UKTF athletes set to compete on 'biggest stage in the sport' at the Olympics: "It's a testament to their work"

As of today, Kentucky track and field will have seven representatives in Paris at the 2024 Olympics, second-most in the nation among collegiate programs. That group is headlined by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, known as the fastest woman in the world after setting yet another world record to close out the U.S. Olympic Trials with a 400M hurdles finish of 50.65 seconds.

She’ll be joined by Masai Russell, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Alexis Holmes, Devynne Charlton, Andrew Evans and Daniel Roberts in Paris, with track and field events set to run from August 1-11. And then an eighth is on the table in Charity Hufnagel, who won the U.S. national title in the high jump and is awaiting qualification results.

Point being, UKTF is in a really, really good place both nationally and worldwide.

“It’s a testament to their work. We all knew they had talent, that’s one of the reasons why we recruited them to come to the University of Kentucky,” head coach Lonnie Greene said of the program’s Olympians on Wednesday. “It’s a testament to their work and having the strength and what I call intestinal fortitude to endure the various trials around the world and these competitions here in the United States. Getting to that space where now they’re going to the biggest stage in the sport, the Olympic Games. It’s a testament to their work and dedication, doing things the right way.”

McLaughlin-Levrone is arguably the face of the United States entering the 2024 Olympic Games, looking to “dip under 50 (seconds) at some point” after setting the world record this past weekend.

“I don’t know if it’s this year or next year, or whatever,” she said. “Just always chipping away, seeing what’s possible. There are so many different ways to run it. and I feel like every time I’m on the track, I’m figuring out, ‘OK, what’s the best way?'”

You know what to expect there. As for the other Wildcats with current ties to the program as coaches and/or current student-athletes, they’re looking to make history themselves out in Paris.

Russell punched a ticket to her first Olympic Games after securing the U.S. Championship in the 100M hurdles, finishing with a world-leading 12.25 to beat the previous U.S. Olympic Trials record of 12.33 set in 2000.

She’ll be the first to tell you that moment meant everything to her, especially after facing adversity at various points this season.

“I was running 12.8 a month ago after running 12.3 last year, so it was a really tough season for me. This was the first time I’ve ever won a national title,” Russell said Wednesday. “The fact that I broke the Olympic Trials record and I won with a world-class field in the fastest race in history, it showed that I just had to continue to have faith, lean on my coaches and support system. You can do things that you may not think will ever come to fruition, but if you keep having faith, you will.”

As for Devynne Charlton, she won her seventh 100M hurdles title at the Bahamian Olympic Trials with a 12.62. Her journey may not have been as dramatic as Russell or Hufnagel in Eugene at the U.S. Trials, the latter still waiting to find out if she’s heading to Paris, but she’s excited to represent the University of Kentucky well on the world stage.

“I didn’t have such a hard road to qualification as Masai and Charity — I’m from the Bahamas, so it was just about hitting the standard and running a good race once I went home for our trials,” Charlton, a volunteer coach for the Wildcats, said. “The next couple of weeks will be about getting back to work, tightening up the things that we feel can make the difference between now and then. It’ll be about pinpointing what needs the most work and hammering that in.”

The UK head coach believes the race between Russell and Charlton will be a neck-and-neck battle, one that could result in either not only winning gold, but claiming the world record.

“What we do at Kentucky is — people call us ‘Hurdle U’ or ‘Jump U,’ whatever you want to call it,” Greene said. “We’ve produced a lot of world-class elite world record holders, world-class hurdlers, Olympic Trial record holders, but these two young women are going into the Olympic Games as two of the favorites to mount the podium. They’re going in as ones who could possibly win it all. Either of them could touch the world record.”

As for Hufnagel, her current head coach believes she will receive good news in the coming days regarding an invite to Paris. She became the first collegiate athlete to win the high jump since 2008 with a lifetime best clearance of 6’4.25”/1.94 meters.

Greene expects her championship-winning performance in Eugene to be only the start of what’s to come later this summer in the Olympics.

“We’re still waiting to hear about Charity and her world ranking. … I’m going to believe God that she’s going to get the call and say, ‘OK, let’s go.’ We’re waiting on that from U.S. Track and Field to see where she falls. If she gets in the mid-to-upper 30s, she’ll get there. She’ll get the nod,” he said. “… Charity won the Olympic Trials, which was phenomenal. But because she doesn’t have the standard that they’ve set, we have to see where she falls in the world ranking. In a few days we’ll know, but I believe she’ll get there. … We believe she’ll get in. It will be really cool sitting there in France eating beignets — is that what they call them? — with the three of them. That would be so cool. …

“When you’re competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials, it’s the hardest team to make. That’s why when we get there it’s like USA vs. the World, you know?”

What’s it like waiting things out, knowing her fate is out of her hands at this point ahead of the release of the world rankings? Hufnagel is finding the balance of staying ready to compete while also not setting the expectation for herself that an invite is inevitable.

That’s been a challenge, but it’s all she can do until that call comes on July 7.

“It’s nerve-wracking right now, I’m trying not to keep my hopes up. I’m just playing it chill, doing what I need to do to stay prepared like I’m going to compete,” Hufnagel said. “… I have to continue to have fun with it and be thankful I possibly have the opportunity to go. I’m just playing the waiting game.”

Until then, check out the current list of participating UKTF athletes and their respective events in Paris:

Women

• Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (2015-18; Team Puerto Rico) – 100mH
• Alexis Holmes (’22) – 400m, relay pool
• Devynne Charlton (Volunteer Coach; Team Bahamas) – 100mH
• Masai Russell (’23) – 100mH
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (2017-18) – 400mH

Men

• Andrew Evans (’14) – Discus Throw
• Daniel Roberts (’19) – 110mH