12 minute read
Harrison Williams Perseveres
By Jose R. San Miguel
In the summer of 2021, Team USA decathlete, Harrison Williams, limped out of the Olympic Trials at the University of Oregon injured, wearing an orthopedic walking boot, in a crushing 4th place. Surgery three months later brought training to a halt.
Fast forward to the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships, and Harrison was back at Hayward Field with two things at stake: earn one of three spots on Team USA to compete in the decathlon at the World Championships, and prove what he knew he could do - win. This time, Harrison strode out of the stadium with a new personal best of 8630 and the gold medal.
We caught up with Harrison a week after the meet to talk about perseverance and how he used the injury to learn to trust himself.
TAKEOFF: Harrison, thank you for your time. How are you and your family?
Harrison: We are all well. My parents, big sister, nephew, niece, and brother-in-law were there to watch me compete. My mom and dad will be in Budapest as well as my little sister, so that’ll be awesome.
TAKEOFF: What are some things you have learned about yourself through track and field, particularly through your return from injury?
Harrison: The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I am very good at not giving up when I really want something. Earlier in life, I wasn’t super confident in my abilities, but by dealing with that injury and coming back, I’ve gained belief in myself. I can do anything as long as I don’t give up and just keep pushing.
TAKEOFF: Are you fully rehabbed now?
Harrison: I had the surgery in November of 2021. It took almost a full year to feel 100% normal again. It was a long, long recovery. I didn’t run or train until October of 2022.
TAKEOFF: How did you mentally stay in the game?
Harrison: The injury did a lot for me mentally because it allowed me think about life outside of track. During the pandemic when everything shut down, I kind of had an identity crisis, because I realized that outside of track, I didn’t have a lot going on. So that and then the injury helped me gain perspective and work on myself to become a full person outside of track. Once I came back, I had a better appreciation for what track is. I returned with a fresh mindset.
TAKEOFF: What have you done differently this time around than you did before you were injured?
Harrison: The injury taught me to be more conservative in training. In college, I had the mindset to go hard, and that training has to hurt. I thought I had to do everything written on the workout sheet. The injury forced me to see the workout sheet as a suggestion of what to do and it can be dependent on how I feel every day.
I’ve learned my limits in practice. I know when I’ve gotten a good workout in and one more rep isn’t going to make me 4-5 seconds faster, but one extra rep could give me a little bit of injury, and if that happens, I can’t come back the next day to train.
Knowing when to stop training and when to push has been the number one thing. This has set me up better. Usually by the time I get to USA’s, I’ve felt burnt out physically because I trained too hard thinking I need all this volume. This year I did a much better job pacing myself and making sure that once I got to USA’s, I was feeling really good.
TAKEOFF: That’s a great learning. Outside of track, what are you doing?
Harrison: I’ve made friends here in San Diego. It has been nice to separate track and normal life. I go to the beaches a lot and decompress that way. I’ll do a little traveling after the season’s over.
TAKEOFF: Are you training by yourself or with a group?
Harrison: I train at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center with a lot of Paralympic athletes. It’s really cool to see how the athletes adapt to their disabilities and train around them. I don’t train with any decathletes regularly, although this year I did train with some Chinese decathletes for about three months. They didn’t speak English; we used the translator a lot, but it was good to have people next to me, especially in running workouts. And then I train with Annie Kunz. She’s a heptathlete and we’ve been training together since 2020.
TAKEOFF: And Kris Mack is your coach?
Harrison: Yes, he actually wasn’t in Eugene. He was in Paris for the Paralympic World Championships while I was competing. That was a challenge, but honestly, I liked being able to just rely on myself during the competition. It was a confidence boost to know that I can score big doing my own thing.
TAKEOFF: The decathlon is a series of mental struggles to overcome. How did you plan for that?
Harrison: In the past, I’ve relied too much on just what my coach told me without figuring out how my body is supposed to feel. I’ve been surrounded by great coaches, but knowing that Mack wasn’t going to be at USA’s forced me to rely on myself, learn the event, and figure out what my body was supposed to do, like how to throw the shotput the furthest for me, versus what the ideal technique is. In the decathlon, it’s just you on the track for 16 hours over two days. You’ve got to know the event well and really trust that you can perform when you need to.
TAKEOFF: When the other competitors were being pushed by their coaches, who was giving you direction?
Harrison: A couple of coaches gave me guidance and I’m very, very thankful for them. Jeremy Fischer is the jumps coach at the training center. He helped me out in high jump and a couple other events. Bashir Ramsey helped me out in the long jump. He flew out to Oregon just to help me and Annie. Coach John Dagata, assisted in all three of the throws, which were my best events so obviously something worked there. I was on my own for the 400m and 100m. There’s not a lot of coaching you can do for the 400m, like go fast and endure the pain.
Dan Lefever was a volunteer coach at Stanford when I was there. I went into that event nervous because I didn’t have anyone solid to coach me. Coach Nic from Florida was going to come over and watch me pole vault, but he was with Anna Hall at the long jump, so he missed my warm ups. I was getting nervous, and then I saw Coach Lefever in the stands, and that gave me a lot of confidence because he’s a great pole vault coach who’s coached me before. It was a last second saving grace to have him there. All the coaches are willing to help you which is something I appreciate about track and field.
TAKEOFF: Going into the nationals, did you expect to win?
Harrison: I wouldn’t say expect to win, but I knew I could. In the decathlon there’s a lot of things you can’t control, so I try not to go into any meets expecting to win. I scored 8492 at Mount SAC Relays, and had a great first day, but that second day it was 60 degrees and rainy. I was ready for a big number and the weather probably took a couple hundred points off my score. I knew coming in that I had the potential to score 8600 plus. I just had to execute what I had been training.
TAKEOFF: Was there a turning point at USA’s when you knew where it was going, or were you pushing the whole time?
Harrison: Being in the lead after day one, I realized l was on pace for a big score. I’ve never led a decathlon after day one at a big meet like USA’s or NCAA’s. I’m always in fourth or fifth, and then I usually go up the standings on the second day because I’m a good hurdler, discus thrower, and pole vaulter.
Day two means hurdles. I held back a little bit on the hurdles because you want to just make it through the race, as you’re not feeling great that second day. If I could have any event back, it would be the hurdles because I think I can run faster. Every other event was just 100% effort.
TAKEOFF: How were you feeling about your performance in the pole vault?
Harrison: I mean, 5.20 is pretty good. The second thing I could have back would be my third attempt at 5.30 because I executed very well, but I was on a pole that was too small.
I’ve been jumping well and doing a good job of predicting when I need to go up poles.
I didn’t think about that third attempt because going up third attempt is a little sketchy, but I should have because I hit a good takeoff and a fast swing and that overloaded the pole. I hit it on the way up. But, you know, I can’t be too sad with 5.20m.
TAKEOFF: You waited a long time for a personal best in the javelin. Tell us about that.
Harrison: That was the highlight of the meet by far. I mean, 59m. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself over the last ten years because I’m 6’5”, I’m fast, I’m strong, I have long arms, I should be good at the javelin, but some things never clicked.
I last PR’d in 2014 at the World Junior Championships. For the next nine and a half years, I probably can name four javelin practices that I actually felt went well. I dreaded throwing the javelin because I knew it was going to put me in a bad mood. It was so frustrating. And finally, on my first warm up throw at the meet, it felt like something connected.
I felt strong and relaxed. I opened up with a 55m throw which was a meter under my personal best. If you can open up with a throw that’s close to your PR, then you’re in a very good position because you can push a little harder on each throw and build it up.
On the second throw, I executed my cues exactly and added more energy and it was 59m. I screamed so hard after that, nine years of frustration coming out. I’m really excited for that event now because I actually feel like I know what to do.
TAKEOFF: You knew you had it during the 1500m and you still ran hard. What emotions were going through your mind at that time?
Harrison: I can run a fast 1500, I just need a reason to run it. I thought scoring 8700 would be a good enough reason. But mentally, you’re in so much pain that your brain starts to rationalize and you start making deals with yourself. Like, maybe I don’t have to run hard. I ran two good laps right at my pace, and then the third lap, I got stuck in a no man’s land where Austin (West) had pulled away. I had no one near me so it was hard to mentally stay in it. I got distracted by the moment, by the crowd, by realizing that I was about to win. 4:35 is not the greatest time, but if I’m running for a medal or a really big score, I can run faster. That third lap really gets me.
TAKEOFF: Did you soak in the moment?
Harrison: It didn’t really sink in until about halfway through that 1500 that I was going to win. It was a really cool moment to feel that crowd. I crossed the finish line and hugged my nephew and my mom. I saw the rest of my family on the victory lap.
TAKEOFF: After the high highs of winning and the pain of what you accomplished, you have six weeks to get back into mental and physical shape for the World Championships. How will you do it?
Harrison: I’m going to take a week to recover. Easy workouts, because as you get later in the season, you need a little bit more time to recuperate. My body is feeling great. I enjoy the grind and routine of training and have to force myself not to get back at it too fast. Routine is the best way to lock yourself in.
TAKEOFF: What are you aiming for at the World Championships?
Harrison: I think I have the potential to score high. Obviously when I get closer to the meet, I’ll be more nervous. It’s a different mindset than at USA’s because on the one hand, you want to score high, but you also have to make sure you make the team at the bare minimum. There’s the nervousness of, if one thing goes wrong, I might not make the team. Now I’m on the team, and the gloves can come off and I can give 110% in every event. I’m excited to see what I can do when I’m not holding back.
TAKEOFF: Have any other world class decathletes given you advice?
Harrison: I talked to Zach Zimeck about the timing to go to Worlds and how long he likes to give himself before he competes. I’ve talked to other athletes over the years. Before Doha in 2019, I talked to Trey (Hardee) and he gave me good advice about how to deal with the mental side of the event. Everyone is willing to help and it’s a brotherhood. We have a really fun time.
TAKEOFF: If you were going to inspire a young athlete, what would you tell them?
Harrison: Don’t give up. If you really want to do something, you have to show up every day and do it. Show up, get the training in, and then trust yourself.
I wish I trusted myself earlier on to know what I had the ability to do. I relied too much on external validation, which can lead to burnout, but really just trust yourself and never give up.
