Starting Friday, five Atlanta Track Club Elites will don the Club's winged A logo in Hayward Field as they compete for spots on Team USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics. The athletes range from a three-time veteran of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field to one who signed with the Elite team just this week.
Over the first five days of the event, middle-distance runners and team veterans Olivia Baker and Sadi Henderson will race in the women's 800m, with the first round on Friday evening.
"I feel like I've got a lot of momentum, I've been getting better with every race this year, so I feel like I'll be just ready at the right time," said Baker, who has a season's best of 2:00.73 and will be competing in her third Olympic Trials but her first as a member of Atlanta Track Club Elite. In 2022, not long after joining the Elite team, Baker represented the U.S. at the World Indoor Championships.
Henderson's road to the Trials included overcoming health issues from a black mold outbreak in her apartment that forced her to take time off from her 2023 outdoor season. Looking back, she says it took a "tremendous amount of faith" to overcome the obstacles and come back even stronger in 2024, both physically and emotionally.
"At the end of the day, going to the Trials is the opportunity to represent the United States on the Olympic stage, but it's also about the journey to get to that point … so my growth has been really important to me," said Henderson, who also competed at the Trials for the 2020 Games.
In the second half of the Trials, Luciano Fiore will compete in the men's 800m starting June 27 along with newly signed Sean Dolan, a six-time All-American, the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships runner-up and one of the top male middle-distance runners in Villanova University history. Dolan, fresh from finishing fifth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships less than two weeks ago, will make his professional debut at the Trials.
Fiore, in his first year with the team and competing in the Trials for the first time, says he is looking forward to representing the Club and helping set a standard for the program.
"I feel a great sense of pride with my teammates and this program," Fiore said. "I just want to do the best while showcasing my team and myself as we continue building an amazing program."
Not long after Fiore and Dolan complete Round 1 of the men's 800m, Laurie Barton will race in the women's 1500m at her second Olympic Trials.
"This time around, I'm definitely coming in with a lot more confidence … The first time, I was just excited to be there, so I'm feeling much more competitive this year," Barton said.
All are under the leadership of four-time Trials competitor Tommy Nohilly, who assumed the role of Atlanta Track Club Elite coach late last summer.
The U.S. Olympic Trials - Track & Field will take place from June 21-30. A live broadcast will be available on NBC, Peacock and USA Network. See the full schedule here.
