By Lani Hansen, Reporter
OKMULGEE, Oklahoma– With cancelations of her outdoor track and field season, Muscogee (Creek) citizen Brandee Presley continues to focus on an Olympic dream.
Presley spoke with Mvskoke Media in August 2019 after bringing home two medals from the Pan Am U20 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica. Since then she has broke Ole Miss’ Indoor Track and Field school record at 7.18 seconds which was her best time.
“I had the oppourtunity to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but with the pandemic going on they canceled that and the whole season,” Presley said. “This put a damper on my hopes of having a great outdoor season and making my run for the Olympics. But its also given me a chance to breath a little bit and nurse my ankle that I had since last year outdoor season.”
This setback has allowed Presley to take time before trying out for the Olympics which has been her dream since last time she spoke to Mvskoke Media and probably before then. The 2020 Olympic Trials were set for June 19 through June 28, but since the Coronavirus Pandemic the Olympics have been postponed until 2021.
Presley plans on going through the 2021 Olympic trials when the time comes.
“The trials are right after my national outdoor meet in Texas,” Presley said. “I think I will be ready for it, they take the top three dashes out of each event. Hopefully I can be one of those top three and then go to Japan and represent my country.”
Presley is focusing on knocking down some times during next outdoor season to reach her peak at the Olympics. Last season her best outdoor time was 11.19 in the 100-meter dash, which placed her to compete in the Pan Am U20 and broke the school record again.
Before the pandemic, the indoor track and field rankings posted Presley ranked number six in the NCAA 60-meter dash. Presley hopes to come out on top next season for both indoor and outdoor.
The pandemic not only effected Presley’s outdoor season and her chance to compete in the NCAA indoor championships, but it affected other athletes as well. She expressed some words of encouragement for every track and field athlete about being patient during this time.
“If they had a set plan going into the season like I did and everything just got washed away, and you’re thinking ‘now I am never going to get the chance’,” Presley stated for other runners. “Well basically this has given you a whole extra year, another 365 days plus more to be better than you were in the indoor season. Keep at it and your work won’t go un-nocticed.”