What to know about Courtney Wayment ahead of her Olympic debut

Courtney Wayment will make her Olympic debut on Sunday in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase preliminary round.

Here’s what you should know about the former BYU runner’s career — and how to watch track and field at the Olympics.

Courtney Wayment Olympics profile

Age : Turns 26 on Sunday

Olympic event : Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase

Hometown : Layton, Utah

College : BYU

Notable achievements : Wayment’s time of 9:06.50 at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June is the fourth fastest time ever recorded by an American competitor in the women’s steeplechase, according to World Athletics . Valerie Constien, who won June’s race with a time of 9:03.22, has the third best time in American history.

Wayment won the women’s steeplechase title at 2022 NCAA outdoor championships while beating the collegiate record by more than 8 seconds, as the Deseret News reported at the time.

Courtney Wayment’s path to the Olympics

Wayment nearly qualified for the Olympics in 2021. She set a new personal best in the women’s steeplechase finals but finished in fourth place, one spot away from realizing her Olympic dream.

She used that experience as motivation over the past three years. It fueled her as she wrapped up her collegiate career and became a professional runner.

“I was like, ‘I’ve been that close. I will make sure I’m not that close again,’” she told the Deseret News earlier this summer. “When you’re so close to achieving your lifelong dream and you watch it run away from you, that doesn’t leave your soul.”

All her training paid off at the Olympic trials in June during a race that was much faster than expected, as the Deseret News reported at the time.

She came back from fourth place over the final lap and finished in second, setting a new personal best time of 9:06.50 and securing a spot on the Olympic team.

“It’s the highest honor that I could ever be given,” she said of making it to the Olympics when the Deseret News spoke to her in July.

How to watch Courtney Wayment at the Olympics

Wayment will attempt to qualify for the women’s steeplechase final during the opening round on Sunday.

Women’s steeplechase heats are expected to begin around 2:05 a.m. MDT, and they will stream on Peacock.