By Andrew Bet
English Gardner is no stranger to the Hayward magic. Even when she isn’t at her best, the former Oregon Duck is able to deliver a solid performance for the home fans.
Gardner’s time of 10.81 seconds at the Pre Classic gave her the win in the women’s 100 meters. The win was impressive considering she was not feeling great heading into the race.
“When you can get out there and run with the best of the world, that 100 meters wasn’t a little walk in the park,” she said. “You have some really big names in there. For me to be able to come out there and compete even when I feel the worst is something that I’m very proud of and gives me a lot of confidence. I’m excited, scared, nervous, happy all in one. It’s a lot of emotions.”
Even with a great time, Gardner wasn’t sure about her performance on the track as her preparation didn’t feel right before the start.
“Usually when a runner isn’t doing their warm-up, they look for the snap and the pop in their legs,” she said. “I didn’t feel it at all. I felt sluggish today, and it was kind of worrying to me. I just sat down, got myself together, puked a little bit and got out there and ran my race.”
In a race featuring three other Americans — Carmelita Jeter, Tianna Bartoletta and Barbara Pierre — and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Gardner was able to rally from the home crowd despite not having her best race.
Hayward Field brings the best out of Gardner, who competed at the University of Oregon and is a two-time NCAA champion and U.S. champion in the 100 meters.
“I definitely turn into a little monster when I get out there,” she said. “When I see the crowd, it’s a like a million moms and dads watching me. I feel like these people have supported me throughout the years, me growing as an athlete here at Oregon. When I get out there in front of them, I kind of get a little more edge, a little more fire underneath my belt. It was definitely exciting to run in front my home crowd again.”
After the Pre Classic, Gardner plans to run in Rome and Birmingham before tapering up for the U.S. Olympic Trials. After her win today, she is looking forward to coming back in July.
“I always run good here,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s because I got my butt kicked so many times on this track so I kind of know the feel and know how it is, or it’s just the fans out here or the Hayward magic. Either way I enjoy running here, and I’m excited for the Olympic trials to be here once again.”
American Tianna Bartoletta came in second place with a time of 10.94 seconds. She felt satisfied with her outing after competing in the long jump Friday night.
“I’m proud of it,” she said. “It was the first time I executed my race strategy start to finish, and so more repetitions, and I will feel ready.”
Bartoletta said she will take her disappointing night in the long jump and 100 meters as a learning experience as she moves forward in preparation for the Olympics.
Fraser-Pryce is known to win and wants to win. She has been struggling with an injury for the past year and placed her eighth with a time of 11.18 seconds.
“You always want to win and to always do your best,” she said. “But as I said, this time it’s my hardest year. It’s a lot different, so I just have to be patient and just trust the process.”
“It is what it is. This is my first race. So I have to take it as it is. My first race and go from there.”
