McKenzie Long of Ole Miss swept the sprint titles with victories in the 100 meters, 200 meters and anchoring the 4x100 meters. All of that happened in a span of about 90 minutes. Her winning time in the 200 meters of 21.83 seconds is the fastest in the world as we head into the U.S. Olympic Trials. She has a very strong chance of qualifying for Team USA and making the Olympic team, if she finishes in the top three of either individual event.

After one of the races in Eugene, McKenzie got emotional on-air on ESPN while dedicating her win to her mother, who died during this past indoor season. In this episode, McKenzie opens up about how she grieved and coped with the loss while in the middle of a season. She shares how she sees and feels her mother’s presence with her daily.

A beautiful photo captured by photographer Kane Nguyen went viral where she’s sitting in the bleachers at Hayward Field with her head down, reflecting and connecting with her mother. She tells us about that photo and a surprise she had when she got into the blocks before the 100 meters.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: McKenzie Long | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@kenzielong21 on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The following interview excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full interview with McKenzie Long on the CITIUS MAG Podcast – available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

CITIUS MAG: Each time at the Championships, you were close. It was a gradual sort of build – you'd get bounced in certain rounds and the times weren't always super fast. What did you learn from each of those shortcomings?

McKenzie Long: Constantly getting second place last year, I was like, ‘Come on!’ But I don't think I was able to tap into this version of myself yet. I think losing my mom… That's when I was able to come into myself more and just really focus on things that I can't even see, and things of the unknown – like faith and that aspect. I was able to zone in on that more this year. So I think that's really what created this momentum.

CITIUS MAG: Whose choice was it to continue competing? Was that you talking to your coach and being like, ‘Hey, I still want to run?’

McKenzie Long: Going out there on the track [at the Tyson Invitational], having all this stuff in the back of my mind, I wasn’t locked in. I had a breakdown moment in the practice infield, and I just bawled. I was bawling to my coach. I was saying, ‘I miss my mom. She's not here anymore.’ I had my moment and I think I really needed that to navigate if this is really what I wanted. After all that happened, there was a lot of talk and a lot of conversations… I started to include my mom instead of separate her from track and field, because I initially thought that track and field was taking me away from my mom. You know, take me away from the moments that I needed to grieve my mom. But now I'm including her in my journey and I'm including her everywhere. That's really how I'm navigating this.

CITIUS MAG: The moment when you got into the blocks at NCAAs and you saw them set without having to make any sort of changes before the 100m – take us through your internal thought process there.

McKenzie Long: It happened so fast. Immediately when I looked down and saw my blocks already in my setting, I was like, ’This has never happened to me before.’ I don't think one person can say that a block was already in their setting whenever they get in their blocks. It was so crazy too because beforehand, I was locked in, I was focused, I was like, ‘Yeah, we're going to get this block start down.’ And then I said, ‘Thanks, mom, you just threw me off a little bit!’ Then I had to get into the blocks and I had to race. I was like, ‘Wait, I'm really about to run, hold on.’ It was a lot to take in. It might sound cliche, but I thought of my mom when that happened. Somebody else might not have thought of that, but me, I thought of my mom and it was a little shocking.

CITIUS MAG: Was there anything specific that was different about that particular conversation with your mom before racing at NCAAs? Compared to all the other ones you’ve had throughout the season?

McKenzie Long: This particular conversation, I did cry more. It was the most pivotal moment of my life. I was just telling her, ‘This is my breakthrough moment.’ I told her that before this even happened… I told her, ‘Just let me feel you, let me know that you're here.’ And she did. In the blocks. I just trust her with everything in me. There's really nothing more that I could say to her that she hasn't already done. But definitely the breakthrough moment was different than everything else, every other meet.

CITIUS MAG: Last year, was there any sort of temptation to give up your NCAA eligibility and turn pro? Or did you always think that this was the path for you?

McKenzie Long: Last year I didn't win anything, so I wanted to come in this year and win it all. That was the main objective, that was the main goal. I knew I could. I ran 21 windy last year, so I really wanted to win this outdoor season and that's why I came back.

CITIUS MAG: This whole story that you've written out so far in your career – what do you want to make of this next chapter? The trials are coming and it would be even more epic to continue on to the summer.

McKenzie Long: I'm super happy. Going into this transition part of my life, I just want to be consistent. I just want to have fun on top of that because the pro world is professional. You're in the adult world. I want to continue to have fun. I don't want much to change. I don't want my thoughts of track to change. I'm gonna just continue to include my mom, especially for the Trials. I want to make my first Olympic team. That would be so crazy. My coach is already talking about Worlds next year, so I plan on going to that too. But yeah, just be consistent, have fun with it, and just not really stress about life.

Time Stamps:

• 6:57 - Her mindset as she pivots from NCAAs to the Olympic Trials.
• 7:53 - The reception she’s gotten from the media after becoming a 3x NCAA champion.
• 8:46 - How she filters out distractions as she prepares to compete.
• 10:07 - The turning point in her running career + how she’s evolved as an athlete.
• 11:31 - What helped create momentum for her moving from last season into this season.
• 10:33 - How she used the passing of her mom as a positive catalyst for her running career.
• 14:02 - How her mom was her biggest supporter.
• 18:23 - The way her coaches supported her after her mom passed away.
• 20:23 - How she uses visualization to help prepare for racing.
• 21:26 - Adjustments she’s made to her training that’s helped her improve.
• 23:26 - Other sprinters that inspire her.
• 27:59 - How she recovered between races at NCAAs.
• 31:31 - The conversation she had with her late mom just before racing at NCAAs.
• 34:15 - Her goals for the coming years.