By Katelyn Hutchison
June 14, 2023
At this weekend’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Arkansas junior Britton Wilson attempted to become the first person to win NCAA titles in the 400 meters and 400m hurdles at the same championship. As if that wasn’t hard enough, the two finals were just 25 minutes apart.
Wilson, who was competing with kinesiology tape on her shins, finished second in the 400m to Texas’ Rhasidat Adeleke, who broke the NCAA championships and stadium record in 49.20 – just 0.07 shy of Wilson’s collegiate record 49.13 from last month. Wilson took second in 49.64.
Wilson was visibly tired from the previous race as she went on to finish seventh in 55.92 for the 400m hurdle final. Michigan’s Savannah Sutherland of Michigan was the surprising winner in 54.45.
Wilson has decided to forego the remainder of her NCAA eligibility and turn professional. She has signed with HSI Sports Management to represent her in contract talks with potential sponsors.
On the latest episode of 'Out of The Blocks', we responded to some of the criticism they’ve seen on social media around Wilson falling short in her historic attempt. Catch their full NCAA Championship recap on the latest episode, which is available to stream, download and listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.
The following has been transcribed and edited lightly for clarity
Katelyn Hutchison: “You’re mad because she attempted something that nobody had the balls to do before? For those saying, ‘She didn’t complete it’ – Finals aside, she did it on Wednesday. Did she come away with two gold medals? No. But you’re telling me that running a 49-low (for 400m) and 55 (for 400m hurdles) is still not crazy to you? For those saying the coaches were using her, you don’t know them. I’m pretty sure she and Coach Chris Johnson had a conversation where they said something like, ‘You know we’re crazy as f*ck for trying to do this but we’re doing it anyway.’ Stop it.
Jasmine Todd: “The 30 minutes between the 100m and 200m is a normal duration between events. For a 400m, I think you definitely need more time. If Britton Wilson had an hour between events, I think she would’ve been a bit fresh.
People talking online don’t know her coaching dynamic. Shamier Little posted online about how a lot of athletes are putting their own struggles with their coaches onto Britton and her coaches because they were utilized within the NCAA system. I was thinking about this before Shamier posted about it but had this been an Oregon thing – no shade to my alma mater – but they like to use their athletes to their fullest capability. Sometimes you don’t have that decision and you’re doing something that’s best for the team and not your best interest. We’re just trying to rack up points. There are a lot of schools that do that. At times, I had been utilized in that position but then I remembered the commentators noted that Britton and her coach sat down and decided to do that double.
The only reason that double is not doable is because of the schedule. If she had the proper amount of time to rest and recover between those races, I do not like this new schedule because it doesn’t allow as many people to double.
This was such an amazing attempt. For all those people coming at her saying that she ruined her bag, she did not. She showed that she is a soldier to try it – even with her shins messed up. Although she did not come away with the wins, she still completed it and crossed the finish line. She did something not many people would do, especially with just 30 minutes between events. It’s frustrating to see people and their negative opinions. Give her kudos for the amazing track season, the records she set, and all the things she’s done for the Razorbacks.”
Subscribe and listen to Out of The Blocks for more recapping the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
Katelyn Hutchison
Katelyn Hutchison came aboard just ahead of the 2022 U.S. Outdoor Championships in Eugene, and made her mark right away. Currently competing for the University of Kentucky, Katelyn previously set school records and garnered DIII All-American certificates at Ithaca College.