Road to Tokyo: Olivia Baker - USA Track and Field
I started sports at a really young age. I played soccer for a few years, and it was a fun sport. My best friend, Maya, ended up leaving soccer and going to track. At that point, soccer was no longer fun for me; I realized that I was more suited for the social aspect than the actual game itself. And so I went over to track and realized that I enjoyed track and that, of course, enjoyed the friends that I ran with, too.
Running collegiately was definitely always a part of the goal. I think the ultimate goal for me with the sport, once I realized that I had a talent for it, has always been to race at the Olympics and bring home an Olympic medal. I haven't achieved that goal yet. So that's a big part of the reason that I'm still in the sport.
Currently, I am applying to medical school. Developing passion in medicine actually came from a paper that I wrote in my junior year of high school about phantom limbs, of all things. In short, phantom limbs are a sensation that you see with people who either had a limb amputated or were born without a limb. There are sensations that these people feel as if their limb was there and it can be really painful to those people. An article I read on the topic was just so fascinating to me. Since then I have gone on to college to study prosthetics and have thought that going forward I want to be in medicine at the intersection of medicine and engineering, I'd really like to work with Paralympians or veteran amputees.
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from track would probably be to never give up. And I know it sounds cliche, but the road to success isn't linear as much as I would like for it to be. Some years you make big improvements and other years you plateau, but you just have to keep going. You never know when that breakthrough is coming. Throughout my career, there have been times when I’m not running well and not knowing why and just kind of being stuck at a place and thinking, “I'm training well; I'm sleeping well and eating. Well what's going on?!” I’ve had to learn that sometimes you're just climbing up the hill and you haven't hit that breakthrough. But it's coming; your fitness is building. You just can't see it. And I feel like that's a metaphor for life in many instances: The progress you make isn't something that you see; it's being made – and sometimes it's under the surface and if you don't keep at it, you might not get to see it break the surface
I struggled with nerves a lot in high school. There was a point where I couldn't sleep for nights before a race because I was so nervous about it; or I would finish one race and not even be able to enjoy it because I was so nervous for the next one that was coming. Something that still is a challenge for me is knowing when to turn on the nerves and be dialed in and when I can lay off of it because it really is exhausting to be nervous all the time.
A defining moment for me was the Pac 12 championships my sophomore year. I came into that race having the top time in the NCAA in the 800. My coach wanted to take me out of the 800 and put me in the 400. Initially, I was really upset with my coach over that decision. I thought, “Um, you know I’m one of the top 800 runners in the NCAA right now… Let me get after it. Let me run and take a shot at the Pac 12 championship with an event that I feel like I have a shot at actually winning.” But he put me on the 400 and I came into that race, maybe ranked fifth or sixth overall in the Pac 12. I was in contention to score points for my team but not in contention to win. Or so I had felt. I remember I made it through the semifinal round and on the day of the final, it was cold and rainy. The track was hard because it was brand new so it really hurt to stick your fingers in the down position. It was just a nasty day. But the type of day that that presented an opportunity for me. And in short, I ended up winning the race. And that was such a defining moment for me. Because I felt like it really showed me and gave me faith that on any given day, anyone is beatable. It doesn't matter how many times they beat you in the past or how much their personal best may be better than yours. On any given day if you have a lane, then you have a chance. And running that race really solidified that for me.
The advice I would give to my younger self is to enjoy the moment and be in the present. And don't take this running thing for granted. I would just tell my younger self to chill, to enjoy running. It's okay to be nervous, but learn how to practice turning it on and turning it off and having more control over that. Something that I tell myself these days is that the nerves will meet you at the line. There's no circumstance in a race under which I'll step to that line to start a race and I won't feel nervous. So it's okay to not feel nervous the night before or the day of or even a couple of hours before. Those nerves will always be there without a doubt. Running and being able to run at this level is a privilege. And I fully acknowledge that and I'm thankful and grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to do something that I love so much for a living. I know I won't be doing this for the rest of my life. So I'm trying to enjoy it while I have it.
I hope that when people hear a little more about my story they would be encouraged and know that success is not linear. Everyone excels at their own pace. And if your pace isn't as fast as someone else's pace that's completely okay. I would hope that people would feel encouraged by the fact that my journey has reflected that as well.
