Ironton native McKenzie Long to represent Team USA at 2024 Olympics

Ole Miss track & field NCAA Champion McKenzie Long (women's 200-meter dash) booked passage to the Paris Olympic Games after a superb qualifying performances at Day Eight of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Long finished third in the women's 200-meter final at 21.91 (+0.6) to claim the last ticket to Paris, the second-fastest wind-legal 200-meter time of her career and the fastest ever by a third-place finisher at the Trials.

Long is the first woman in Ole Miss history to qualify for the Olympics in a running event, and joins only Brittney Reese and Raven Saunders as the lone women in track & field program history to become an Olympian.

(Editor’s note: Long is from Ironton, Ohio and attended Pickerington Central HS.)

For Long, this is the culmination not only of her track career to this point, but also of a 2024 season full of highs and lows. She entered as an NCAA favorite after finishing as the outdoor runner-up in 2023. And then her mom passed away in the midst of the indoor season.

And then she lit the track on fire, becoming the second-fastest in collegiate history at 200 meters and the sixth woman in Division I history to sweep the 100, 200 and 4x100-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. All while keeping her mother's presence at the forefront of her life.

"I really was just smiling from ear-to-ear, honestly," Long said. "I wanted to come into this race very confident in what I've done this far, and just crossing that line knowing that I'm an Olympian now, it's so surreal. And I know my mom is smiling, from cheek-to-cheek. I know she is beyond proud of me, and that's all I could ever want from her."

Even as one of the fastest women in the world, Long faced a tall task to make Team USA, sandwiched in Lane 7 in between the U.S. champion in the 100-meter, Sha'Carri Richardson, and the newly-crowned world-leader and 2021 Olympic medalist, Gabby Thomas.

But despite the long collegiate season, Long used her signature second gear to keep pace with the veterans and beat out Richardson for the third spot. Thomas claimed the U.S. title at 21.81, while Brittany Brown was the runner-up at 21.90.

"The last 60 meters is really where I'm like, don't break your form," Long said. "That's literally the make-or-break between finishing first, second or last. Don't break your form no matter what. Just cross the finish line as strong as you can, and it'll carry you through. It's a full 200 meters."

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