January 30, 2025
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"I had to really sit down and look at the journey, how far I’ve come, what I was able to accomplish in such a short time... I'm training and I'm doing the work to make sure that if I'm ever in that position again – we'll see!"
My guest for today's episode is Shafiqua Maloney, a name that maybe most track and field fans don't know, but should. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she made history as the first athlete from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to reach an Olympic final and finish fourth in the women's 800m, but her journey to that starting line was anything but easy.
In the past few years, Shafiqua has faced struggles that most athletes never talk about – months of homelessness, the constant battle of pursuing an elite career without a sponsor or financial stability. Yet through it all, she never gave up. With the unwavering support of her mother, her coach, and her faith, she found a way to persevere and it all came together in Paris where she ran 1:57 on the biggest stage in the sport.
Today, we talk about how she fought through those times, what it means to represent her country on such a big stage, and what comes next for an athlete determined to keep proving she belongs among the world's best. She'll be one of the headliners for the 2025 Millrose Games on February 8th in New York City. If you're in the area, get your tickets now.
Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram
Guest: Shafiqua Maloney | @shaf400mx2 on Instagram
Episode Highlights:
The following excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity. You can listen to the full episode with Shafiqua Maloney on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.
On her season leading into the Paris Olympics:
“In my head, I didn't think everything was going well. I was a little frustrated because I was like, ‘I ran 1:58 indoors, so I should run faster outdoors,’ but I kept hitting 1:59. It was like, ‘When am I going to break 1:59?’ But I had a talk with Coach Johnson and he told me what I needed to know: relax and know that when the time comes, I’ll run what I need to run. Usually when you’re consistent like that, a big breakthrough is coming — and it happened.
Part of the journey was just focusing on the end goal: Paris. As much as I wanted to break 1:59 before that, I just needed to stay focused on the end goal. If you get to Paris and don’t make that final, don’t get a medal, nobody is going to remember that you ran 1:56 earlier in the year. They don’t care about that. I just had to stay committed to the end goal and that was Paris.”
Continuing to race after graduating from Arkansas:
“Those first two years out of college, I was out here emailing meet directors… I would have a lot more luck than I didn’t. Then it got to the point that I didn’t have to. But I'm glad I had experience through it all — being able to advocate for myself. Not just with track, but I think that's a life lesson.
Even in life you’ve got to be able to advocate for yourself. That was a little practice for me in advocating for myself in what I want and need. It wasn't a bad thing. Most meet directors were excited to have somebody reach out and I had no problem doing it at all.”
Qualifying for the Paris Olympics:
“In the village before I started running, I had to take a moment and just look at the journey that got me to where I was. I was training and I didn't have the funds to get massages that I needed, see the chiropractor, whatever the case was. But even through that, I was never really injured. I never had a major injury that set me back.
When you look at stuff like that, it’s supernatural. That’s the Lord right there protecting you. He saw me through that and made sure I was in a position to meet the standard, get to Paris healthy, and go out there and compete…
That semifinal, there was so much pressure — I just made it out of the heats. My country has had a lot of people make it out of the heats, but now it was like, ’Is this it? Is she going to make the finals?’ When I went out there, I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I was going to do whatever it took to get to that final.”
Breaking down the 800m final:
“There were a few nicks early in the race, but as an athlete, you’ve got to be able to hold your composure. It’s the 800m — you don't get to run in your own lane. You’ve got to be ready and prepared for anything that happens. I think that was my first time running with all three of them [Keely Hodgkinson, Tsige Duguma, and Mary Moraa] because before Paris, I wasn’t in those big meets.
That was my first time running with them, learning strategy and all that stuff. Now I’ve got a better idea of how things really play out on the big stage. Throughout all the runs, I always ended up boxed in. So going into the final, I was like ,'That ain’t happening again.’ I made sure I stayed on the outside of lane one, but there were folks out in lane three! I was not expecting that. These folks will do anything to win! I’ve never been in a race like that where folks voluntarily go out in lane three from the get-go. I was just like, ‘What is going on here?’
It was a learning experience. Now I have a full understanding of what folks are willing to do to go out here and get medals. I’m with it — you’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do. You train hard all year, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get what you work for.”
Thoughts on trying the 1500m:
“It took me some time to even get with the 800m! Ever since [Coach Johnson] made me try that mile, I’m realizing that the 1500m isn’t so bad. I’m in a lot more shape than I was last year and I'm a lot more confident. You’d have to ask Coach Johnson — I just run. I do a lot of running, coach does the thinking, so you’re going to have to ask him if he sees potential.”
Listen to the full episode with Shafiqua on the CITIUS MAG Podcast.
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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 on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
