Olympian Returns to Alma Mater

Olympic decathlete Harrison Williams, Class of 2014, spent the morning on campus, speaking at the Manhood Breakfast, joining in the Talking The U Podcast, and sharing his journey in an interview with Track and Cross Country Head Coach Drew Hinote during chapel.
“It’s always so special when someone who sat in those seats where you are now can come back and tell their story,” Headmaster Pete Sanders said. “In the case of Harrison Williams, we have someone who distinguished himself academically and out on the track here as an Owl. Then he went on to Stanford University and excelled as an NCAA athlete in the decathlon. As we all know, he went on to represent the United States and finished seventh in the decathlon at the Paris Olympics.”
 
Track Head Coach – and now Faculty Emeritus – Bobby Alston introduced Harrison to the decathlon as a freshman and by the time he was a sophomore, the young athlete had set his sights on the Olympics.
 
“The best thing MUS did was surround me with people who were also driven, coaches and other athletes who wanted the same things,” Williams said. “As an athlete it’s important to surround yourself with people who are better than you and want the same things as you. You become who you surround yourself with. You have to be very self-driven; you have to hold yourself to a higher standard.”
 
Williams persevered through multiple injuries and two failed attempts to make the Olympic team, finally qualifying in June.
 
“Athletics is competing and getting over injuries. It’s easy when things are going well, and you are able to train. I love training and trying to get better. When you get injured, that’s taken away from you. You can’t do what you love. Underperforming and knowing I could have done better kind of drive me. Just trying to chase that perfection. It’s kind of hard because you have to be a perfectionist and chase perfection but also understand you will never achieve perfection.”
 
Asked what’s next, Williams did not hesitate: “LA 2028 is next. I had a lot of injury difficulties leading into the trials this year, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to make the team. Having experienced the trials and experienced the Olympics and how incredible it was, I’m so fired up for LA in 2028.”
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