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Good luck to Roisin Willis-Dennehy who at 16 is one of the youngest competitors when she lines up in the 800m at the US Olympic trials at Eugene Oregon this week
.Roisin Willis
After several near-misses, Roisin Willis finally broke through in a big way to qualify for the women’s 800 meters at the Olympic Trials. At the Trials of Miles NYC Qualifier on May 21, the Stevens Point High School (Stevens Point, Wisconsin) junior won heat B in 2:00.78, a personal best that is the fourth fastest in history among high-school runners, according to MileSplit. Only Mary Cain (1:59.51), Kim Gallagher (2:00.07), and Sammy Watson (2:00.65) have run faster at that level.&nbsp;

The Wisconsin native came agonizingly close to the standard several times, including in a race that was nixed by an official’s error in March. Before the race in New York City, Willis said she fought off feelings of doubt over whether she would get the cut, and trusted her preparation to lower her previous 2:03.05 personal best.&nbsp;

“I knew my training was there,” Willis told Runner’s World. “I had just improved so much in so many areas, that I was ready to run fast. Sometimes with 800, you have to get stuck somewhere, and then you finally make that big jump.” Fast track times run in Willis’s family. Her mother, Breeda Dennehy-Willis competed for Ireland in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Now she’s using her experience as an elite runner to support her daughter’s Olympic aspirations.&nbsp;

“[Dennehy-Willis] was really helpful because even though the stuff I went through this year was tough—not getting the standard when I was hoping to—she has gone through things that have been much more difficult, missing an Olympic team one year, but then coming back and making one four years later,” Willis said. “So having someone who is that resilient in my family, I think helps. She understands how I was feeling.”&nbsp;

Willis is one of three teenagers who will be running the women’s 800 meters at the Trials. Willis and fellow qualifiers Sophia Gorriarian and Juliette Whittaker have bonded this season by racing each other and achieving times that only a few athletes their age have ever run before. In January, Willis, Gorriarian, Whittaker, and Bailey Goggans joined forces to break the world U-20 record for the indoor 4x800-meter relay. And they have been encouraging each other in their historic efforts ever since.
Willis is one of three teenagers who will be running the women’s 800 meters at the Trials. Willis and fellow qualifiers Sophia Gorriarian and Juliette Whittaker have bonded this season by racing each other and achieving times that only a few athletes their age have ever run before. In January, Willis, Gorriarian, Whittaker, and Bailey Goggans joined forces to break the world U-20 record for the indoor 4x800-meter relay. And they have been encouraging each other in their historic efforts ever since.

AMAZING ROISIN

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