Running commentary

Two likely Olympians stood before me about 15 minutes apart at the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday, June 11, after winning their races. I had come as a reporter, hoping to get more of an inside view of an elite athlete or two.

One was Raevyn Rogers, who had just won her second consecutive 800-meter title for the University of Oregon. Poised, exhuberant, humble, and tremendously talented, Rogers may well rise to further greatness in the years to come. Hers is definitely a name for track fans to remember as the Olympic Trials return to Eugene in July to determine who will represent America in Rio later this summer.

She said to make the Olympic team she will have to experience discomfort.

"Being uncomfortable will help me grow," she said.

She ran away from the field in the final 200 meters Saturday, but knows that competing against post-collegiate professionals will be an entirely different matter.

Marta Freitas, a Portuguese runner for Mississippi State, winner of the 1,500-meters by .01 seconds over Stanford's Elise Cranny, provided an even more compelling and inspiring story.

I was drawn to meeting Freitas after watching her run a courageous race, which she led from the second lap onward. Her gutsy strategy made me wonder if there was more to her story. Early leaders seldom win championship-level distance races. Her style reminded me of the great Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine.

The joy on her face after winning looked deeper and richer to me than other victors, so I headed to the media tent to listen to her when she meet the press. This is where I learned the reason behind her effusive smile.

Freitas came to the U.S. to be a collegiate student and athlete in the hopes of fulfilling a dream to be an Olympian. She is the fastest 1,500-meter runner in her home country. "By 15 seconds," she told me. It hasn't been easy.

Her father died two years ago while in attendance at one of her races in Portugal. He told her he would shout out her 1,000-meter split, but the shout never came and she discovered after the race he had collapsed from a massive heart attack.

Despite her grief, she returned to Mississippi State, where she found the road rockier still. Last season she required leg surgery during the winter, but returned to form enough to qualify for the NCAAs where she made the final. During the race, she fell, breaking her wrist, and finished last.

Her will to strive for her and her father's dreams, along with her faith in her coach, carried her into 2016 and ultimately to the top of the podium.

Her day played out just as she had hoped. I discovered that she took the lead early in the race to avoid getting tangled up with other runners again. She celebrated, albeit a little early, thinking of her father. She demonstrated in one race the beauty of sport: Perseverance. Heart. Motivation. Faith.

When asked after the race how she had overcome so much adversity, she said, "You need to choose whether to go to the bright side and turn bad things into something positive."

I talked with her in person for a minute after the rest of the reporters left and inquired about her Olympic aspirations. She ran 4:09.53. If she can run 4:07 in the next few weeks, she will attain the Olympic standard and represent Portugal at the Games. After watching her and talking with her, I became the newest member of her fan club. I hope I see her and Rogers' names among the entrants in Rio.