MEMPHIS, Tenn — As the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris near, many Americans are making sure they have the USA gear ready to go as they cheer for our country's athletes. Here in Memphis, we have something extra to cheer for. Memphis University School graduate Harrison Williams has qualified for the U.S. Olympic decathlon team.
Legendary MUS track and field and football coach Bobby Alston saw Williams' potential after his freshman year. He told Williams that he should work out with a local track and field AAU team, the Memphis Mustangs. Williams began to love track and field, realizing that he could have a future in the sport.
“Once I won the AAU Junior Olympics in 2012, that’s when I realized, oh, okay, maybe I can make the Olympic team," Harrison Williams, Memphian, U.S. Olympic Athlete, said.
Sharon Cook, the founder of the Memphis Mustangs, created the AAU team with one goal. “We want to take them to a level that is unexpected, and that’s what we do,” Cook said.
And that is exactly what they did with Williams. Mustangs coach Hrukti Maat helped the MUS grad realize his potential during their weekly sessions.
“It wasn’t until I started lifting weights and training with the Mustangs that I realized, oh, I’m pretty fast,” Williams said. “Coach Maat was huge in helping me with my sprint technique but also in giving me the confidence to realize that, okay, I can run fast.”
“I would certainly say that our running regime helped him along the way," Maat said.
Williams went on to win gold at the AAU Junior Olympics and the state track championship at MUS. He then attended Stanford, where he was a six-time All-American and broke the school record in the decathlon.
Since college, he has been training to make the Olympic decathlon team. Two weeks ago, he competed in the Olympic qualifiers. After putting up his worst long jump score since 2012, Williams’ mental toughness was tested.
“I almost let it get to me and derail my whole decathlon, but I was able to block it out of my mind and forget about it,” Williams said. “I attacked the next event, which is my best event, the 400 meters.”
Williams finished strong in his final events, securing a top-three finish and a spot on the U.S. Olympic decathlon team.
“A lot of it was relief that it was over,” Williams said. “The stress of any decathlon is high, but especially at the Olympic trials. When you are competing for a top-three spot, anything can go wrong. But just the relief of getting it done—I did it. And then I saw my family, and I just had a wave of emotions because I know how much they’ve worked to help me get here.”
Williams will not only be representing the United States in the upcoming Olympics; he is also representing the city of Memphis and the Mustangs.
Current members of the Mustangs wanted to send Williams a message before he sends off for Paris.
The Summer Olympic games will commence on Friday, July 26.