2016 Payton Jordan InvitationalApr 29, 2016 by Taylor Dutch
Alysia Montano's Hunt For Olympic Gold
Alysia Montano's Hunt For Olympic Gold
BERKELEY, California — Alysia Montano makes powerful, controlled strides down the backstretch of the Edwards Stadium track. To prepare for her 400m race at
BERKELEY, California — Alysia Montano makes powerful, controlled strides down the backstretch of the Edwards Stadium track. To prepare for her 400m race at the Payton Jordan Invitational this weekend, she's sprinting back-to-back laps separated by merely 90 seconds.
About 15 meters ahead of her are two male training partners from Cal's middle-distance group. Her chase instincts take over. She is a predator tracking down prey.
“53! [pause] 55!” Coach Tony Sandoval calls out the men's split, then Montano's, as she crosses the 400m mark a second faster than intended.
She paces for a minute and a half, eyeing the other runners and anticipating the next round. But before anyone can catch a breath, the hunt is on once again. The three athletes push out from the starting line and make their way around the turn.
Calculated yet fearless in her movements, Montano holds the gap. Past the turn and into the finish line, she showcases her strength as she maintains her ground.
“Good, good! All the way into the line!” shouts Sandoval, “54.5! [pause] 57.”
The three training partners exchange high-fives to congratulate each other on a quality workout — the second of the day after weights and hills in the morning.
The hunt will resume tomorrow.
————————
Just a few days prior to this workout, the 800m Olympic finalist turned 30. On her birthday, Montano won the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in a season opener of 2:01. Her performance was a solo effort and marked a new meet record.
Coach Sandoval was convinced that Montano would have broken two minutes if headwind wasn’t a factor. Based on the ease with which she won, there was little doubt.
“I honestly feel the strongest I’ve ever felt before,” Montano told FloTrack on Tuesday. “When you’re younger, you can kind of do whatever you want in some ways. Sometimes people can get away with it for a little bit longer, but I think really early on, I didn’t have that mentality and I always thought to take care of the little things so now I’ve been able to build all that strength to where I am right now.”
Montano has contested races with the best in the world and made a lasting impression on the women’s 800m. Her fierce tactics, which include taking the pace out hard and fast from the gun, are just as recognizable as her signature look: the flower she wears in her hair.
Two years ago, Montano underwent a major life event when she gave birth to her daughter, Linnea. She returned to racing with patience and focus. And one year after running the 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships while eight months pregnant, Montano claimed her seventh U.S. title to earn a spot on the national team headed to the World Championships.
“Postpartum, I really focused on staying strong, but in stepping stones—not trying to be somewhere where I wasn’t supposed to be,” Montano said.
It’s been nearly four years since Montano’s heartbreaking fifth-place finish in the Olympic final, and a lot has happened since then. For the majority of her career, Montano has been just outside of world podium finishes in large part because of drug cheats.
The much-anticipated drug busts involving her Russian competitors Mariya Savinova and Ekaterina Poistogova finally came to light last year, which could enable Montano to retroactively receive at least four championship medal upgrades — silver from 2010 World Indoors, bronze from 2011 World Outdoors, bronze from the 2012 London Olympics, and bronze from 2013 World Outdoors.
Fellow competitor and world bronze medalist Brenda Martinez reached out to her once the news broke. She wanted to remind Montano of the impact she has made on their event and her appreciation for making fellow competitors step up. Montano has yet to receive those medals or much retribution for that matter, but she continues to push for the things she can control.
“At the end of the day, I want to close out and I want to be the one who’s in control of when I’m out of here,” Montano said. “I don’t want to leave being bitter. My daughter helps me remember that I get to be a shining example everyday.”
Training, which once might have seemed like a fool’s errand in the face of blatant cheating, is now a mission to set an example for her No. 1 fan.
“Every time I’m not with her [Linnea], I think, ‘This has to be for something,” Montano said. “I want this to mean something so she can look back and say, ‘My mom was so strong, she kept fighting and didn’t let other people dictate her destiny.”
After a four-year rollercoaster ride, 2016 could finally be Montano’s year to earn an Olympic medal outright.
“From 2013 to now, these last three years have been the most peaceful and calm I’ve ever felt,” she said.
“I’m my favorite me right now.”
About 15 meters ahead of her are two male training partners from Cal's middle-distance group. Her chase instincts take over. She is a predator tracking down prey.
“53! [pause] 55!” Coach Tony Sandoval calls out the men's split, then Montano's, as she crosses the 400m mark a second faster than intended.
She paces for a minute and a half, eyeing the other runners and anticipating the next round. But before anyone can catch a breath, the hunt is on once again. The three athletes push out from the starting line and make their way around the turn.
Calculated yet fearless in her movements, Montano holds the gap. Past the turn and into the finish line, she showcases her strength as she maintains her ground.
“Good, good! All the way into the line!” shouts Sandoval, “54.5! [pause] 57.”
The three training partners exchange high-fives to congratulate each other on a quality workout — the second of the day after weights and hills in the morning.
The hunt will resume tomorrow.
————————
Just a few days prior to this workout, the 800m Olympic finalist turned 30. On her birthday, Montano won the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in a season opener of 2:01. Her performance was a solo effort and marked a new meet record.
Coach Sandoval was convinced that Montano would have broken two minutes if headwind wasn’t a factor. Based on the ease with which she won, there was little doubt.
“I honestly feel the strongest I’ve ever felt before,” Montano told FloTrack on Tuesday. “When you’re younger, you can kind of do whatever you want in some ways. Sometimes people can get away with it for a little bit longer, but I think really early on, I didn’t have that mentality and I always thought to take care of the little things so now I’ve been able to build all that strength to where I am right now.”
Montano has contested races with the best in the world and made a lasting impression on the women’s 800m. Her fierce tactics, which include taking the pace out hard and fast from the gun, are just as recognizable as her signature look: the flower she wears in her hair.
Two years ago, Montano underwent a major life event when she gave birth to her daughter, Linnea. She returned to racing with patience and focus. And one year after running the 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships while eight months pregnant, Montano claimed her seventh U.S. title to earn a spot on the national team headed to the World Championships.
“Postpartum, I really focused on staying strong, but in stepping stones—not trying to be somewhere where I wasn’t supposed to be,” Montano said.
It’s been nearly four years since Montano’s heartbreaking fifth-place finish in the Olympic final, and a lot has happened since then. For the majority of her career, Montano has been just outside of world podium finishes in large part because of drug cheats.
The much-anticipated drug busts involving her Russian competitors Mariya Savinova and Ekaterina Poistogova finally came to light last year, which could enable Montano to retroactively receive at least four championship medal upgrades — silver from 2010 World Indoors, bronze from 2011 World Outdoors, bronze from the 2012 London Olympics, and bronze from 2013 World Outdoors.
Fellow competitor and world bronze medalist Brenda Martinez reached out to her once the news broke. She wanted to remind Montano of the impact she has made on their event and her appreciation for making fellow competitors step up. Montano has yet to receive those medals or much retribution for that matter, but she continues to push for the things she can control.
“At the end of the day, I want to close out and I want to be the one who’s in control of when I’m out of here,” Montano said. “I don’t want to leave being bitter. My daughter helps me remember that I get to be a shining example everyday.”
Training, which once might have seemed like a fool’s errand in the face of blatant cheating, is now a mission to set an example for her No. 1 fan.
“Every time I’m not with her [Linnea], I think, ‘This has to be for something,” Montano said. “I want this to mean something so she can look back and say, ‘My mom was so strong, she kept fighting and didn’t let other people dictate her destiny.”After a four-year rollercoaster ride, 2016 could finally be Montano’s year to earn an Olympic medal outright.
“From 2013 to now, these last three years have been the most peaceful and calm I’ve ever felt,” she said.
“I’m my favorite me right now.”