March 30, 2022
“Every time we race, records are looking to be broken or new records are looking to be set. Just like us being out there competing against each other, there’s definitely a chance of us getting a record each time we go out there.”
In this episode, we speak with Sophia Gorriaran. She is a junior at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island. She’s truly a special athlete who comes from a family of runners yet showcases even more athleticism by being a star on her school’s lacrosse team as well. Last summer, she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and ran her outdoor personal best of 2:02.26 in the first round of the Olympic Trials just five days after she turned 16 years old. This winter, she ran 2:00.58 and finished fourth in the same race against pros and collegiate athletes that Roisin Willis broke the high school record. Sophia also got under Sammy Watson’s previous record from 2017 to put herself at No. 2 on the all-time high school girls 800m list. At New Balance Nationals, she raced the 400, the 800 (where she finished second to Roisin) and mile so she can do it all and the best part is that there’s still an extra year to chase the record.
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Photo by Johhny Zhang/@jzsnapz
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SHOW NOTES AND NOTABLE QUOTES
On frequently racing Roisin Willis
– “We always go out there and we always try our best. We push each other to be our best every time. We’re both very competitive and we challenge each other a lot but it’s always a friendly competition.”
On her training setup
– “I pretty much just train myself and my two coaches, John Barnes and my dad. Sometimes my dad will run with me a little bit. We mainly practice indoors during the indoor track season. Unless it’s a nice day outside. Last year I was practicing with my brother and sister. This year, it’s been a big change since I haven’t had anyone to practice with. That’s kind of sucked. I think I’ve been doing pretty well in my practices and my running this year has been pretty good hitting some new PRs in all my events.”
On having other high school athletes at professional meets and races with her
– “It’s just nice to see a friendly face or someone you know at these meets and know that you’re not alone and you have someone to talk to. They’re always super nice to me ever since I was a freshman when I first raced Roisin. They’ve always been super nice. Always.”
On the Boston University race where she ran 2:00.58 for the second-fastest high school time
– “It was a Friday. It’s only an hour and 45 minutes from my house. I got up, had breakfast and went to the track, warmed up. We were the first race to go off. It was the sprints events first and then the more distance events after that. My race was the first one to go. We just got to the line, the gun went off and we just went for it. I knew it was going to be a fast race as soon as it went off because Roisin took it out fast and I just tried to keep a good pace with her…I feel like we were both going more for the time more than anything. We really wanted to get the time. With these pro races, they’re a little bit more tactical. We went for it and what happens, happens.”
On her biggest strengths as a runner
– “I think I have a pretty good range because I run anything from 200 to cross country. I grew up as more of a sprinter and I transitioned in 8th grade and ran my first 1500 and mile. From then on, I just kept running further and further. It wasn’t until last year that I had my first cross country season and I went through to the state meet….I know I’m like a really strong runner. I’ve got that 800m strength and that mile strength so I know with 150 meters left to go, I can still kick. I just have to pace myself through it and hit the times my coaches tell me to.”
On her 2024 Olympics hopes
– “I definitely have some very big goals in the future. Even for the next Olympics and the Olympics after that. Trying to make the Olympic team has definitely been my biggest goal since I was a very young kid.”
On what makes track fun
– “I just like to challenge myself and I’m a really competitive person. I just love the challenge and I just like the feeling of running. It’s kind of a free feeling just pushing myself every day to be better is something I really like.”
On her personal best progression in the 800 meters
– “It’s very exciting to see my times as I improved over the years. Just seeing my time drop is really fun and a confidence boost every time I get out there to run and know I’m second in the nation ever for the indoor 800 meters.”
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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.