If you're now experiencing a unique form of grief because the are done, I overstand. After two weeks of obsessively watching everything from gymnastics and basketball to archery, rowing, and endless track and field events, you get attached. So if you're not ready to let go juuust yet, I get it, and the good news is you don't have to! One, because the start on August 28 (!), and two, because I actually have some tea on what it takes to *make* Team USA, specifically as a track athlete.
How so, you ask? Well, that'd be because Nike invited me to the 2024 Olympic Track & Field Trials in the brand's hometown of Eugene, Oregon—aka Track Town USA—and pretty much treated me like a bona fide Olympic track star the entire time. So if you want to soothe your mourning Olympics heart, keep reading for all the behind-the-scenes deets of what life is really like for Nike athletes who competed for a chance to rep the U.S.
in Paris. THE OLYMPIAN TREATMENT! When Nike said they wanted to give me the ~real~ Nike Athlete ExperienceTM️, did I hope that included someone presenting me with a cute little bajillion dollar multi-year contract at the end? Yes, because don't we all deserve LeBron James Money? But since this is reality, I settled for indulging in all the really freaking cool amenities reserved for the Olympic-qualifying athletes. So, a close second if you ask me! The first stop in said indulgence was getting to spend some time in the Nike Athlete House.
It wasn't a house, but more s.