February 2, 2022
“For me, that American record has been on my mind since I’ve been at Oregon. I know that I can hit that American record. The fact that I went to the Olympic Trials and came in eighth off of four weeks of training, that’s what did it for me. In 2021, I was not as fast as I had been in 2015 due to my hamstring injury. After last year and being at the Olympic Trials and finishing eighth, that was the moment. These girls were jumping. It’s not like you weren’t out there competing. This is something you can do. That American record can happen. All you need is your speed back. You’re at a great facility. You can’t deny your jumps coach. You can’t deny your training group. You’re learning from this amazing training group. Your coaches believe in you. Your family believes in you. There’s no reason to not have set in stone to myself: You’re the future American record holder. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do.”
Please give her a warm welcome as Jasmine Todd is joining the CITIUS MAG team to help bolster our coverage of the sprints and jumps in 2022.
Jasmine is a world championship silver medalist from 2015 in the 4x100m relay. She also competed in the long jump at the 2019 world championships in Doha. Last year, she finished eighth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the women’s long jump. She trains in California and has her sights set on making this year’s world championship team in Eugene, Oregon. However, the road there isn’t all that glamorous. In this episode, she also peels back the curtain of why she recently went public with a GoFundMe looking for assistance in funding her housing before she makes it Hayward. On the page, she says: “I know I can break the American Record in long jump. I know I can make this World Championship Team and I know I can Medal. I just need Proper resources again.”
It’s very candid and maybe you can consider supporting her on her journey whether it’s as a backer or as a general fan. She’ll have CITIUS MAG behind her in 2022.
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SHOW NOTES AND NOTABLE QUOTES
On what made her want to go public with asking fans, supporters for help with a GoFundMe:
– “There are a few athletes that actually have these huge contracts. I think a lot of people don’t realize it. People see these athletes on TV and think they’re professionals. They might only be sponsored with a kit and not necessarily getting a salary. I think that’s something that’s super important. I know people confuse me all the time and ask me, ‘Hey, can you donate this money for me.’ I’m like, ‘I would if I could but I can’t necessarily do that!’ Unfortunately, USATF decided to end its high-performance program for the field athletes at the (Chula Vista) training center. In that short time that we got notified about that, it was just too short of a time to necessarily find a job, a source of income or a place to live – especially in southern California which is expensive. It’s far from cheap. I sat around for a while and wanted to keep that to myself. People don’t like putting their finances out to the world but at that moment I realized there were people willing to help. There are people that make GoFundMe pages to have their teeth filled or to get their dogs fixed. I also wanted to shed light that these are very real scenarios. I have a medal. I’ve made two world teams. There are some athletes that have made GoFundMe pages who have never made teams or never qualified for the U.S. Championships. I wanted to make it known there are athletes that are out there that could be pros but they don’t have a source of income. I just need a place to lay my head. That’s the biggest thing. Right now, I’m staying with my aunt. I’m staying on her futon. It’s not the best place for recovery when you’re body is going through so much strenuous workouts. In the fall, we’re off running in sand dunes. Doing those hard, intense workouts for the goals that I know I can hit and that I want to do, I just know I need to allow my body to recover. That’s what led me to do the GoFundMe.”
Goals for 2022:
– “The fact that this world championships team is back home for me, that’s even more motivation. I think I was talking to Omar Craddock in 2019. I think I kicked myself in the butt again with this statement. I remember specifically telling him: “It’s not that I don’t really care about Tokyo but my Olympics is world championships back home at Oregon because it’s back home.” He kind of cussed me out and said, ‘Jasmine, don’t say stuff like that.’ But to me, I feel like that’s where a lot of magic is going to happen.’ There’s just something in the universe and air that’s speaking to me saying, ‘This is your year. This is your time. Things are going to fall in place for you.’ It’s also why I go through these struggles. I know it’s part of the story that’s going to make it amazing when this stuff happens.”
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.