Latter-day Saint steeplechase runner Courtney Wayment just qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. And she may have the greatest hype-woman of all time cheering her on.
As documented in a candid “Mic’d Up” video shared by USA Track and Field on Instagram, you can feel the incredible love and support of Courtney’s coach, BYU women’s cross country head coach Diljeet Taylor. The video includes Coach Taylor thinking out loud throughout the race, her screams of support, and even the prayer she offered with her athletes before their big race.
You can watch the full video of Coach Taylor “mic’d up” here.
Courtney placed second in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, with a lifetime-best finish time of 9:06.50.
After her race, Courtney shared on her own Instagram account, “Chasing dreams, getting the rings, and seeing God in all things.”
Some of our favorite comments on the video left us teary-eyed too, like “THIS. IS. THE. BEST!!! That’s what love sounds like!”, “I just easily get choked up with the love and fire involved in making her an Olympian,” and “I wish everyone could have this level of support. What an amazing gift! They have made a great team for such a long time now. Truly heartwarming!”
Three years ago, Courtney finished this same race—the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase—in 4th place, meaning she was the first athlete left off the Olympic team for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Now she credits much of her success to the love, passion, and commitment of Coach Taylor. In a video shared by FloTrack on Instagram, Courtney said of her coach, “I don’t feel like I’m the Olympian … I feel like we’re the Olympians.”
And in 2022, Courtney told Church News, “Coach Taylor has prepared me physically, emotionally, and mentally, and I owe a lot of the credit to her. … She is a one-of-a-kind coach who is changing the game for college athletics and track for women.”
She also told Church News about her athletic success, “It doesn’t matter if you’re working a 9-to-5 job, or if you’re a stay-at-home mom, or if you’re an athlete winning a national championship—God cares about you. He knows you. He knows what’s important to you. And He genuinely cares. He wants you to have happiness and joy in your life.”
You can hear more from Courtney about her faith and her journey in qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics on the Church News podcast in the player below.
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