Mitchell’s quest for the Olympics falls short at trials

2018 Lynnfield High graduate and Boston College track standout Kate Mitchell is taking her talent to a new level. Her storied career is already the stuff of legends. ACC championships. Top finishes at the NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championships. A professional contract with the New Balance Boston team.

Suffice it to say the 24-year-old has already competed on some of the largest national stages there are in the world of amateur track.

Over a whirlwind weekend, Mitchell ran the two biggest races of her life in the U.S. Olympic Track Trials in Eugene, Oregon, attempting to punch her ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the women’s 800-meter. While she came up short in Sunday’s semifinals, Mitchell said the experience was something she will never forget.

“It was incredible even just hearing the word Olympics… I mean two years ago I couldn’t get under 2:10 so to be able to run alongside such incredible athletes who are multiple Olympic medalists with 20 million accolades, you just say ‘whoa.’ Just being in the stadium was amazing. When you come out of the call room and hear the roar of the crowd, it’s an experience unlike anything.”

Mitchell’s Olympic quest began Friday night. One of 36 runners in the field, a group that included 2014 NCAA champion Juliette Whittaker and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion Athing Mu, Mitchell needed to finish in the top six in her heat or be one of the next three fastest runners to advance to the semifinals. Mitchell went into the race with the 27th-best time this year among Americans (2:01.13).

Friday’s race was a logjam with only .09 seconds separating the top five runners. Mitchell hung back in the field in last place until she turned on the jets with about 300 meters to join the lead pack. She finished fifth, just .09 seconds away from winning the heat. She said a calculated decision to cut to an outside lane on the backstretch was key.

“I had to swing pretty wide over the last 100,” she said. “I didn’t want to get stuck behind somebody and knew I had to pass three people. There were so many big names in the heat so I don’t think anyone thought I could win the heat, but it was so close.”

Mitchell had a couple of days to prepare for Sunday’s semifinal. Her first task was responding to hundreds of messages she received from well-wishers.

“Sometimes it’s easy to take it all for granted, but I get emotional thinking about all these people who have supported me and it was so important to reach out to them after they reached out to me. That was so special,” Mitchell said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be here without people like (Lynnfield High coach) Bill Wallace, Fernando, all of my college coaches, my family and friends, and now my team at New Balance. I was not out there alone knowing I had so many people behind me.”

In Sunday’s semifinal, 27 runners vied for nine spots in the final with the top two finishers and the next three fastest times advancing. Mitchell finished seventh (20th overall) with a time of 2:02.47.

“The first heat was so fast, but my heat was slow,” she said.  It was a hard race to run because the girls at the top controlled a slow pace. I thought of making a move with 400 to go, but I didn’t want it to blow up. Hindsight is 20/20 but I was happy I ran a negative split (second lap faster than the first) but it was a bummer that we weren’t at a faster pace.”

Mitchell qualified for the trials on June 9 in Concord, MA at the Adrian Martinez Classic. In a field loaded with star-studded talent, including Peabody’s Heather MacLean, Mitchell ran a career-best 2:01.13 to secure her spot in trials. While MacLean (1:58.77) finished third, her sights are set on the 1,500, an event she competed in at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The ninth seed in the U.S. with a time of 4:02.49, MacLean is slated to run the trials Thursday.

Mitchell said she normally tunes out the crowd when she runs, but not at the Martinez Classic. The voice she heard? Peabody High track and cross country coach and fellow BC grad Fernando Braz.

“I don’t hear anything when I run but I heard Fernando,” Mitchell said. “He was like, ‘GO, GO, GO GO! It was a really fast race.”

Mitchell also had a special shout-out for her employer, Andover-based Tiger Iron Capital, where she works as a data analyst.

“I would not be here without people like Becky Connolly and (Lynnfield’s) Mary Cannon who have been so great in giving me the flexibility to train,” Mitchell said. “They even come out to my races and are great role models.”

Mitchell plans to stay in Eugene for the rest of the week so she can cheer MacLean and other friends along.

“I’m staying the rest of the week to watch. It’s so special to see my teammates and friends attempt to attain their dreams and goals,” she said. “And I will definitely be watching the Olympics this summer.”

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