CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. Track & Field Trials begin Friday in Eugene, Oregon, and former Livingstone College sprinter Quanera Hayes will be leading off.
The 32-year-old runs the 400-meter race, which will get started Friday evening, with coverage on WCNC Charlotte and Peacock.
Hayes won the race at the 2020 Trials and finished 7th at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Her personal record in the event is 49.72 seconds, and she used a time of 49.78 to win at the Trials in 2021.
She told WCNC Charlotte she hopes to be close to that number this weekend.
"We're going to see," she said. "My race before last I ran my fastest time since 2021, which is 50.44. That right there put us in a good mental space. My body's coming back. We're getting there."
Hayes had her second child after the Tokyo Olympics. At trials for those games, she shared a special moment with her first son on the track.
She says being a mother and Olympic-caliber athlete is challenging, but fulfilling.
"It warms me because he gets to see firsthand how I fight every single day to be better, and how hard I work," Hayes said. "He will pick that up and eventually learn how to push through, how to fight and how to persevere."