Citius Magazine: When asked what is the most memorable race from the Olympic Trials, most people would say the 1500m final and the 3000m hurdles. You were at the front of the pack with some dramatic performances and dramatic action. Now that you have had time to reflect on the race, what do you think?
Val Constantine: Yeah, 9:03 is really fast. I think it's easy to think, “Oh, it's just like any other race, it doesn't matter.” There are still Americans who are faster than me, but 9:03 is really big. And like you said, I think it took me some time to realize that, to be like, “Wow, I'm really fast on a global scale.” I still don't think there are that many women in the world who have run much faster than 9:03. It was a big confidence boost, but now it's time to change my mindset going into races.
Citius Magazine: Your winning time at the Paris Diamond League was 9:03.68 and you were even faster at the Trials. Did the fact that you could enter these races and have a shot at winning make all that sense?
Val Constantine: Yeah, it still feels crazy to even think about it, but I also looked back at when I ran 9:14 in the Pre-Classic. The winner was 8:55, that's amazing. But the second place woman was 9:00 flat, and the third place woman was like 9:06. So it's really cool to look back on stuff like that. It's great to win a Diamond League meet. It's great to win a World Championship or at least get a medal or be in the top four. So that was a big turning point for me. I thought, “Okay, I'm going to the Olympics. If I can run maybe like the sixth fastest time and I can just run a few seconds faster, there's no reason I can't get a medal at the Olympics.” So, that's a really cool thing to think about.
Citius Magazine: Now, thinking about going under nine minutes or even getting close to that… what do you think you need to do in training to really hone your speed and that last kilometre to make that a possibility at the Olympics?
Val Constantine: All the things I've done and all the workouts I've done have helped and inspired me, so I'm just going to copy and paste that from now on. Maybe I'm a second faster per lap in certain workouts. That's nice, but I'm not going to change it too much. I'm just going to keep it the way I do it. And I think the thing that helps me the most to get under 9:00 is my mental game. You have to be confident and go all out. In the trials, I went all out in the final. I think I was a little bit buried for the first lap or two. But then I quickly got out of that pack and I was up to second or third for pretty much the whole race. So I'm going to have to go into the Olympic final with a very similar race strategy and go all out.
Citius Magazine: I think the first word that comes to mind to describe you as a racer is pure competitor. Some people obviously thrive in time trials by starting out at the front and sprinting to the end. But looking at your races so far this season, you seem to thrive in that “I'm trying to beat the person next to me” competitor mode.
Val Constantine: Yes, 100 percent. In the past, I've had people say in races, “You're the best in the field, so just do the time trial.” But now that I'm a pro and I'm able to do good races, I don't really like those kinds of races. I'd rather be in the pack and practice my races, because I can do really fast times in those races. I saw that in the 1500m in Paris. Faith Kipyegon Anyway, he went forward and dominated for the most part. Jessica Hull I was able to hold on and run very fast. And in the 1500m trials, El Purier Saint-Pierre I was up front at 1500m and set the pace and they went insanely fast, so I think there's a time and a place for that.
But for me, the most important thing is practicing to win and practicing to win. At the end of the day, personal bests are great. And running super fast is great, but people don't say, “Oh, 9:03, third fastest time.” They say, “Val won.” So for me, I just want to try to win. That's what I care about. I don't care if I run slow. I just want to win.
Citius Magazine: Was there anything else that really surprised you about how that steeplechase final unfolded that we didn't notice? I watched it a couple of times because it was so thrilling from start to finish.
Val Constantine: There were some things that surprised me, some performances that I thought were amazing, and some performances that I thought were a shame they didn't perform to their potential. Chrissy Gear I thought it was a shame that she dropped out of the race. She ran 9:12 last year and you know she's a great athlete and a great person. It would have been a lot more interesting if she had been in the race with 400 meters to go.
Maddie Boreman I don't think it was her best race. I think Maddie can be in the sub-9:20 group. I believe she's technically good and she's in great shape. So I hope Maddie can bounce back this year and go to another race and run faster. And of course, Marisa HowardWe all know she's good, right? She's been to the Olympic Trials so many times, right? She always goes in and always finishes in the top eight. I think she was fifth in 2021. And then U.S. Championships, she always finishes in the top 10, right? She's always in good shape and she always runs fast. And I knew she was ready to break out, because a lot of women do after giving birth… We were talking after the race and she was like, “Oh, if you give birth naturally, the pain of the steeplechase is nothing.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, she's just built differently.” To be honest, Olivia Markezich “The fact that she's just a college student and she's competing against some of the best women in the U.S. is incredible, and I thought the way she raced was incredibly courageous. I think we can expect some really great things from Olivia in the next few years.” Gabby Jenningstoo. I mean, the girl ran it in 9 minutes and 12 seconds, which was a big personal best for her.
And in that race, we saw a lot of people running really fast. It was really impressive.
Citius Magazine: Think about it: Is this the greatest team ever to go to the Olympics? In some ways, it's a bit odd to say that when there aren't any legendary players on this team. Emma Cobain and Courtney FrericksBut time speaks for itself and generally speaking, they are just strong enough to break through and finish in the top three.
Val Constantine: Well, of course, Emma Coburn was the best, right? For 15 years, she was the best. And what she did to pave the way for this sport, of course, will never be forgotten. And she has inspired hundreds of female athletes in her 15 years in this sport. And, of course, Courtney Frerichs holds the American record and is an absolute beast in her own right. But to say there wasn't a lot of competition this year, I think that's an incredible insult to all the women who ran incredibly fast. This is the most intense competition we've ever had. So when these two finally come back, I think we're going to see even more intense competition, and it's going to be even crazier.
Citius Magazine: So, now that your health is improving, what do you think the next few weeks will look like?
Val Constantine: I'm just going to go back to normal training. I'm not doing anything crazy and I don't plan on doing anything crazy. Before the Trials, I was doing steeplechase training once a week, then 5K specific training, strides, hard long runs. The only big change will be that I'll be doing more heat training.
I have a heat training protocol where I have to run in a t-shirt and long sleeves right now, so I wore a long sleeve shirt most of the time today, and then I got too hot in the last couple of kilometers and had to take it off, but next week I'm going to add a rain jacket and cinch everything up, and then a week before I leave I'm going to start running in sweatpants or tights.
It's not fun, but it makes a big difference. I've been using the sauna at the recreation center basically 3-4 days a week since February, so I'm already somewhat adapted and it's not too bad, but there's only one way to adapt to the heat, and that's to suffer, so you have to be prepared for that.
Citius Magazine: For you, does it feel different now that you're officially an Olympian than it did in 2021?
Val Constantine: The Tokyo Olympics was also a weird bubble Olympics due to the pandemic. It was really great, but there were a lot of things I missed out on at the Olympics. My family couldn't come to watch, my coach couldn't come, I couldn't socialize with the other athletes, I couldn't explore the city at all. I couldn't even attend the closing ceremony, even though it was only a couple of days after the race. So there were a lot of things I could have done better.
So, of course, it didn't help the imposter syndrome that I was feeling, because everyone was like, “Oh, she was just lucky to make the team. Oh, she was just a one-off. She's never going to get any better.” That was really tough. But I think going to Paris will be a totally different experience, if everyone is there, interacting with people, exploring and participating in the Olympic activities. But at the end of the day, this is just another race and I have to treat it like any other race. I can't deify this race because I'm a very strong racer. I have to be very calm. I have to be like, “Okay, here's my race strategy. I'm racing really fast women, but I'm also really fast. This is just another race.”
Time stamp:
- 5:35 – What life is like for Val after contracting COVID-19 and the U.S. Olympic Trials.
- 7:46 – Her initial reaction after qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team for the second time and her hopes of winning an Olympic medal.
- 9:12 – Details on her expectations and training leading up to the Trials.
- 10:47 – How do you plan to adjust your training between the Trials and the Olympics?
- 12:14 – What was going through her head during the steeplechase final?
- 14:39 – How she will approach the race.
- 16:17 – Her reaction after running 9:03.22.
- 17:29 – Her analysis of the current state of the women's 3000m steeplechase.
- 11:40pm – Her reaction to being ranked 3rd on the US all-time rankings.
- 25:59 – How does she think the Olympics will unfold?
- 26:19 – Details of her heat training protocol for Paris.
- 27:48 – Her excitement over the sunglasses she'll wear in Paris.
- 28:58 – Comparing his experience at the Tokyo Olympics to his feelings about going to the Paris Games.
