Had it not been for his Ultimate Speed Athletics teammate Joe Morris, Arthur Delaney— a 2015 Oregon graduate and ranked No. 3 on the all-time 200-meter Oregon performance list — may have never become a professional athlete.
“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to go pro or not,” Delaney said. “Joe got into contact with me as well as my coach. Joe was really the one who told me, ‘Come, come to Ultimate Speed.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ll give it my all this year and see what happens.’”
Friday at the Oregon Twilight, the strong bond between Delaney and Morris showed as they went 1-2 in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Morris led in the 200 until about 50 meters in to the race when Delaney, with a sudden burst of energy, surged past his teammate and won in 20.23 seconds. Morris finished right behind in 20.39. It would have been a lifetime best for Delaney had it not been for the 3.1 wind gage.
Both are trying for Olympic qualifying times.
“We’re close,” Delaney said. We know we’re there, it’s just a matter of wind gage.”
Ultimate Speed Athletics is small sprint group of only three runners: Morris, Delaney, and 2012 Olympian Ryan Bailey. Based in Portland, Morris and Bailey started the group with coach John Parks. Before moving to Ultimate Speed, Parks was a volunteer assistant for the Oregon State track and field team.
“We decided I’d move from Colorado.” Morris said. “I’ve known Arthur since we’ve been running in college, and I’d always liked him. We always talked at the races, and so here he is. That is Ultimate Speed.”
Despite the wind gage, the Twilight meet was a good training meet for them, Morris said.
Next for the dynamic duo, they split up. After running together nearly every week, Morris said, they will head in separate directions. Delaney is not positive yet on his next race, but Morris is headed to Europe.
“We’ll just see what happens,” Morris said.
