Abby Steiner turns attention to US Track & Field Championships

Fresh off a record-setting performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Abby Steiner is turning her sights to the next big challenge: the US Track & Field Outdoor Championships. This morning, Steiner confirmed that she will run the 200 meters next week in Eugene, Oregon with hopes of qualifying for the World Championships in July.

“We are heading to USA Championships. We’ll leave for that on Monday. So, really just kind of having that in mind and looking to make my first World meet. In order to do that, I will need to place in the top three in that meet. I’m running the 200m there. That’s the main focus right now and seeing what happens there and hopefully competing at Worlds in a few weeks.”

Steiner set the collegiate record, 21.80 seconds, in the 200m on the same track at the NCAA Championships last week. That’s a full second faster than the qualifying standard time of 22.80 and the fastest time of any runner in the world this year.

“That was the best I’ve felt in a 200 all year,” Steiner said. “Everything just kind of came together for me. We had been chasing running 21 seconds for a very long time so it was just the relief of doing that and it all came together.”

Earlier today, Steiner won the Honda Sport Award for track and field and Women’s Runner of the Year (Southeast Region) by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Even though she is a senior, Steiner could still have a year of college eligibility remaining thanks to the NCAA’s COVID waiver. With four collegiate records (200m indoor and outdoor, 300m and outdoor 4x400m) and seven program records (60m, 100m, indoor and outdoor 200m, 300m, indoor and outdoor 4x400m), there isn’t much left for Steiner to accomplish at the NCAA level, but no decisions have been made.

“Me and my family are figuring out those next steps right now. Nothing has been decided yet.”

The first round of the 200 meters at the US Track & Field Outdoor Championships is scheduled for Saturday, June 25 at 3:24 p.m. PT.

Steiner draws inspiration from her sister

The road hasn’t been easy for Steiner. She missed out on last year’s Olympic Trials due to an Achilles injury and had to watch from home as Team USA, including former Cat Sydney McLaughlin, racked up gold in Tokyo. It was her second major injury. Before her junior year of high school, Steiner tore her ACL but worked her way back to win several state titles and earn All-American honors in soccer. This morning, she told reporters she doesn’t have to look far for inspiration.

“My sister growing up, she was actually diagnosed with leukemia her senior year of high school so she was a big motivator for me once I started to really get into competitive sports. Just seeing her and how she dealt with adversity and how strong she was, I really wanted to go out there and compete for someone who couldn’t, that had sports taken away from them. I think my sister was really a source of inspiration for me growing up.”

Steiner’s parents were in Eugene to cheer her on in the NCAA Championships. As she crossed the finish line in record time in the 200m and took Kentucky from fourth to first in the 4x400m relay with a blistering 48.92 third leg, all that hard work suddenly felt worth it.

“It was super surreal, just reflecting back on the journey of everything and how much adversity we had to overcome, just with a pandemic and an Achilles injury when you think things are finally going well and you get another outdoor season taken away. It was so special, just that whole journey with Coach [Tim] Hall. My parents were able to be there. There were some tears shed for sure on the track but I think everything happens for a reason and all the things lead me to where I needed to be in that moment.”

Go Abby Go.