720
this. 
Yeah, it happened. 

233
00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,480
So it happened last year. 
Coming from Paris, almost all 

234
00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:41,000
the time. 
And then, excuse me, when I was 

235
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,400
going back and forth between 
Orlando. 

236
00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,320
Orlando's funny. 
Sometimes they'll stop you, 

237
00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,080
sometimes they don't. 
It just depends on like who's 

238
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:52,080
scanning the stuff. 
But when I had to go to North 

239
00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,080
Carolina the other day, the guy 
stopped and he was like, what's 

240
00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:56,680
in here? 
And I was like, Meadows. 

241
00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,360
He said medals. 
He was like, yeah, he said what 

242
00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:00,600
kind of. 
He said for what? 

243
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,520
I was like track and field World
Championships. 

244
00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:06,080
And he was like, I hope to see 
you in the Olympics one day. 

245
00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,720
And I was like, yeah, it'll be 
my second time. 

246
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,000
It's like, well, yeah. 
So it just depends on the 

247
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,440
airport. 
That's so funny. 

248
00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:15,600
All right. 
So then that kind of gets to 

249
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,480
like a question about just sort 
of like, and this was asked to, 

250
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:20,880
I remember last year after the 
Olympics, because there were a 

251
00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,040
couple of diamond leagues that 
happened and there was a press 

252
00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,640
conference and someone asked 
Latila Tabogo, like, do you want

253
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,720
to be the face of the sport? 
And like, and just sort of like 

254
00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,360
having that eyes and the 
attention. 

255
00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,240
And they pointed out just like 
how Noel Isles obviously has 

256
00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,640
done like a good job of 
embracing that, you know, and he

257
00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,840
he wants to be, you know, kind 
of at the forefront of that. 

258
00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,920
And then when we look over sort 
of like at the women's side of 

259
00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,720
things, like Sydney, definitely 
a bit more private Gabby coming 

260
00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,240
off of like a an injured year, 
right, where she wasn't at the 

261
00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,520
World Championships. 
And so like, there is sort of an

262
00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,960
opportunity for you to step into
sort of like that role in the 

263
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,920
lead up to a home Olympics, not 
to pit like anyone against each 

264
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,720
other, but like and or to put 
anyone down. 

265
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,480
But is that something that's of 
interest of you, you know, to 

266
00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,720
embrace sort of like, Hey, I 
kind of also feel comfortable 

267
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:14,560
being one of the faces of the 
sport. 

268
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,360
Definitely. 
I feel like I'm kind of like the

269
00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,160
the best of both worlds in a 
sense. 

270
00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,160
Like how you say like Sydney is 
kind of like more so on the 

271
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,760
private side, but she's really, 
really great at what she does. 

272
00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,560
I feel like I want to be really,
really great at what I do, but I

273
00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:35,600
also want people to see me for 
me, which is why I struggle a 

274
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,360
lot with like posting on social 
media or just posting like, you 

275
00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,000
know, different aspects of my 
life, whether it's a TikTok or 

276
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,120
something like that. 
But I'm very, I'm very adamant 

277
00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:49,240
about in person or in face 
connection and allowing people 

278
00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,400
to get to see me for who I am 
based off of their interactions 

279
00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,400
with me, not based off of how I,
you know, what they may have 

280
00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,120
heard about me or what they may 
think of me. 

281
00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,080
You know, I want you to be able 
to make that decision for 

282
00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,520
yourself. 
And I feel like for the sport, I

283
00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,800
would be really good for that. 
And then also like when it comes

284
00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,440
to being in the face of the 
sport, I want to be the, I want 

285
00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:15,560
to definitely be a face in the 
sport, not because of not only 

286
00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,800
because of what I can do, but 
also because like obviously in 

287
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,000
our sport, there's so many 
things that need to be fixed. 

288
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,560
There's so many things that need
to be addressed in order for us 

289
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,920
to stop feeling like, you know, 
we do all this work. 

290
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,240
We go compete against the world.
And some of us still have to go 

291
00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,840
home to a job after being away 
for three weeks or some of us 

292
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,840
can't even get a shoe contract. 
It's hard. 

293
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,680
And that shouldn't be the case. 
But like, I feel like with me 

294
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,720
being the face, you know, I'm 
over here. 

295
00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,680
I feel like I'm over here trying
to like, pitch, pitch myself. 

296
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,680
But I feel like what I bring to 
the table, like I would be able 

297
00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,480
to innocence offer ways that'll 
be able to help everyone. 

298
00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,040
You know, obviously being a face
or being a star of the sport. 

299
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,880
You know, every every sport has 
their stars. 

300
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,520
Every every sport has their go 
to person. 

301
00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,280
They're always pick me like 
that. 

302
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,760
But I want to be the person 
that's like making sure that 

303
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,360
it's going to be something that 
works for everybody, that 

304
00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:16,640
everybody can somewhat benefit 
off of, you know, not just 

305
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,960
something where, Oh yeah, I'll 
do it as long as, you know, I'm 

306
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,160
getting paid for it at the same 
time, you know, like I feel like

307
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:24,720
that's defeating the purpose in 
a sense. 

308
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,640
Like, and I feel also feel like,
you know, when people talk about

309
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,120
change and, you know, wanting to
see better, wanting to do more, 

310
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,760
nobody talks about the downfalls
that come with that. 

311
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,960
Nobody talks about the risks 
that have to be taking, that 

312
00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,080
have to be taken. 
You know, sometimes the failures

313
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,000
that come with trying something 
new, people are scared of that. 

314
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,000
And I get that because in our 
sport, all we have is our image 

315
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000
or what we do on the track. 
But also at the same time, I 

316
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,200
feel like if you have the balls 
in a sense to step out on faith,

317
00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,960
to want to try something new, to
want to be a part of something 

318
00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,680
that's different and it doesn't 
work, like that's OK. 

319
00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:02,200
That's what it's about, you 
know? 

320
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:09,080
Chicago, Chicago, Chicago. 
We are coming in hot. 

321
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,200
Extra cheese and extra speed 
because we're taking over a 

322
00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:15,680
pizza shop for this one. 
This upcoming weekend we're 

323
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,640
teaming up with Hoka at Happy 
Camper Chicago. 

324
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,840
It's an Old Town for marathon 
weekend. 

325
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,120
Come hang out at the Hoka Cheer 
Zone where we'll be hosting a 

326
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,000
live alternate broadcast. 
Watch along of the men's and 

327
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,960
women's elite races. 
It's the place where you'll be 

328
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:36,160
able to get real time reactions,
our own commentary, splits and 

329
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,400
insights from Eric Jenkins, 
Karen Lesowitz, Paul Hoff 

330
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,280
Mahoney and myself. 
Yes, we'll also have some 

331
00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,800
surprise giveaways for marathon 
finishers. 

332
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,640
If you are in Chicago, you do 
not want to miss it. 

333
00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,920
We'll be unveiling what the 
commemorative item will be in 

334
00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,520
the coming days. 
The stream will kick off Sunday 

335
00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:01,240
at 7:15 AM Central Time. 
So TuneIn and don't miss a 

336
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,680
chance to try the brand new 
Rocket X3 and the Up Tempo Mock 

337
00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,240
X3. 
If you're in Chicago and can 

338
00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,960
attend the Hoka Hub at the 
Marathon Expo all weekend long. 

339
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:13,920
Hoka's got tons of events lined 
up. 

340
00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,480
Wednesday, October 8th, the One 
Chicago Dinner for all of the 

341
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,920
run crews in attendance hosted 
by Peace Runners 773. 

342
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,400
Friday, October 10th there's 
some poster making, sushi bites 

343
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,359
and mini recovery sessions out 
of the Hoka Chicago store. 

344
00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,360
Saturday, October 11th there's a
shake out run with Free People 

345
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,240
movement out of their place. 
Sunday, October 12th custom shoe

346
00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,080
art by muralist Amuse 126 with 
some live music. 

347
00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,680
And then the day after the race 
you're going to want to remember

348
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,240
that moment, the performance. 
There's metal engravings hosted 

349
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,960
by 7:00 on Sunday Out of Frame 
Chicago. 

350
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,040
You can RSVP, get the addresses,
the times, all of the details 

351
00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,400
through Hoka's Eventbrite link 
in the show notes. 

352
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,800
We've also linked to it on the 
Sidious Mag Instagram bio. 

353
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:06,080
So check it all out today. 
We will see you soon, Chicago. 

354
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,720
I've done chats before with like
Ry Benjamin where he on Twitter 

355
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,280
like constantly like floats 
these ideas out there. 

356
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:14,360
He's like, why are we doing 
this? 

357
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,960
Or like, what can be, you know, 
things as small as like, why do 

358
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,480
we wear bibs? 
And then like at the same time, 

359
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:24,640
just bigger picture changes. 
So what are some of those things

360
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,680
that now that you've been a pro,
what is this like 3 years now? 

361
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:31,000
I think at this point, what are 
some of the changes you want to 

362
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,680
kind of see in like the 
professionalism of, of the 

363
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,560
sport? 
Because there, I mean, let's be 

364
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,120
honest, there have been attempts
at this this year, right, with 

365
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,120
Grand Slam, with Athos. 
And so like there some things 

366
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,680
work, some things don't. 
But at the same time, like you 

367
00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,040
need to be able to, like you 
said, step out and try and make 

368
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,720
those changes and maybe some 
take some don't. 

369
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,360
We saw just sort of like prize 
money get raised across the 

370
00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,640
board because one party started 
doing it. 

371
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,880
So like for you, now that you've
had this experience over three 

372
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:00,760
years, like what are some of 
those things that stick out to 

373
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:02,560
you? 
Honestly, the biggest, the 

374
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,560
biggest thing in our sport, 
track and field is so broad. 

375
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:11,920
It's so, you know, worldwide, 
which is good because in a grand

376
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,840
scheme of things, when you hear 
you're like you're the fastest 

377
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,360
woman in the world or you're the
fastest man in the world, you 

378
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,520
can run, you can jump the 
farthest, you can throw the 

379
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,240
farthest in the world. 
Like that sounds amazing, but we

380
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,920
don't have anything that is just
for America. 

381
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,760
Or like we don't have like we're
always grouped with the world, 

382
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:34,520
whereas with other sports, you 
know, even though they may have 

383
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,000
some people who are from 
overseas or whatever the case 

384
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,000
may be, we have something that 
is a solidified foundation in 

385
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,200
the United States of America. 
And I feel like that right there

386
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,680
is our number one problem. 
We don't have, we don't have a 

387
00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,120
voice in America. 
The only voice that we do have 

388
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,440
is tied to the Olympics. 
And there are so many people out

389
00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,680
there that still think we only 
run every four years. 

390
00:19:57,680 --> 00:19:59,920
There's a Super Bowl every, 
There's a Super Bowl every year.

391
00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,800
Everybody knows that there's 
going to be football games every

392
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,840
like, you know, from for 17 
weeks, from September to 

393
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,520
January. 
Everybody knows that. 

394
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,600
But yeah, like with us, nobody 
ever knows when we're going to 

395
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,320
run. 
Nobody ever knows. 

396
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,560
Like you know what I'm saying, 
You like we have to go out of 

397
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,760
our way to make sure we put out 
a schedule for our fans to see 

398
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,160
and things like that. 
Like, we don't have any type of 

399
00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:27,040
structure that is within the 
United States to be able to give

400
00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,320
us the platform that we may need
at home. 

401
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,160
You know, obviously we get the 
support and the love from the 

402
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,160
world. 
Like when you go over on the 

403
00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,280
Diamond League circuit, like 
Europe, they always show for 

404
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,320
their fans. 
They always, you know, do it, do

405
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:39,680
what it is that they're supposed
to do, right? 

406
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,400
But in the States, that is not 
the case at all. 

407
00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,440
It's tough. 
Well, it sucks because we always

408
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,640
say the US team is the hardest 
team to make. 

409
00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,720
Why is it the hardest team to 
make if we have nobody there to 

410
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,200
really see it, You know what I'm
saying? 

411
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,920
And if that's the case, why 
don't we take, why don't we take

412
00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:59,880
making Team USA, like making 
that something to where you can 

413
00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:03,200
have USA athletes compete 
against each other all the time.

414
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,240
You know, that's just one of the
bits for me. 

415
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,800
It's tricky because it's like it
takes, it does take money to try

416
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,240
and pull that off like right, 
like it's people want to get 

417
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,600
paid in order to show their 
cards against, you know, their 

418
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,040
biggest competitors. 
And so it's like that's, you 

419
00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:19,880
know, one of the the challenges 
to trying to force athletes to 

420
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,840
race and go head to head. 
So I mean, like, I know what 

421
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:25,680
there was that report that now, 
like athletes have gotten a 

422
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,000
portion of the money that was 
owed to them from Grand Slam. 

423
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,560
But like your general feelings 
like, right, like it's, it 

424
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,480
sounds like you had tremendous 
success. 

425
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,240
This was a platform that 
definitely catapulted you and, 

426
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,520
you know, put you centre stage. 
Yep, I'm I'm reading into it 

427
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,080
like you'd love to see it back 
in some way, shape or form. 

428
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,800
I I would, I feel like honestly,
granted, I don't know what 

429
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,320
everybody else was saying, but I
feel like I am one of the only 

430
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,320
athletes who is a racer in Grand
Slam that hasn't bashed it. 

431
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,400
But that's because I genuinely 
believe in it. 

432
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,040
I genuinely feel like this can 
work. 

433
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,360
Obviously the situation was very
unfortunate. 

434
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,200
You know, you think you have 
things in play, you think you 

435
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,760
can take people for their words,
signs, whatever contracts, 

436
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,840
whatever the case may be. 
I'm just running my mouth. 

437
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,160
I don't know anything. 
I'm just saying. 

438
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,640
But like, yeah, but it's like, 
at the end of the day, business 

439
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,400
is still a business. 
And some of these investors, 

440
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:21,000
like, if they don't see the key 
people, you know, maybe that's 

441
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,560
why that could have been a 
thing. 

442
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,760
Like I'm saying, I don't know 
obviously why some people 

443
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,320
decided to pull out, but I'm 
just saying some of those things

444
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,040
have a factor. 
And it sucks because, you know, 

445
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,280
you look at I'd say it all the 
time. 

446
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,760
It's this might be a little bit 
more controversial to compare to

447
00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:37,640
things that I've said in the 
past. 

448
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,960
But I do feel like, yeah, I feel
like some of the stars that we 

449
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,600
have in the sport right now, you
know, like I said before, it's 

450
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,760
not always about, you know, if 
you want to be the face, it's 

451
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,920
about being a being for the 
change as well. 

452
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,720
And like even though safe, let's
like let's just take Grand Slam 

453
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,120
for example, obviously because 
it's the most, it's the biggest 

454
00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:58,800
thing that's been the most 
controversial this year, right? 

455
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,560
Let's take Grand Slam. 
So yes, they didn't have field 

456
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,800
events, right? 
They wanted to try something 

457
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:09,040
that was different, wanted to 
basically introduce something to

458
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,200
the eye that would be a pedaling
that people would, you know, 

459
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,480
gravitate to latch on to, right?
Because as much as the people in

460
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,040
the track and field love our 
sport, like as much as we do 

461
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,960
love it, our world is so, so 
small, right, compared to 

462
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,160
everyone else. 
And so for a lot of the times we

463
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,760
have a hard time accepting what 
can be if it isn't, you know, if

464
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,880
it isn't the way it's always 
been or if it's, you know, 

465
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,560
right, how whatever the case may
be. 

466
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,360
So I feel like sometimes, like 
when it came to the stars of our

467
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:42,360
sports wanting to be a part of 
it and you know, you didn't get 

468
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,040
like the no allows or you didn't
get Rye Benjamin or you didn't 

469
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,440
get, you know, whoever else, 
right? 

470
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,600
It kind of hurt, right? 
And I get at the end of the day,

471
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:55,440
being a star, being a face, you 
want to be paid comp or paid 

472
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,160
fairly or paid in a justified 
way, you know, to say, to 

473
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,480
solidify your backing and your 
stance on it. 

474
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,280
Or, you know, maybe you didn't 
necessarily agree with the 

475
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,720
format of it or whatever the 
case may be, but it's like you 

476
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,080
didn't even give it a shot. 
You know what I'm saying? 

477
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:16,120
And I just don't think at the 
end of the day like it was, it's

478
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:20,760
fair to the rest of us who were 
like me now who's trying to come

479
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:22,240
up. 
Obviously, Grand Slam worked for

480
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:23,400
me. 
It gave me the platform that I 

481
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,760
needed. 
I was in shape to go and run all

482
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:28,360
these rounds and do whatever I 
need to do. 

483
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,520
Like it worked for me however, 
but it hurt in a sense. 

484
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,040
Like if that makes. 
Sense all right, so that season 

485
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,680
I mean it literally ran from 
April all the way till 

486
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:40,720
September. 
And if I'm looking through just 

487
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:45,040
like so many of your results, it
feels like there were no moment 

488
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,400
of weakness really when it came 
to just sort of like every 

489
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,560
single time that you stepped out
onto the track. 

490
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,360
If we go back to like March, was
that sort of what you kind of 

491
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:57,280
expected or like were there 
signs that this was going to be 

492
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,320
a breakout year for you? 
I definitely had a couple of 

493
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,720
signs in fall training, but it 
was kind of like, OK, like let's

494
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,600
just take it. 
Let's just get through the 

495
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,480
practices, Like let's just keep 
doing what we're doing. 

496
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,200
And then I got to kind of like a
dead spot, a dead spot in 

497
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,000
training. 
Like I think it was maybe like 

498
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,280
the month of February. 
So probably like a month leading

499
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,360
up into my wedding. 
Obviously my mind was kind of 

500
00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:20,400
like everywhere. 
So it was like I was coming to 

501
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,240
practice and I was still doing 
good, but I wasn't doing like 

502
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,080
the things that I really wanted 
to do like that's. 

503
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,560
Wedding planning. 
Yes, yes, yes. 

504
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,880
So at that point it's like, OK, 
we're like 2 months out for the 

505
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:35,640
first meet, but also I'm about 
to get married, which is very 

506
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,240
exciting. 
So after the after the wedding, 

507
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,480
you know, Roland looked at me 
and he asked me. 

508
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,320
He's like, so like, how do you 
feel about this year? 

509
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:44,480
Like what do you want to do? 
Like what do you, what do you 

510
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,240
think you're like, what do you 
want to do? 

511
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,320
Like let's, let's write it down.
And I said, I honestly don't 

512
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,960
know, but I think I don't know 
because I was so satisfied with 

513
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:58,560
how 2024 went for me, you know, 
being that I came back, made the

514
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,080
Olympic team after missing 2 1/2
months of training. 

515
00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:05,800
Like I was really in a space of 
content in being happy. 

516
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,840
And I went back and I watched 
the race from the Olympics and I

517
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,000
watched how I got out. 
And I was like, Melissa, like, 

518
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,120
you know, you're stronger than 
you think you are, but 

519
00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:18,680
physically you just didn't have 
the strength to be able to 

520
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,920
finish the race. 
And every time I look at that 

521
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,800
race, I see somebody who's a 
fighter, but gave it everything 

522
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,720
they had. 
And so crossing the line and 

523
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,440
also like is it was I was kind 
of like torn. 

524
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,400
So part of me was like happy 
because of all that I overcame. 

525
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,120
But then the other part of me 
was like, Tang, I could have had

526
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,400
a silver medal if I just didn't 
lean 15 meters out. 

527
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,800
Like, what do we do it? 
And so getting over that part, 

528
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,240
allowing myself to be human and 
really look at it, I'm like, OK,

529
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:46,800
cool, like let's go at it from 
this. 

530
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,480
But then I was also in a weird 
spot because I didn't want to. 

531
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,720
I didn't want what happened in 
2022 or 2023 after I came off of

532
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,600
the year 2022 to happen again in
2025. 

533
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,240
Like me not making that team in 
2023 literally haunts me. 

534
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,440
I don't ever want to experience 
that ever again. 

535
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,320
That feeling of thinking like, 
you know, you've been there 

536
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:07,880
before. 
You know what it takes mentally,

537
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:10,680
but it it ain't working out. 
Like I don't ever want to feel 

538
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,600
like that ever again. 
And so I write, I wrote down 

539
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,240
some goals in our book. 
Not really. 

540
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,560
I won't say not fully believing 
in them, but like, I was still 

541
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,280
having my reservations about 
what I feel like could happen. 

542
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:30,200
So I was in, in the words of my 
coach, I was very scared of the 

543
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,800
unknown. 
And once I've stopped being 

544
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:34,840
afraid of the unknown, that's 
when I got it together. 

545
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,240
And I was joking in practice, 
'cause I'm like, I need to 

546
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,280
figure out how to run a 200 
before we get to Kingston. 

547
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,360
Like, I can't be going all the 
way down there to those people's

548
00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:45,600
islands and embarrassing myself 
on national television. 

549
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,320
I'm not doing it. 
And so after Philly, I mean 

550
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,800
Philly, after Kingston happened,
it was kind of like, OK, we're 

551
00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:53,760
back in the swing of things. 
We knocked the cobwebs off. 

552
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:57,520
Let's just keep building. 
And for me, all the races that I

553
00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:58,840
was doing were the Grand Slam 
meets. 

554
00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,400
So I would literally go run 2 
races and then go home for three

555
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,720
weeks and just train like there 
was no going to other meets and 

556
00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,800
things like that. 
I was literally popping out 

557
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,160
every two to three weeks or 
every three to four weeks and 

558
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,560
then going back home and getting
really, really good training in 

559
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,440
and then it just started to 
build from there. 

560
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,680
All right. 
So you wrote down sometimes. 

561
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,280
Can you reveal, I guess now what
you wrote down? 

562
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,480
Crazy enough in the 200 I always
have to laugh when it comes to 

563
00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:27,240
the 200 because I I really 
played myself for real. 

564
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,600
My my end all be all time. 
This year in the 200 was 

565
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:36,200
actually 2192. 
You demolished that. 

566
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:43,560
Yeah, 2192 I was like, I feel 
like I can run 21 nine and then 

567
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:48,240
in the 100 I wanted to, I think 
I I wrote down initially in that

568
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,840
book I wrote down 1070 is what I
wrote down. 

569
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,520
And so so I was kind of like, 
OK, that could work. 

570
00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,440
But I knew I was like, if I can 
run at least 21 nine, then, you 

571
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,880
know, I can get to like I'll be 
able I'll have the strength to 

572
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:05,080
be able to finish the 100 I need
to. 

573
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,600
So yeah. 
So those were the times that I 

574
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,280
have written down. 
And then as the season went on, 

575
00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,760
I kind of just like started 
speaking numbers out loud. 

576
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:15,280
And even one day, Coach, I don't
even know if coach remembers 

577
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,360
this, but he was talking to me 
about something. 

578
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,680
I was walking back to the box. 
He was like Melissa, like, you 

579
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,040
know, you really need to make 
sure that you're doing. 

580
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,760
He said doing something, I can't
remember. 

581
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,600
Maybe it was like pushing out 
the blocks the right way or 

582
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:29,400
frequency, something he was 
talking about. 

583
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,760
He was like, because if we want 
to run 1068. 

584
00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:34,560
And I looked at him like, oh, 
for real? 

585
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:36,520
OK, bet. 
Like, let's do it. 

586
00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,120
That's where it just, I want, 
this is where you can get as 

587
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,680
technical or nerdy, like when it
comes to the actual Sprint 

588
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,800
mechanics, race execution. 
When you look at a race from 

589
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:54,520
2025, we can take the 1065 from 
USAS or the 1061 from World 

590
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,720
Championships. 
What are the things that look 

591
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,760
different in the execution? 
Obviously, like you're going 

592
00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,920
faster, right? 
We see that in the result time. 

593
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,360
But when we're as fans watching 
these things, what are the 

594
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:11,360
things that make 2025 Melissa 
better, faster, different from 

595
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,640
2024 Melissa that ended up with 
a bronze medal? 

596
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,800
The biggest thing was me having 
a complete fall in Dennis 

597
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,640
Mitchell's training, a complete 
fog. 

598
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,400
It's basically like setting like
having that foundation. 

599
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,280
So yeah, so as the season went 
on and I just kind of started 

600
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,320
dropping times myself. 
So like once I ran, once I ran 

601
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:35,640
1073 in Philly, I was like, 
well, 1073 and 2199, I was like,

602
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,880
oh, I don't know what you 
thought you, I don't know what 

603
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,720
you thought you were going to do
this year, but it's nothing 

604
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:41,480
compared to what's going to 
happen. 

605
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,000
Like at that point I was like, 
at this point I'm just keep 

606
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,480
stepping on the line and seeing 
how far we could take this. 

607
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,960
And then at US Trials, probably 
thought that I was going to run 

608
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,840
ten 6/10/65. 
It was like, OK, sweet spot. 

609
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:55,280
Like, you know, it's like right 
in the middle. 

610
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,240
So it's not like 10-6 high. 
I would love 10-6 low, but we're

611
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,000
not there yet, but we're in a 
good spot. 

612
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,880
But the 200, the 200 at trials 
was. 

613
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,720
That might be one of my 
favorites. 2184. 

614
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,680
Yes, because it was once again 
cold like it had the temperature

615
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,360
had dropped and everything and 
then we had just ran like 45 

616
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,680
minutes before that. 
So it's like wow, I'm like 

617
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,800
really in shape right. 
So going from that it was kind 

618
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,000
of just like, OK, I have two 
more hundreds left and then like

619
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,200
let's start looking to where So 
like what we can do in Tokyo. 

620
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:35,920
When I ran 1066 in Poland, the 
race by far that shocked me the 

621
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,000
most this year. 
Really I I did not think that I 

622
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,000
was running that fast in Poland.
I promise you. 

623
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,760
I came to the line and I saw the
time and I was like, like, what 

624
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,680
do you mean? 
I just went 1066? 

625
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:49,760
Like I took a 8 hour flight over
here. 

626
00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:51,960
I got over here three days ago. 
Like what are you talking about?

627
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,720
It's insane. 
It was totally insane. 

628
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,520
OK, so that that was the the 
shocking 100. 

629
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,280
But for the 200, yes, you 
pointed out the US as one, but 

630
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,720
I'm sure a massive confidence 
booster would have been the 

631
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,560
Philly one, right? 
Because it's like, and that one 

632
00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,560
like you, you beat Gabby, the 
Olympic champion, and that must 

633
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,200
have like been a big step 
forward for your confidence. 

634
00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:17,480
It was, but it wasn't a shocker 
because I knew I was going to 

635
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,240
beat her. 
I will be honest to say that I 

636
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,600
did not like losing in Miami 
like that. 

637
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:27,160
That me swimming at the end and 
getting beat by Gabby. 

638
00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,960
I would well, I fell to 3rd 
because Tamari came back and 

639
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,080
passed me as well. 
Yeah, I didn't too much like 

640
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:33,760
that. 
I was happy that I still won the

641
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,960
the slam, but I was like I I 
didn't want to lose that. 

642
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:41,520
And so getting ready for Philly,
I was like, yeah, like, you're 

643
00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:42,640
not going to get me. 
Twice. 

644
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:47,040
That's the only blemish on your 
whole season Is the third place 

645
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,080
in that 200. 
Yeah, I. 

646
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,560
Know, I know, I know, but it was
but that's why I kind of, I 

647
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:54,440
don't know if you remember like 
my face when I came through the 

648
00:32:54,440 --> 00:33:00,160
line in Philly, it was kind of 
like, oh wow, I did that. 

649
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,760
But I looked at I looked, I was 
looking like that because 

650
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:06,640
earlier that day, like how I 
said, I always feel like I'm 

651
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:11,360
getting in my own way when it 
comes to the 200 I was starting.

652
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,800
I I feel like Philly is where, 
like you said, it was my 

653
00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:18,760
breakthrough race, but Philly 
was also where my confidence 

654
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,320
definitely like for the rest, 
it's like set up my confidence 

655
00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:23,840
for the rest of the year. 
It was like, OK, Melissa, no 

656
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:28,120
matter is, well, not no matter, 
but like as long as you stay out

657
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,200
your own way, like this guy is 
literally literally the limit 

658
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,320
for you. 
Like as long as you don't try to

659
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:37,360
get in your own way, you can 
literally go out there and shock

660
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:38,760
yourself. 
You can go out there and shock 

661
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:40,320
the world. 
You can go out there and do 

662
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,000
things that nobody else think 
that you can do. 

663
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,400
And I for sure needed that. 
Like definitely needed that. 

664
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:53,080
OK, so how do you define rival 
here? 

665
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,680
Because like, hear me out. 
Like you just said, like with 

666
00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,040
with the Philly 200, you're 
like, I knew I was going to beat

667
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:01,280
her, right? 
Like there's that confidence 

668
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:03,280
there. 
You didn't take kindly to losing

669
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:08,120
to Gabby and Tamari in Miramar 
and in, in, in, in Miami. 

670
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:13,159
And so like we got some good 
battles between like some of the

671
00:34:13,159 --> 00:34:15,840
top stars. 
And so is this something where 

672
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,600
like you also kind of and we see
it on the guy side, like, right,

673
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,239
they're they're they're pretty 
open about trash talking and and

674
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:25,080
all that stuff. 
But like on the women's side 

675
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,719
too, Like is that something too 
that you also view? 

676
00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,080
It's like, you know what, yeah, 
Gabby is my rival going into 

677
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,480
next year and that there's, you 
know, an opportunity, you know, 

678
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,760
at the World Ultimate 
championships and stuff like 

679
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,679
that and at US championships to 
really continue to, you know, 

680
00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:44,560
race her at her best. 
And, you know, in 100 too, It's 

681
00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:46,719
it's your training partner. 
So like, how do you go about 

682
00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,920
framing rivals in this sport 
where like, that's what people 

683
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,120
kind of want to play up? 
I think it's good for the sport,

684
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:58,160
especially on the women's side, 
because for so long it's been 

685
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,080
well. 
So after what I would say, I 

686
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,280
don't feel like people have 
really been talking about a 

687
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:07,200
true, true rivalry in the 
women's Sprint since Shelly Ann 

688
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,560
and Carmelita. 
Like, that was the last time it 

689
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,120
was kind of like a, you know, a 
real thing. 

690
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:16,000
But now to be able to have not 
only rivalries in 100, which is 

691
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,200
my main event, but also the 200 
as well. 

692
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,480
Like it's just it's kind of 
like, OK. 

693
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,240
Like, it makes me happy. 
It makes me excited. 

694
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:25,440
Yeah. 
What did you think of just sort 

695
00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:27,320
of like, because this is 
interesting, you stayed out of 

696
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,160
just the fray of like all of the
stuff that's happening on social

697
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:32,480
media. 
Then you have Kenny and Noah 

698
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,160
pushing each other and it's like
for you, it's like when there's 

699
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:38,360
all of this noise in the sprints
and it's like, you just were 

700
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,440
just like, I'm just going to 
continue running and winning and

701
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:44,000
that was it. 
But like was is that any part 

702
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,240
of? 
Is any part of it like loud 

703
00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:50,440
around you or no? 
I choose to not let it get that 

704
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,320
way for me, 'cause like you 
said, there has been a lot going

705
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,640
on this year, especially social 
media people having their own 

706
00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,160
thoughts and opinions about 
whatever the case may be. 

707
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,720
And there has been so many times
where I've like went to, went to

708
00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:08,120
X, hit the add button to tweet 
something, literally wrote it 

709
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,200
out and just backspace. 
And I was like, Melissa, it's 

710
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,120
not even worth your time. 
Like there's been countless of 

711
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:17,320
times where I've just wanted to 
like retweet something or share 

712
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:20,320
it and be like, you're so wrong.
But OK, cool, whatever. 

713
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,440
Like, 'cause at the end of the 
day, like that's what it's there

714
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:24,960
for. 
People are going to troll. 

715
00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:27,680
They're going to talk like 
they're going to say what they 

716
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,440
want to say to get under your 
skin. 

717
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,000
Like I'm, I'm not going to give 
these folks the satisfaction to 

718
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,000
thinking like though, like 
they're getting to me and all 

719
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,120
this stuff. 
And it is crazy because I said 

720
00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:41,840
this. 
I said I think I told, I can't 

721
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:45,120
remember who I told, but I was 
like when Kenny pushed Noah and 

722
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,720
the whole thing happened, I'm 
like, Dang it, I went out there 

723
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:50,080
and ran 2184. 
I'm like I didn't made some 

724
00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:52,120
history and nobody's talking 
about it because Kenny want to 

725
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:52,960
push Noah. 
That's. 

726
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:54,920
Right. 
Yeah, same day. 

727
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,920
Yeah, I'm like, OK, OK, fine. 
I'll just wait my turn. 

728
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:02,040
Eventually I'll do something 
where they won't have a choice 

729
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:04,080
but to talk about what I did, 
and it'll work out. 

730
00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,520
It'll work yourself out. 
And then that is the World 

731
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,280
Championships when you go and 
win 3 gold medals. 

732
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:14,720
Yep. 
This episode of the Sidious Mac 

733
00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:17,600
Podcast is brought to you by the
Wahoo Kicker Run. 

734
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,600
It's the treadmill that follows 
you, not the other way around. 

735
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,400
The Kicker Run isn't just 
another treadmill, it's a 

736
00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,760
complete rethink of indoor 
running with dynamic pacing. 

737
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:29,440
It automatically adjusts to your
stride. 

738
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:33,040
No buttons, no breaking form, 
just pure running freedom. 

739
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,960
It's terrain simulation makes 
the deck feel like a tracker to 

740
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:39,480
the trail, while lateral tilt 
mimics real world conditions so 

741
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:41,240
that you're prepared for race 
day. 

742
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,400
Don't just take it from me. 
Olympic 1500 meter champion and 

743
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:50,280
newly minted 5K world champion 
Cole Hawker uses it for his 

744
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:52,440
double s and occasionally for 
interval workouts. 

745
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,480
He has a video on his Instagram 
where he says some of my first 

746
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,920
impressions of the Kicker Run 
were how natural it felt with 

747
00:37:57,920 --> 00:37:59,960
the Run free mode. 
It's an experience that I 

748
00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:01,600
haven't had on another 
treadmill. 

749
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,960
I describe the Kicker Run to 
someone who hasn't run on it 

750
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,120
before as the closest thing you 
can get to outdoor running 

751
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,600
without going outside. 
Personally, I had the chance to 

752
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:14,400
try this at the Chicago, New 
York City, and Boston Marathon 

753
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:19,120
Expos, and it's a runners dream.
Then there's also the unmatched 

754
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:21,240
connectivity. 
Sync your training with the 

755
00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,200
Wahoo app, explore routes on 
Strava, or jump at the Swift. 

756
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,080
The Kicker Run plunges straight 
into that running ecosystem. 

757
00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:31,440
Wahoo transformed indoor cycling
with the first smart trainers. 

758
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:32,920
Now they're doing the same for 
running. 

759
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,840
So whether you're chasing your 
first half marathon finish, a 

760
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:40,240
marathon PR, or your next trail 
adventure, the Kicker Run is 

761
00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:45,240
built to help you run your run. 
learnmore@wahoofitness.com 

762
00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:48,480
Sidious Mag Podcast listeners 
can also unlock a special offer.

763
00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:50,600
Use the code SIDIOUS at 
checkout. 

764
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:55,680
That's CITIUS, and you'll get a 
free Wahoo Kicker Headwind fan. 

765
00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,440
It's the smart fan that 
intelligently controls fan 

766
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,640
speeds to help keep you cool 
when the training is heating up.

767
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,120
It's valued at 319 bucks, but 
it's all yours for free when you

768
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:08,880
use the code Sidious at checkout
when purchasing A Kicker Run. 

769
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:13,000
Check it all out at Wahoo 
fitness com and use code Sidious

770
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:17,120
at checkout today. 
All right, so when it comes to 

771
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,880
you handling that pressure, 
right, like when you were on 

772
00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:24,720
such a hot streak all throughout
the season getting to the World 

773
00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:28,000
Championships, did it feel 
different? 

774
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:31,160
Like there was this expectation 
for you to come away with the 

775
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,040
gold medal entering the World 
Championships? 

776
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,200
There definitely was just sort 
of like it's Melissa versus 

777
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,520
Julian if everyone is at their 
top form. 

778
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,000
And that was kind of like for 
gold, right? 

779
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,520
Like that was every how everyone
was viewing these races. 

780
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,480
And then for you internally, how
did you just go about mentally 

781
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:50,880
framing the World Championships 
where maybe for the first time 

782
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:54,160
you're entering as like a gold 
medal, you know, favorite and 

783
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,720
contender? 
Yeah, as the year went on, as 

784
00:39:56,720 --> 00:40:00,320
things just kept happening 
obviously like you have, I have,

785
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:04,640
I went through certain phases or
certain periods with throughout 

786
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,080
the year where. 
I kind of felt like I needed to 

787
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:12,120
be a little bit more locked in 
than I was, depending on where 

788
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,600
in the season we were. 
Maybe it was, you know, us 

789
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:17,040
getting to that third week of 
training. 

790
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,520
And I'm like, man, coach is 
really killing us. 

791
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:20,880
I'm tired. 
Like I feel like I need to go 

792
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:24,360
out there and race or it just 
being, you know, like trying to 

793
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,920
silence out social media and you
know, really just trying to 

794
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,720
focus on myself, focus on what I
need to do and not worrying 

795
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:34,440
about what else is going on 
around me. 

796
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:40,480
So I feel like going, going into
worlds, especially after, 

797
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:45,760
especially after Brussels, I 
kind of came back home for those

798
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:49,720
couple of days and it was hard. 
Like coach had us out there 

799
00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:51,000
doing stuff like we was in the 
fall. 

800
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,400
I was like, excuse me, like we, 
we, we was just doing 60s and 

801
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:58,440
80s Like why are we out here 
doing multiple 2 hundreds and, 

802
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,440
and all of this craziness, like 
what's wrong with you? 

803
00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:04,920
But I'm just having like 
refreshing my mind. 

804
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:06,840
Like we literally we was on the 
track doing that. 

805
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,800
And I said I felt like it smells
like fall training out here. 

806
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:15,840
And I didn't appreciate that. 
But just learning like when, 

807
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:17,640
when to and when to switch it 
off. 

808
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:21,400
Like mentally just, you know, 
allowing myself to be Melissa, 

809
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:25,400
but then also making sure that 
I'm being disciplined enough or 

810
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,720
I'm kind of like competitor 
Melissa in a sense. 

811
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:33,480
So when we got to Tokyo those 
first two weeks, I think we got 

812
00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:38,000
to the track one day and we had 
blocks and the air was real 

813
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,840
thick. 
I'm talking about like. 

814
00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,640
Yeah, I was humid. 
Yeah, yeah. 

815
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:46,440
But just like mentally, like you
could feel like the pressure of 

816
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:51,040
like what was about to happen. 
All of us, like obviously coach 

817
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:57,200
had it was seven of us there and
of the seven of us, six of us 

818
00:41:57,200 --> 00:42:01,840
was competing individually. 
So we know you have to balance 

819
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,640
that, right? 
Everybody wants the same things.

820
00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:08,520
However, it's up to us, like 
coach tell us all the time. 

821
00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:11,680
I give all of you the same tools
to be able to go out there and 

822
00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:13,920
perform the way you need to. 
But however, it's up to you. 

823
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,800
Like when you get on that line, 
like it's you who have to put it

824
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:18,200
together. 
But that's how we approach it 

825
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:19,520
too. 
Like we train as a team, like 

826
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,680
we're a family. 
But when we get on that line, 

827
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:22,920
I'm gonna see you after finish 
line. 

828
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:24,520
Like that's that's just what it 
is. 

829
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:27,960
No love lost or anything, but 
that's just, it has to be that 

830
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,200
way at the end of the day, going
like leading up into the first 

831
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,440
round for the 100, like you 
could just feel it. 

832
00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:37,600
And for for a split second it 
did feel a little heavy. 

833
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,040
I will say that. 
But the one thing that I 

834
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:44,080
reminded myself of, and it's 
something that my coach has been

835
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,480
telling me all year is he was 
like, don't feel like you have 

836
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,640
to beat anybody else. 
You know, what you've been doing

837
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,960
has been working for you. 
Continue to do that. 

838
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,200
Don't don't try to overdo it. 
Don't try to just because we're 

839
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,880
at this me feel like you got to 
be this whole new brand person. 

840
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:01,760
If you've been being Melissa all
year and you've been winning it 

841
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:04,280
all year, what else do you need 
to do? 

842
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,680
Like just go out there and be 
yourself. 

843
00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:09,280
When it comes to just like 
regular season training, what is

844
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:11,320
it? 
I guess like that coach Dennis 

845
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:15,560
Mitchell does so well when it 
comes to balancing, just like 

846
00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:19,120
all of the talent that has to 
train with one another. 

847
00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:23,000
Like how often are you and TT 
and Shakari like in the same 

848
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,080
workouts? 
Like and, and what does he do to

849
00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:27,520
the kind of like keep it 
individualized because you're 

850
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:31,160
all after the same team spots, 
You're all after the same medals

851
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:34,880
and that could be hard. 
Crazy enough you say that all of

852
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:36,600
our workouts we do together like
we. 

853
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,640
All of them. 
Wow, yeah, all of them. 

854
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,920
Like we might have sometimes 
where we'll have like so in the 

855
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:44,360
fall, like when we're first 
getting back, like sometimes 

856
00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:49,320
we'll split into cuz this year's
it was 5 girls, so me, TT, 

857
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:53,960
Shakari, Kayla and Tonia. 
So we'll sometimes we'll split 

858
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:58,360
into two groups where it'll be 
two of us running cuz. 

859
00:43:58,440 --> 00:43:59,800
But in the fall we're in the 
grass. 

860
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,920
So like say, for instance, like 
this fall, it was me and Tonia 

861
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,640
who was running together. 
But it was because of like where

862
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:10,960
we was at a pace wise, we were 
hitting, we were at a different 

863
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:15,200
pace than TT and Shakiri was. 
So, you know, it's kind of like 

864
00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:17,320
kind of like raising the bar in 
a sense. 

865
00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:21,800
So like he, if anything, like we
group, we group ourselves that 

866
00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:24,960
way, you know, but still also 
obviously pushing each other. 

867
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:28,480
And then once we transition over
to the track and we still kind 

868
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,480
of stay in those groups. 
But then over time we kind of 

869
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:32,960
like mesh it a little bit or 
switch it up. 

870
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,720
And then by the time we get in, 
we, we get into like full blown 

871
00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:40,520
sprinting and stuff. 
So we're like doing say, for 

872
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:46,080
instance, we have a 150 or a 120
or 100 or 80, even in A50 or a 

873
00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:48,920
60 or 50. 
We're all lining up on the line 

874
00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:52,480
together and we're like doing 
the workout together. 

875
00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,920
And then like I would say the 
most individualized it gets is 

876
00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:59,120
on block days. 
But even then we're doing blocks

877
00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:02,160
together. 
It's like we're it's block day. 

878
00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:06,800
Block day in Star athletics 
training camp is really like me 

879
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:08,440
day in a sense. 
Like it gets real. 

880
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:11,840
It get real tense out there like
like it does for real. 

881
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:15,080
It can. 
And so like when it comes to him

882
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:17,200
trying to, you know, find that 
balance, like I said before, he 

883
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:19,800
tells us he gives us all the 
same tools, but he really does. 

884
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:24,520
He trains us together. 
But like it's up to us to make 

885
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,680
it as individualized or whatever
the case may be that we need to.

886
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:31,040
There's the moment in Sprint 
Season 1, I think, where it's 

887
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:34,160
like Coach Mitchell giving 
Shakiri the final instructions 

888
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:35,920
before going into the 100m 
final. 

889
00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:38,960
Epic scene of like the whole 
entire series. 

890
00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:43,480
And I'm curious, like what? 
What is that like then at AUS 

891
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:46,160
championships or at a World 
Championships where he has to do

892
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:50,240
that same thing but to two or 
three different individuals? 

893
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:53,280
It's not together I assume. 
No, it's not. 

894
00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:58,880
So he always walks us all over 
and then he says whatever he 

895
00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:02,960
needs to say to us individually,
but he's saying whatever we need

896
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:04,800
to hear. 
Like I probably need to hear 

897
00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:07,920
something different than Kayla 
needs to hear, or Shakiri 

898
00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:10,240
probably needs to hear something
different than what TT needs to 

899
00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:13,400
hear, and vice versa. 
Like all of us, whatever it may 

900
00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:17,360
be, whatever it, whatever we may
need to hear, like it could, it 

901
00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:20,720
don't even have to be something 
with the track or like something

902
00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:23,120
with the race itself. 
And maybe it needs to just be 

903
00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:26,280
like make sure you don't get in 
your own head to make sure that 

904
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,520
you go out there and be 
yourself, you know, things like 

905
00:46:28,520 --> 00:46:29,960
that. 
It just depends on who the 

906
00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:33,400
person is and what they may need
to hear at that moment. 

907
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:35,840
What were the best final 
instructions this year? 

908
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:39,520
Like what are some of the like 
final moments before you go on 

909
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,200
to the track that stick out to 
you? 

910
00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:43,160
Was it USA? 
Was it worlds? 

911
00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:46,280
Like what were some of the ones 
that really like hit home to 

912
00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:49,480
you? 
Phillies 200, Kingston 200. 

913
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:50,920
All of these were two hundreds, 
by the way. 

914
00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:52,760
Mind you, 'cause I say I begin 
in my own head. 

915
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,680
So it's almost like he knows 
this through. 

916
00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:58,000
So what's he say? 
Kingston's 200, he was like, 

917
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,640
look, when you come off that 
turn, the winds going to hit all

918
00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:03,880
of y'all, right? 
He said, look, if you just keep 

919
00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:07,680
your turnover and don't get big 
and long, you'll win the race. 

920
00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:10,760
And so I went out there and did 
that exact same thing and I went

921
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:14,200
in Philly. 
He said, look, you got a jumper.

922
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:16,880
If you get out there on her, 
she's not going to be able to 

923
00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:19,240
catch you. 
I did that and I won. 

924
00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:24,040
And then we got to the finals in
the 200 in Tokyo and he said, 

925
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:26,920
look, we're going to do the same
thing that we did in Philly. 

926
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:28,400
You do that in Philly, you'll 
win. 

927
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:33,800
That's perfect. 
So then what were the moments 

928
00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,720
where just sort of like you did 
the biggest thing you stressed 

929
00:47:36,720 --> 00:47:38,360
all throughout? 
And I remember when we had you 

930
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:42,560
kind of in the post race show at
one of the grand slams with, you

931
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:46,000
know, me, Sonia and John 
Anderson and you were just like,

932
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,800
I just got to Melissa's got to 
focus on being Melissa like the 

933
00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:50,840
whole entire season. 
And that was like the key thing 

934
00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:54,480
that rung all throughout. 
When you watch back some of 

935
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:56,880
these races from Tokyo, where do
you see those moments where 

936
00:47:56,880 --> 00:47:59,680
you're like, that's that's what 
I was trying to do and I and I 

937
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:01,800
accomplished it? 
You know, it's so crazy. 

938
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:06,800
I kind of feel like all of my 
races this year have definitely 

939
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:10,120
been that way. 
But I would say if I had to pick

940
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:13,600
any of them. 
The most Melissa races, yeah. 

941
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:17,400
The most most Melissa races 
Prefontaine. 

942
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:22,040
OK. 
US trials, hundred final and 

943
00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:24,840
Brussels. 
It's so fascinating because 

944
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:26,600
people would just assume it's 
like, yeah, she's gonna pick the

945
00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,560
fastest one of the year, but it 
wasn't. 

946
00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:31,400
So what was it about, 
Prefontaine? 

947
00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:34,520
I mean, again, you beat Julian 
in that one. 

948
00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:38,240
And that's like, I think it was 
a statement to the whole world, 

949
00:48:38,240 --> 00:48:40,800
basically. 
Yeah, yeah, like how I said 

950
00:48:40,800 --> 00:48:44,080
before going into the 200, I 
Philly, I was like, they won't 

951
00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:47,040
get you twice. 
I that's what I told myself at 

952
00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:50,680
pre, you know, it was basically 
the Olympic rematch final or 

953
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:52,640
yeah, it was basically the 
Olympic rematch. 

954
00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:54,800
And last time I got third, I 
didn't want to get third. 

955
00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:58,360
This time I wanted to win. 
So I was like, they won't give 

956
00:48:58,360 --> 00:49:01,560
me twice. 
And but just that race in 

957
00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:03,640
itself. 
If if I'm being Melissa, if I'm 

958
00:49:03,640 --> 00:49:07,160
focusing on what I need to do, 
then the rest will take care of 

959
00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:11,760
itself, which is why I've been 
so adamant and so keen on, you 

960
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:14,520
know, making sure that I'm 
executing my race the way that I

961
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:16,240
need to. 
If I execute my race the way 

962
00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:19,960
that I need to, then I know that
more than likely I'm going to 

963
00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:26,400
get the results that I want. 
The 100 at trials, it was just 

964
00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:31,400
kind of like a, you know what 
you're doing it like, not like 

965
00:49:31,400 --> 00:49:34,000
you did it like you're doing it.
You're doing exactly what you 

966
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:37,080
said you wanted to do. 
So it's kind of like my way of 

967
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:39,880
patting myself on the back by me
just being me. 

968
00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:44,120
Yeah. 
And then obviously in Tokyo, it 

969
00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:49,240
was kind of like the build up 
to, to all of the things that I 

970
00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:55,120
went through this year, 
mentally, physically, you know, 

971
00:49:55,720 --> 00:49:59,480
all of the happy times, like not
letting instead of trying to 

972
00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:01,800
think like, OK, like it's going 
so good. 

973
00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:04,480
It's going so good. 
I really hope it doesn't go bad.

974
00:50:04,720 --> 00:50:08,480
I just allowed it to just keep 
being good and when I got to 

975
00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:11,680
that race, crazy enough, the 
semi finals race when I ran 

976
00:50:11,680 --> 00:50:15,200
1073, I want everybody to know 
that I didn't realize I was 

977
00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:17,720
running that fast. 
OK, So if I looked a little 

978
00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:20,840
confused after I was walking 
back, I was genuinely confused 

979
00:50:21,080 --> 00:50:25,000
because I got out and I felt 
obviously I felt Tina next to me

980
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:29,400
get out. 
But then like I, I have gotten 

981
00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:32,720
really comfortable, I wanting to
separate or wanting to separate 

982
00:50:32,760 --> 00:50:35,440
or feel the separation. 
And so that's what I did. 

983
00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:39,560
Once I've felt me clear her, I 
really shut it down. 

984
00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:41,840
I didn't was not trying to run 
anymore. 

985
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:44,960
And then I came through the line
and I saw 1073 and I said, Oh, 

986
00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:48,800
well, all right, I'm going to go
sit down now. 

987
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:54,760
And then just like that, that 
time in under the stadium, like 

988
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:58,640
in the call room warm up area, 
like in narrative was so much 

989
00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:01,840
going on because obviously you 
have all these coaches in here, 

990
00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:04,480
you have all these athletes and 
everybody want their athlete. 

991
00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:07,600
Excuse me, everybody wants their
athlete to win, obviously. 

992
00:51:07,640 --> 00:51:10,240
But at the end of the day, 
whoever's time is going to be, 

993
00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:11,840
whatever's going to happen is 
going to happen. 

994
00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:14,480
And that's that. 
So, you know, you get to see the

995
00:51:14,480 --> 00:51:18,080
different dynamics you get to, 
you get, you either get to pay 

996
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:20,520
attention to it or you either do
pay attention to it or you 

997
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:22,600
don't. 
I was in the mind of my own 

998
00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:25,680
business. 
It was so crazy because at one 

999
00:51:25,680 --> 00:51:29,120
time I was sitting down, but 
generally genuinely looking 

1000
00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:31,400
confused still. 
Cause like, how the heck did I 

1001
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:36,480
just run 1073 like that? 
And I remember my husband was up

1002
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:40,520
under there 'cause obviously 
he's my physio and so he was 

1003
00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:42,800
looking at me, but he had this 
kind of like concerned looked on

1004
00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:46,280
his face. 
And I just sat back and I looked

1005
00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:52,440
up at him and I said, he said, 
you know what, You know what, 

1006
00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:53,920
'cause he was genuinely 
concerned. 

1007
00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:56,000
Well, not concerned, but like he
was trying to figure out where 

1008
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:58,240
my head was, like what my head 
space was. 

1009
00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:02,440
But once I smiled at him, he was
like, Oh yeah, she'll be all 

1010
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:05,560
right. 
And then I went out there and it

1011
00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:09,160
was like, once I crossed the 
line, I kind of had just like on

1012
00:52:09,160 --> 00:52:11,280
my face. 
But it was just kind of to say 

1013
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:14,680
like sticking it to all you 
folks out there who didn't 

1014
00:52:14,680 --> 00:52:19,320
think, you know what I'm saying?
Like, I've done so much and I've

1015
00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:21,320
proven myself time in and time 
out. 

1016
00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:23,760
And it's just like for some 
time, sometimes for some people,

1017
00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:26,680
it's just not enough. 
It's like, Oh, well, yeah, you 

1018
00:52:26,680 --> 00:52:27,920
know, she's been running so 
good. 

1019
00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:30,560
But if she lines up to this 
person or that person, she 

1020
00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:32,800
might, you know, try to tense 
up, try to. 

1021
00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:34,320
And it's like, why would you say
that? 

1022
00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:35,360
I haven't been doing it all 
year. 

1023
00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:37,440
You know what I'm saying? 
I don't know. 

1024
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:40,520
But yeah. 
So that was that was the race. 

1025
00:52:40,520 --> 00:52:42,840
That was my third race of where 
I felt like Melissa. 

1026
00:52:43,320 --> 00:52:46,720
Yeah, no, you certainly stuck it
to all of those people. 

1027
00:52:46,720 --> 00:52:49,560
And it's funny because it's like
when I hear just like the people

1028
00:52:49,560 --> 00:52:53,560
who do end up winning gold, they
kind of you sometimes like have 

1029
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:54,960
to. 
I, I, I feel like there were 

1030
00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:59,040
fewer doubters and critics of 
you come Tokyo, but there might 

1031
00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:01,320
have been like in the lead up to
it for sure. 

1032
00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:03,440
And I just always think about 
like someone like Grant 

1033
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:06,840
Holloway, who in all of those 
years when he was just winning 

1034
00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:09,400
so much, he always highlights 
sort of like all these doubters 

1035
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,280
and haters that I have. 
And I was like, I don't know who

1036
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:14,480
those people are because it's 
like you're pretty good and like

1037
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:17,880
dominant all throughout. 
Like, so as an elite athlete, 

1038
00:53:17,880 --> 00:53:21,560
sometimes you do have to like 
allow some of that noise in to 

1039
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:26,840
allow yourself to go all out and
come away with the world, lead 

1040
00:53:26,840 --> 00:53:29,720
the gold medal, whatever it is. 
Yeah, yeah. 

1041
00:53:29,840 --> 00:53:31,760
And you know what, that is very 
true because you know, 

1042
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:35,000
sometimes, like obviously there 
are some people and it'd be a 

1043
00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:38,960
small amount, but sometimes you 
really might do need, like you 

1044
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:40,840
said, you might do need that 
small amount. 

1045
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:44,400
Like for me, I think it'll 
always be, I think I'll always 

1046
00:53:44,400 --> 00:53:48,400
want to do well and want to 
perform at a high level and, and

1047
00:53:48,560 --> 00:53:51,200
accomplish the things that I do 
because I feel like there's 

1048
00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:53,880
always going to be a small 
amount of people out there who 

1049
00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:56,920
just feel like whatever I do is 
just not enough. 

1050
00:53:57,320 --> 00:53:58,960
Right? 
So that's how I approach it. 

1051
00:53:58,960 --> 00:54:01,280
I'm like, OK, cool. 
Like I, I was actually saying 

1052
00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:06,480
this thing. 
I said, OK, no, because somebody

1053
00:54:06,480 --> 00:54:09,600
said something, I can't remember
exactly what they said, but it 

1054
00:54:09,600 --> 00:54:14,600
was along the lines of, you 
know, me leading up to Tokyo, 

1055
00:54:14,600 --> 00:54:17,920
obviously, and me, you know, 
running in times that I was. 

1056
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:21,880
But it still wasn't, you know, 
it still wasn't going to change 

1057
00:54:21,880 --> 00:54:23,720
their pick or whatever your case
may be. 

1058
00:54:23,840 --> 00:54:26,360
And I'm like, that's OK, cool. 
But like, at the same time, you 

1059
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:29,360
don't have to, like, downplay 
what I'm doing in order to 

1060
00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:32,840
support somebody else. 
Like, I don't get that at all. 

1061
00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:36,680
So I'm like, OK, fine. 
I said at this point, I'm just 

1062
00:54:36,680 --> 00:54:38,280
going to have to go out there 
and break the world record. 

1063
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:41,320
That's the only way people are 
going to shut up like at this 

1064
00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:46,840
point. 
The City of Smack podcast is 

1065
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:51,240
presented by Ollipop. 
If you tune into our shows in 

1066
00:54:51,240 --> 00:54:54,240
Eugene, you may have seen me 
holding a nice yellow can that 

1067
00:54:54,240 --> 00:54:59,800
was lollipops new Pineapple 
Paradise flavor straight out of 

1068
00:54:59,800 --> 00:55:02,040
Bikini Bottom. 
Their limited edition SpongeBob 

1069
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:05,280
cans have arrived. 
Pineapple Paradise features a 

1070
00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:09,280
burst of juicy pineapple, 
special sweetness and a splash 

1071
00:55:09,320 --> 00:55:12,040
of Mandarin. 
It's on shelves now at Walmart, 

1072
00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:15,320
Target, Whole Foods, Circle K, 
Amazon and select stores 

1073
00:55:15,320 --> 00:55:17,480
nationwide. 
You can check out all of their 

1074
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:21,960
flavors and get 25% off your 
orders at drinklollipop.com 

1075
00:55:22,080 --> 00:55:24,760
using code SIDIOUS 25 at 
checkout. 

1076
00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:28,120
Find them, sip them, and don't 
miss The SpongeBob Movie in 

1077
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:32,880
theaters December 19th. 
The world records in the hundred

1078
00:55:32,880 --> 00:55:34,400
200. 
Obviously for like the longest 

1079
00:55:34,400 --> 00:55:36,640
time, like people looked at it 
like that's not going to go down

1080
00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:40,320
anytime soon with the PRS that 
you've thrown down this year. 

1081
00:55:41,160 --> 00:55:44,760
Like, how much do you allow 
yourself to think, hey, that is 

1082
00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:48,080
actually more possible than I 
thought maybe two years ago? 

1083
00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:52,160
Well, it, it does seem more 
realistic nowadays than it did, 

1084
00:55:52,160 --> 00:55:56,000
like you said two years ago, but
then also just not focusing on 

1085
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:57,920
it, right? 
Like there's, I feel like 

1086
00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:00,480
there's a lot of the times, 
especially from a fan's 

1087
00:56:00,480 --> 00:56:04,560
perspective, like you wonder, 
you wonder like if somebody like

1088
00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:08,360
Sydney like literally only 
thinks about breaking the world 

1089
00:56:08,360 --> 00:56:10,040
record because it seems like 
every time she touched the 

1090
00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:12,680
track, she does that, which is 
absolutely so cool. 

1091
00:56:12,680 --> 00:56:16,040
I wish the 100 was kind of like 
that, you know? 

1092
00:56:16,280 --> 00:56:21,440
But like, I feel like for me, in
order for me to do that, because

1093
00:56:21,440 --> 00:56:25,200
I wouldn't want to, obviously, I
feel like in order for me to do 

1094
00:56:25,200 --> 00:56:28,880
that, I wouldn't focus so much 
on doing it. 

1095
00:56:28,880 --> 00:56:31,640
I would focus on, like you said,
putting down the times that I 

1096
00:56:31,640 --> 00:56:38,280
have this year, putting together
a cluster of races or times that

1097
00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:42,000
are going to indicate like, hey,
if you keep this up, like I 

1098
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:46,600
said, consistency is key. 
And sometimes when you hit like 

1099
00:56:46,600 --> 00:56:49,640
people used to say all the time,
you run 10810 eight, 10810 

1100
00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:52,240
eight, 10/8, 10 sevens coming, 
right? 

1101
00:56:52,240 --> 00:56:54,720
It's the drop was going to 
happen eventually. 

1102
00:56:54,920 --> 00:56:57,320
So if I can get to a point to 
where, you know, I'm 

1103
00:56:57,320 --> 00:57:01,440
consistently running 10/7 or I'm
consistently running 10-6 or, 

1104
00:57:01,440 --> 00:57:04,280
you know, squeezing a little 10 
fives in there somewhere, you 

1105
00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:07,640
know, if I continue to do things
like that, then eventually, you 

1106
00:57:07,640 --> 00:57:10,680
know, the world record won't 
seem that far away. 

1107
00:57:11,440 --> 00:57:14,560
Obviously still, I've got a ways
to go. 

1108
00:57:14,840 --> 00:57:17,360
I'm probably closer than I think
I am or I'm giving myself credit

1109
00:57:17,360 --> 00:57:19,880
for it. 
But it's just me respecting, you

1110
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:21,840
know, the time that's out there 
because it's not easy. 

1111
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:24,000
It's been up there now going on 
40 years, like you said. 

1112
00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:27,880
So obviously nobody's figured it
out by now. 

1113
00:57:27,880 --> 00:57:31,640
So let's, you know, like, let's 
let's keep chipping at chipping 

1114
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:34,120
away at it. 
But yeah, so I feel like the 

1115
00:57:34,120 --> 00:57:37,040
biggest thing for me is just 
taking it how I've been taking 

1116
00:57:37,040 --> 00:57:39,520
it and just focusing on what's 
in front of me right now and. 

1117
00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:42,280
Then on the other side of your 
you can just make the argument 

1118
00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:44,160
that in the 200 you're like, 
I've only been running it for 

1119
00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:48,400
one year, like really all out. 
You know, yeah, when you say it 

1120
00:57:48,400 --> 00:57:52,960
like that. 
All right, So you mentioned the 

1121
00:57:52,960 --> 00:57:57,280
moment with Roland, you know at 
World Championships before that 

1122
00:57:57,280 --> 00:57:59,120
final. 
And I want, I do want to kind of

1123
00:57:59,120 --> 00:58:04,200
highlight Roland here because 
like he is someone who has what 

1124
00:58:04,360 --> 00:58:06,880
he was a football player at 
Coastal Carolina and now he's a 

1125
00:58:07,160 --> 00:58:09,840
physio, works super closely with
you. 

1126
00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:13,200
Can you take me through just 
sort of like the last couple 

1127
00:58:13,200 --> 00:58:17,480
years of him kind of going into 
this career and also just being 

1128
00:58:17,960 --> 00:58:21,520
this anchor of support for you? 
Like every single time I guess 

1129
00:58:21,520 --> 00:58:25,080
I've seen him at the at the 
Grand Slam meets and, and at USA

1130
00:58:25,080 --> 00:58:29,280
is like, he's, he's your rock 
that is like #1 champion #1 fan.

1131
00:58:29,280 --> 00:58:32,920
And so I'm curious of just like 
how much even from his own 

1132
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:36,240
career, like he's leaned into 
just sort of like being just 

1133
00:58:36,240 --> 00:58:38,280
that, that number one support 
person. 

1134
00:58:38,480 --> 00:58:44,280
Roland is so funny because a lot
of like he, he downplays how 

1135
00:58:44,280 --> 00:58:49,720
smart and intelligent he is in 
how much like he doesn't realize

1136
00:58:49,720 --> 00:58:52,560
how good he he is already at 
what he does. 

1137
00:58:53,440 --> 00:58:56,640
People like to say in our sport,
you know, it's, it's really good

1138
00:58:56,640 --> 00:58:58,440
to be a student of the sport, 
right? 

1139
00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:00,640
He's definitely a student of 
what he does. 

1140
00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:03,280
He went to school and got his 
bachelor's in exercise sports 

1141
00:59:03,280 --> 00:59:07,120
science and then got his 
master's in education. 

1142
00:59:07,360 --> 00:59:13,120
And then after he graduated, he 
started, he started doing stuff 

1143
00:59:13,120 --> 00:59:15,600
at stretch zone, right? 
He's working with stretch zone 

1144
00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:17,520
and was like, that's not really 
what I want to do. 

1145
00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:22,160
And so he went to the personal 
trainer aspect, started working 

1146
00:59:22,160 --> 00:59:24,240
at gym once we moved down here 
in Florida. 

1147
00:59:24,480 --> 00:59:27,720
And it's like, you know, I 
really like it, but eventually I

1148
00:59:27,720 --> 00:59:30,040
want to have something that's my
own, right. 

1149
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:33,880
And so after going to Paris last
year and really like sitting 

1150
00:59:33,880 --> 00:59:36,320
down and thinking that like, OK,
what do I really want to do? 

1151
00:59:36,320 --> 00:59:40,360
Like, how do I use my degree or 
how do I, you know, get to where

1152
00:59:40,360 --> 00:59:42,640
I want to get to, right. 
And so he's like, I'm going to, 

1153
00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:45,120
when we get back from Paris, I'm
going to LMT school. 

1154
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:49,800
And I was like, OK, let's do it.
And so watching him go to school

1155
00:59:49,800 --> 00:59:53,040
every single day, and it's crazy
because with LMT school, you 

1156
00:59:53,040 --> 00:59:56,040
know, you have some people who 
are in the classes who they've 

1157
00:59:56,040 --> 00:59:58,680
been out of school for years or 
they have no background like 

1158
00:59:58,680 --> 01:00:01,240
the, the knowledge that he does 
from his degree. 

1159
01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:03,840
So they're like going over the 
basics. 

1160
01:00:03,840 --> 01:00:05,480
And he's like, yeah, I went over
this and like. 

1161
01:00:06,360 --> 01:00:09,360
Bio 232 like the first level of 
anatomy right. 

1162
01:00:09,600 --> 01:00:13,040
So just watching him go through 
that, like persevere through 

1163
01:00:13,040 --> 01:00:16,800
that, even though like some days
for him wasn't really that well,

1164
01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:21,600
or, you know, he had, he had 
moments where he felt like, you 

1165
01:00:21,600 --> 01:00:24,600
know, he, he didn't, he didn't 
quite have it figured out. 

1166
01:00:24,840 --> 01:00:27,640
And I was like, look, eventually
going to get to the part where 

1167
01:00:27,640 --> 01:00:29,960
you do figure it out. 
And when you do, you're going to

1168
01:00:29,960 --> 01:00:31,760
look back at these moments to be
like, I don't even know. 

1169
01:00:31,760 --> 01:00:34,160
I was tripping like that. 
And he thought that I was just 

1170
01:00:34,440 --> 01:00:37,440
in his words, being my mother's 
child and just, you know, trying

1171
01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:40,840
to speak life into him and get 
him to, you know, be positive 

1172
01:00:40,840 --> 01:00:42,280
and look at the bright side of 
things. 

1173
01:00:42,480 --> 01:00:45,200
But I told him that because I 
could see it. 

1174
01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:48,320
You know, I see how passionate 
he is about what he does, about 

1175
01:00:48,320 --> 01:00:51,720
what he wants to do, but you 
have to allow yourself to go 

1176
01:00:51,720 --> 01:00:55,080
through to you have to allow 
yourself to be able to go 

1177
01:00:55,080 --> 01:00:57,560
through what you need to in 
order to get to where you're 

1178
01:00:57,560 --> 01:00:59,800
trying to go. 
And that's what my, that's the 

1179
01:00:59,800 --> 01:01:00,960
biggest thing I explained to 
him. 

1180
01:01:00,960 --> 01:01:03,600
So after the wedding, he 
finished his hours and 

1181
01:01:03,600 --> 01:01:06,840
everything and then he started 
working and he started out like 

1182
01:01:06,840 --> 01:01:09,800
it just being, I'm seeing him 
like a little bit because 

1183
01:01:09,800 --> 01:01:12,200
obviously I still have my other 
physio that I was working with. 

1184
01:01:12,200 --> 01:01:15,760
So he would, you know, watch him
sometimes, shadow him sometimes 

1185
01:01:15,760 --> 01:01:19,400
and things like that. 
And then eventually it got to 

1186
01:01:19,400 --> 01:01:21,800
the point to where, you know, 
some people on the team was 

1187
01:01:21,800 --> 01:01:24,160
like, hey, like, would Roland 
want to work with me? 

1188
01:01:24,440 --> 01:01:27,560
And it was like, sure, like 
matter of fact, you tell him, 

1189
01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:30,040
because if I tell him, he's 
going to think that, you know, 

1190
01:01:30,120 --> 01:01:32,240
I'm just talking, right? 
So it got to the point. 

1191
01:01:32,240 --> 01:01:37,040
And by the time we got to USA's,
he was working with multiple 

1192
01:01:37,040 --> 01:01:39,680
people on the team. 
He worked with Kayla, who made 

1193
01:01:39,680 --> 01:01:42,160
the team in PB. 
He worked with Courtney, who 

1194
01:01:42,160 --> 01:01:45,400
made the team in PB. 
Like he worked with Tonia, he 

1195
01:01:45,400 --> 01:01:47,720
worked with Kyrie. 
They had season's best and 

1196
01:01:47,720 --> 01:01:49,720
everything. 
And then obviously, like he 

1197
01:01:49,720 --> 01:01:53,680
worked with me, season's best 
PB, like, oh, a whole lot of 

1198
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:56,320
stuff is going on. 
So, you know, it's speaks 

1199
01:01:56,320 --> 01:01:59,760
volumes to, you know, him 
putting in the work, learning 

1200
01:01:59,760 --> 01:02:00,880
the things that he needs to 
learn. 

1201
01:02:00,880 --> 01:02:04,320
But also just allowing himself 
to grow. 

1202
01:02:04,320 --> 01:02:08,640
And, you know, look at look at 
it like, you know, I'm finally 

1203
01:02:08,640 --> 01:02:11,920
doing what I want to be doing. 
But then just to have him like 

1204
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:16,080
on my side, not only as my 
husband, but as the biggest part

1205
01:02:16,080 --> 01:02:20,080
of my medical team, like my 
physio is just means the world. 

1206
01:02:20,080 --> 01:02:22,320
He likes to say I'm his most 
problematic client because I've 

1207
01:02:22,320 --> 01:02:26,480
been rescheduling, but literally
I'll be like, OK, let's get on 

1208
01:02:26,480 --> 01:02:28,760
the table at 3. 
Actually, we'll just do it 

1209
01:02:28,760 --> 01:02:31,400
before we go to bed tonight. 
And but things like that. 

1210
01:02:31,400 --> 01:02:34,680
But like having that type of 
access or having that type of, 

1211
01:02:34,680 --> 01:02:36,600
you know, leeway, it makes a 
difference. 

1212
01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,840
You know, some you see you. 
I'm working with someone who 

1213
01:02:39,840 --> 01:02:42,960
sees me on a daily basis who 
like obviously knows my body 

1214
01:02:43,320 --> 01:02:46,520
and, you know, can say, say, for
instance, I work with a 

1215
01:02:46,520 --> 01:02:48,200
chiropractor that I don't see 
all the time. 

1216
01:02:48,200 --> 01:02:50,640
He can go to the chiropractor 
and say, hey, when I'm working 

1217
01:02:50,640 --> 01:02:52,120
on her, I feel this. 
I feel that. 

1218
01:02:52,360 --> 01:02:58,680
But also just having that type 
of resource to me, but also for 

1219
01:02:58,680 --> 01:03:02,120
him as well as just so, so good.
And eventually, you know, 

1220
01:03:02,120 --> 01:03:04,920
hopefully he'll start to work 
with, you know, not only more 

1221
01:03:04,920 --> 01:03:07,160
track athletes, but football 
players. 

1222
01:03:07,160 --> 01:03:09,560
Who knows the whole 9? 
Yeah, because I guess like, 

1223
01:03:09,560 --> 01:03:11,120
yeah, he's got the football 
connection. 

1224
01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:13,480
I've, I followed along on 
Instagram stories as you were 

1225
01:03:13,480 --> 01:03:16,800
like talking about, you know, 
your fantasy football team and, 

1226
01:03:16,800 --> 01:03:19,640
and everything you've got, you 
know, friends, I guess, who play

1227
01:03:19,640 --> 01:03:22,880
football professionally. 
And it got me also thinking just

1228
01:03:22,880 --> 01:03:27,200
sort of obviously, who is it? 
Noah versus Tyreek was a thing 

1229
01:03:27,200 --> 01:03:29,040
that was blown up until it never
happened. 

1230
01:03:30,160 --> 01:03:33,560
But when people look at the 
stats and numbers and the speed 

1231
01:03:33,560 --> 01:03:37,240
and the acceleration of how fast
people are going, it's you. 

1232
01:03:37,240 --> 01:03:41,360
And like, the top women 
sprinters can be faster in many 

1233
01:03:41,360 --> 01:03:43,320
cases than a lot of these NFL 
players. 

1234
01:03:43,320 --> 01:03:45,840
So I'll put it out there and see
just sort of like what you 

1235
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:48,720
think, but like it's part of you
just down to show up to like 

1236
01:03:48,720 --> 01:03:52,560
Super Bowl weekend and like 
ready to race people. 

1237
01:03:52,800 --> 01:03:55,720
Listen, I definitely would. 
Coach probably wouldn't be all 

1238
01:03:55,720 --> 01:03:59,440
for it, but if I work a little, 
if I don't give him no problems 

1239
01:03:59,440 --> 01:04:01,560
in training, then he might let 
me do it. 

1240
01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:03,680
He might let me do it. 
But no, I would def. 

1241
01:04:03,720 --> 01:04:06,720
I would definitely do it. 
Like Roland's best friend who 

1242
01:04:06,720 --> 01:04:08,800
plays for the Ravens, Isaiah 
Likely. 

1243
01:04:10,200 --> 01:04:13,240
One time in college, I actually 
raced him after the game. 

1244
01:04:13,240 --> 01:04:15,320
Well, he slipped and fell, but I
took off. 

1245
01:04:15,320 --> 01:04:18,760
So technically I beat him and 
now he wouldn't dare line up 

1246
01:04:18,760 --> 01:04:19,800
against me. 
I'll smoke him. 

1247
01:04:20,360 --> 01:04:24,440
He he don't want. 
To no, I, I think it's like 

1248
01:04:24,440 --> 01:04:27,520
there's you have just like a 
good vantage point of just, and,

1249
01:04:27,640 --> 01:04:31,680
and those players that know, you
also probably recognize like, 

1250
01:04:31,680 --> 01:04:34,120
yeah, actually there's a massive
difference between track speed 

1251
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:37,200
and NFL speed. 
Oh yeah, but it's good for them 

1252
01:04:37,200 --> 01:04:40,840
to be able, especially like for 
those of them who know me, you 

1253
01:04:40,840 --> 01:04:43,640
know, I have most of them 
obviously are, are Roland's 

1254
01:04:43,640 --> 01:04:46,640
friends, but one of the guys who
plays for the Rams, we went to 

1255
01:04:46,640 --> 01:04:48,640
the same high school and he's 
from where I'm from. 

1256
01:04:48,840 --> 01:04:52,720
So you know, for them to be able
to see like know me personally, 

1257
01:04:52,880 --> 01:04:55,560
but then also like say like, 
hey, like y'all don't 

1258
01:04:55,560 --> 01:04:57,560
understand. 
Like these people are fast for 

1259
01:04:57,560 --> 01:05:00,000
real. 
Like y'all are fast, but they're

1260
01:05:00,120 --> 01:05:01,440
fast. 
Like this is what they do for a 

1261
01:05:01,440 --> 01:05:05,000
living. 
It it's really good because like

1262
01:05:05,000 --> 01:05:08,560
I said before, like our sport 
needs to, you know, we also, we 

1263
01:05:08,560 --> 01:05:10,880
need to be recognized, but we 
also need to be respected. 

1264
01:05:11,160 --> 01:05:14,440
You know, like there's so many 
times where you have people who 

1265
01:05:14,440 --> 01:05:17,360
like, Oh, I bet, I bet you I 
could race you or like, and it's

1266
01:05:17,360 --> 01:05:21,680
like, no, no, like that's not 
how this works. 

1267
01:05:21,880 --> 01:05:25,000
Like I don't like when football 
players just say like, oh, I 

1268
01:05:25,000 --> 01:05:26,800
could be this person. 
I could be that person, but it's

1269
01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:30,720
like you don't see any of them 
trying to get on a football 

1270
01:05:30,720 --> 01:05:32,960
field talking about I could run 
around like Jamar Chase. 

1271
01:05:33,240 --> 01:05:37,040
That's so disrespectful. 
Like who would say that? 

1272
01:05:37,960 --> 01:05:41,200
All right, so you're in you're, 
I guess fall training hasn't 

1273
01:05:41,200 --> 01:05:44,000
even started yet. 
Like for you, you're enjoying a 

1274
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:46,080
nice break. 
From my understanding, this is 

1275
01:05:46,080 --> 01:05:49,760
like a total break, right? 
Like no, no workouts, nothing. 

1276
01:05:49,760 --> 01:05:55,080
So it had me thinking when? 
So it's six weeks off or 

1277
01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:58,000
something? 
Give or take six weeks, OK. 

1278
01:05:58,360 --> 01:06:01,800
So when you come back that first
week back, I'm just so 

1279
01:06:01,800 --> 01:06:04,160
interested in how this works 
because if it was a distance 

1280
01:06:04,160 --> 01:06:06,280
runner, right, you take six 
weeks off entirely and you try 

1281
01:06:06,280 --> 01:06:08,880
and run a mile like you're going
to be way off of your your PR 

1282
01:06:08,920 --> 01:06:11,640
that first week day back of 
practice. 

1283
01:06:11,880 --> 01:06:16,000
Looking at 2026, if you were to 
run an all out hundred, what do 

1284
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:17,680
you run in the first day of 
practice? 

1285
01:06:18,680 --> 01:06:22,960
If I came back from doing 
absolutely nothing, I don't know

1286
01:06:23,000 --> 01:06:25,680
because this like OK, so do I 
have on spikes or do I have on 

1287
01:06:25,680 --> 01:06:28,200
trainers? 
It's spikes, so it'll give, 

1288
01:06:28,240 --> 01:06:30,440
it'll give you just any benefit,
yeah. 

1289
01:06:31,000 --> 01:06:37,080
Man in spikes, let me see my PBS
1061 in spikes. 

1290
01:06:37,640 --> 01:06:43,400
I'm not gonna lie. 
I probably run like, I probably 

1291
01:06:43,400 --> 01:06:45,600
run like 12 seconds. 
I'm not even lying. 

1292
01:06:46,000 --> 01:06:47,560
I'll probably run like 12 
seconds and. 

1293
01:06:48,560 --> 01:06:52,640
Then it takes what, like a month
to finally like, feel like, all 

1294
01:06:52,640 --> 01:06:55,960
right, we're getting back. 
Yeah, a little bit. 

1295
01:06:55,960 --> 01:06:59,480
But see, like my coach, like his
fall training, like we be, we be

1296
01:06:59,480 --> 01:07:04,360
in the, we be in the grass for 
about maybe a month, a month and

1297
01:07:04,400 --> 01:07:07,560
1/2 so. 
And even when we do transition 

1298
01:07:07,560 --> 01:07:09,400
to the track, like we're still 
in flat. 

1299
01:07:09,400 --> 01:07:13,080
So it'd be, it feels like 
eternity with us, like it just 

1300
01:07:13,080 --> 01:07:15,480
never stops. 
Fall training is so depressing. 

1301
01:07:16,400 --> 01:07:19,280
So depressing. 
All I've heard is is it's it's 

1302
01:07:19,280 --> 01:07:20,280
torture. 
OK. 

1303
01:07:20,280 --> 01:07:24,120
So I mean, not to get too far 
ahead, but 2026, there's no 

1304
01:07:24,120 --> 01:07:27,440
World Championships. 
There's no, I guess like there's

1305
01:07:27,440 --> 01:07:30,000
the World Ultimate Championships
and now you've got your spot 

1306
01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:33,120
secured in the 100 and the 200 
as the gold medalist. 

1307
01:07:33,680 --> 01:07:36,320
But like, how do you feel like 
you're going to be approaching 

1308
01:07:36,800 --> 01:07:41,560
2026 from like what you want to 
really dig your heels into and 

1309
01:07:41,560 --> 01:07:44,120
focus on? 
Because like clearly this year 

1310
01:07:45,000 --> 01:07:48,280
doing both events, like you made
great progress in both. 

1311
01:07:48,680 --> 01:07:51,640
But do you look at 2026 and be 
like is this the year I try and 

1312
01:07:51,800 --> 01:07:56,200
do a little bit more in the 200 
or is the 100 like what are what

1313
01:07:56,200 --> 01:08:01,080
are your early thoughts on 2026?
I do want to be able to almost 

1314
01:08:01,080 --> 01:08:03,840
kind of like a free, free for 
all tag deal. 

1315
01:08:03,840 --> 01:08:07,080
So, you know, not really doing 
anything that's going to be like

1316
01:08:07,080 --> 01:08:11,360
so, so serious or like, you 
know, I don't want to run as as 

1317
01:08:11,360 --> 01:08:13,040
many hundreds as I did this 
year. 

1318
01:08:13,040 --> 01:08:15,800
Or like, you know, maybe like 
you said, maybe do run a little 

1319
01:08:15,800 --> 01:08:19,760
bit more 2 hundreds. 
My coach and my husband's 

1320
01:08:20,160 --> 01:08:23,680
talking about running these 
relays, these four by fours. 

1321
01:08:23,760 --> 01:08:27,120
I don't really know what they're
talking about, but you know, 

1322
01:08:27,120 --> 01:08:29,479
maybe like doing some something 
like that too. 

1323
01:08:29,479 --> 01:08:31,720
But just, you know, trying to 
have fun with the year and 

1324
01:08:31,720 --> 01:08:35,040
really like treated as much as 
treated as much like an 

1325
01:08:35,040 --> 01:08:38,600
offseason as possible. 
But then also like, you know, 

1326
01:08:38,800 --> 01:08:41,760
just not totally taking the year
off or like shutting it down 

1327
01:08:41,760 --> 01:08:44,600
early and then having a longer 
break and, you know, stuff like 

1328
01:08:44,600 --> 01:08:45,880
that. 
So just trying to find a balance

1329
01:08:45,880 --> 01:08:47,479
in that. 
Yeah, we barely even talked 

1330
01:08:47,479 --> 01:08:49,399
about like the four by one in in
Tokyo. 

1331
01:08:49,399 --> 01:08:51,600
Was there ever any just like 
thought because I mean, you're 

1332
01:08:51,760 --> 01:08:55,680
the gold medalist in the 100 of 
you anchoring that four by one. 

1333
01:08:56,000 --> 01:09:00,600
Yeah, but you prefer just like 
the the leg that you got? 

1334
01:09:01,160 --> 01:09:03,960
Yeah, I was like I was. 
I said at the end of the day, 

1335
01:09:03,960 --> 01:09:05,720
like I could run first or 
fourth. 

1336
01:09:06,520 --> 01:09:08,920
It just worked out that way that
I could run first. 

1337
01:09:08,920 --> 01:09:11,160
But it really didn't matter to 
me at the end of the day. 

1338
01:09:11,359 --> 01:09:14,399
I was like, look, as long as I 
get a gold medal, who cares? 

1339
01:09:17,120 --> 01:09:18,800
All right. 
So then we touched on just sort 

1340
01:09:18,800 --> 01:09:21,760
of like looking ahead to 2026, 
but I do have to come back to 

1341
01:09:21,760 --> 01:09:24,760
the fact that it's just like the
big what if like there was that 

1342
01:09:24,760 --> 01:09:26,720
deal that you made with coach 
Goodman, like when you were in 

1343
01:09:26,720 --> 01:09:30,399
College of just sort of like if 
you ran fast in the 60, then he 

1344
01:09:30,399 --> 01:09:32,520
wasn't going to make you move to
the 400. 

1345
01:09:32,800 --> 01:09:36,760
But now just given the success 
of hundred 200 like and because 

1346
01:09:36,760 --> 01:09:39,600
next year can be a little bit 
more of a free for all year, do 

1347
01:09:39,600 --> 01:09:41,319
we see you in a 400 at any 
point? 

1348
01:09:41,640 --> 01:09:46,520
My mom always tells me to never 
say never, so I won't say that 

1349
01:09:46,520 --> 01:09:51,319
you that you won't see me, but I
will say that I hope you don't 

1350
01:09:51,319 --> 01:09:54,800
see me in a 400 train. 
I always feel like the cop out 

1351
01:09:54,800 --> 01:09:57,760
is that we see it happen at like
a Florida Relays or something 

1352
01:09:57,760 --> 01:10:00,040
like that where it's like very 
early, we don't get to see like 

1353
01:10:00,040 --> 01:10:01,560
peak shape or anything like 
that. 

1354
01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:05,120
But all right, so if someone 
would have thrown a 400 on your 

1355
01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:08,360
calendar, you know, say it at 
like a meet like Athos that's 

1356
01:10:08,360 --> 01:10:10,240
happening, you would have been 
in the 400 instead. 

1357
01:10:10,240 --> 01:10:11,280
Like what do you think you could
have run? 

1358
01:10:11,720 --> 01:10:13,880
I don't know if I were, if I 
would have rented a 400 this 

1359
01:10:13,880 --> 01:10:16,880
year, I think I could have ran. 
This is me getting out of my own

1360
01:10:16,880 --> 01:10:18,560
way. 
Yeah, what? 

1361
01:10:18,560 --> 01:10:26,360
I could have ran 5050 point mid 
like so like 50 point 650.7. 

1362
01:10:26,840 --> 01:10:28,720
I think you're selling yourself 
short, just like you did with 

1363
01:10:28,720 --> 01:10:32,960
the 200. 
Listen, my Roland would say that

1364
01:10:32,960 --> 01:10:35,480
I could run like 49 nine. 
I'm like, that's, you know how 

1365
01:10:35,480 --> 01:10:36,360
fast that is? 
Yeah. 

1366
01:10:38,120 --> 01:10:40,040
I mean, it's not fast now, you 
know, we've had. 

1367
01:10:41,120 --> 01:10:44,600
What Sydney just did right. 
Well, like that's slow, right? 

1368
01:10:45,600 --> 01:10:48,160
49 nine, who's what's she 
talking about? 

1369
01:10:48,640 --> 01:10:50,360
But no, for me that's very, very
fast. 

1370
01:10:52,240 --> 01:10:54,800
All right, Melissa, this has 
been a great pleasure chatting 

1371
01:10:54,800 --> 01:10:56,000
with you. 
And I'm just like, cuz, like, 

1372
01:10:56,000 --> 01:10:58,080
The thing is, and I'm glad we 
get to do this. 

1373
01:10:58,080 --> 01:11:00,600
Like, you know, very often all 
throughout the season. 

1374
01:11:00,600 --> 01:11:05,480
And it feels like a your story. 
It's got so many different parts

1375
01:11:05,480 --> 01:11:07,440
to it that I feel like resonate 
with people. 

1376
01:11:07,440 --> 01:11:10,000
Like, obviously there's the 
success that we see on the 

1377
01:11:10,000 --> 01:11:13,560
track, but like everything from,
I mean, NBC did a whole piece on

1378
01:11:13,560 --> 01:11:17,240
just sort of like the, the, the 
transplant that you had with, 

1379
01:11:17,280 --> 01:11:19,760
with your dad and like, that's 
kind of resonated with its own 

1380
01:11:19,760 --> 01:11:21,560
audience. 
And when you go on the things 

1381
01:11:21,560 --> 01:11:24,040
like the Jennifer Hudson show, 
like there's just a whole 

1382
01:11:24,040 --> 01:11:26,840
another element of you just 
being like the underdog from 

1383
01:11:26,840 --> 01:11:28,640
like the small town, the small 
school, like. 

1384
01:11:28,960 --> 01:11:31,800
And so there's just so much to 
you that I feel like that a lot 

1385
01:11:31,800 --> 01:11:35,160
of people can gravitate towards.
And like when we did have that 

1386
01:11:35,160 --> 01:11:37,840
discussion early on about like 
the faces of the sport, I 

1387
01:11:37,840 --> 01:11:40,760
definitely do see you as just 
someone who can breakthrough and

1388
01:11:40,760 --> 01:11:43,240
captivate fans. 
And like, it's, it's just been a

1389
01:11:43,240 --> 01:11:46,520
joy to watch you this season 
and, and seeing you blossom into

1390
01:11:46,520 --> 01:11:49,200
the star because you know you're
going to be a key part in in 

1391
01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:53,320
what makes LA 2028, like really 
special for American track fans.

1392
01:11:53,880 --> 01:11:55,720
Thanks. 
I know I'm, I'm definitely 

1393
01:11:55,720 --> 01:11:57,960
excited. 
I feel like I said it before, 

1394
01:11:57,960 --> 01:12:00,600
especially when I first signed 
with Nike, I feel like I'm on 

1395
01:12:00,600 --> 01:12:03,560
like the perfect stretch of 
events, like with the 

1396
01:12:03,560 --> 01:12:08,360
championships and LA or yeah, 
the Olympics, like LA like it's 

1397
01:12:08,360 --> 01:12:11,000
like the perfect stretch. 
So I'm definitely excited. 

1398
01:12:11,440 --> 01:12:13,600
And you made me look like a 
genius because at the very 

1399
01:12:13,600 --> 01:12:16,080
beginning of the year, my bold 
prediction, I'll remind people, 

1400
01:12:16,080 --> 01:12:19,000
was I think this is the year 
Melissa Jefferson figures out 

1401
01:12:19,000 --> 01:12:21,800
the 200 and becomes a star. 
And. 

1402
01:12:21,880 --> 01:12:24,400
Guess what? 
She's got the gold medal to 

1403
01:12:24,400 --> 01:12:26,040
prove it. 
Yeah. 

1404
01:12:26,800 --> 01:12:28,360
Perfect. 
Melissa, thank you so much. 

1405
01:12:28,720 --> 01:12:32,160
Thank you. 
Thank you all for listening to 

1406
01:12:32,160 --> 01:12:34,000
this episode. 
This episode was produced by 

1407
01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:36,480
Jasmine Fair. 
I love doing this for you guys. 

1408
01:12:36,480 --> 01:12:39,480
So please do me a favor and 
leave a five star view on Apple 

1409
01:12:39,480 --> 01:12:41,640
Podcast or Spotify. 
That helps us grow the show and 

1410
01:12:41,640 --> 01:12:44,520
get even more awesome guests. 
Let me know what you're enjoying

1411
01:12:44,520 --> 01:12:46,480
about the show. 
Make sure you're subscribed or 

1412
01:12:46,480 --> 01:12:48,160
following on your favorite 
podcast. 

1413
01:12:48,160 --> 01:12:50,680
Players, please share this 
episode with your friends if you

1414
01:12:50,680 --> 01:12:53,000
think that they'll get any value
or inspiration out of it. 

1415
01:12:53,000 --> 01:12:56,080
Let's build this thing together.
Visit citysmack.com for a lot 

1416
01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:57,360
more. 
We've got a brand new website 

1417
01:12:57,360 --> 01:12:59,520
with tons more articles, videos 
and podcasts. 

1418
01:12:59,720 --> 01:13:01,480
As always, I love track and 
field. 

1419
01:13:01,560 --> 01:13:03,560
I'm Chris Chavez, see you next 
time.