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    2 July 2024 - EUGENE, Oregon
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    Former BYU Athlete Courtney Wayment Heading to Paris Olympics

    Courtney Wayment was 2nd in 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials to make the team

    courtney-wayment-olympic-trial-5.jpg
    courtney-wayment-olympic-trial-5.jpg
    Latter-day Saint distance runner Courtney Wayment dominated the women’s steeplechase race at the 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships on June 11, 2022. Photo by Nate Edwards, BYU, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.

    This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

    By Christine Rappleye, Church News

    Courtney Wayment, a Brigham Young University collegiate champion from Kaysville, Utah, is heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

    Wayment earned a spot on the teams when she came in second in the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on Thursday, June 27. The top three made the team.

    The steeplechase includes hurdles and a water obstacle. Thursday’s race saw the top nine runners post personal best times.

    Wayment, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, finished with a time of 9:06.50, making her the fourth-fastest American ever, reported the Deseret News. Previously, her personal record was 9:09.91 from 2022.

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    22TRK-NCAA-National-Championships-2694-1024x683.jpg
    BYU athlete Courtney Wayment celebrates with her coach, Diljeet Taylor, after winning the women's steeplechase race on Saturday, June 11, 2022, during the 2022 NCAA track and field national championships in Eugene, Oregon. Photo by Nate Edwards, courtesy of BYU Photo.All rights reserved.

    Valerie Constien, who competed in the 2020 Olympics, was first with 9:03.22, a personal best and a U.S. trial record. Constien tore her ACL a year ago. In third was former Boise State All-American Marisa Howard with a time of 9:07.14.

    In the trials in 2021 for Tokyo, Wayment was fourth.

    “That fourth place never leaves you,” she told NBC after the race, reported KSL.com. “Last Olympic trials, Val got that third spot, and when you watch your dreams run away from you in the last 30 seconds, it makes you feel something you don’t want to feel again. The honor is all mine, and it goes out to a lot of people behind me.”

    While at BYU, she was a four-time NCAA Division I champion and an eight-time All-American. She won the steeplechase at the 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She has competed with two Team USA senior national teams, running at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022 and in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023. And now, she can add the Olympics to that list.

    Also in the steeplechase on Thursday, BYU junior Lexi Halladay came in ninth with a personal best time of 9:22.77.

    Also at U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials

    • Anna Camp-Bennett, the 2021 NCAA champion from BYU, was third overall in the first round heats for the 1,500-meter run. She was in the third heat and had a time of 4:06.95. The top seven from each heat and the next three fastest compete in two semifinals races on Friday evening. Then the top five from each semifinal plus the two fastest go to the finals on Sunday evening. Update: Camp-Bennett was eighth in her heat with a season’s best time of 4:05.62. Overall, she was 13th and the top 12 moved to the finals.
    • BYU senior Dallin Shurts was 11th in the first round of the discus throw and is one of the top 12 to advance to Saturday’s finals. Each had three throws and his best was 60.17 meters or 197 feet, 5 inches. Shurts served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-say Saints in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Update: For the finals, each threw three times and the top eight had three more throws. Shurts’ best throw was 59.53 meters or 195 feet, 3 inches, and was 11th overall.
    • BYU freshman Alysa Keller is scheduled to compete in the first round of the javelin on Friday evening. Update: Keller’s best of the three throws was 47.72 meters or 156 feet, 7 inches, and she was 23rd overall.
    • Earlier this week, BYU senior Casey Clinger was fifth in Sunday’s 10,000-meter final. On Thursday, he competed in the 5,000-meter preliminary heats and was ninth in heat and 22nd overall with a time of 13:36.35. (The top six from the two heats and next 4 fastest advance to the final.) Clinger served a mission in Sapporo, Japan.
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    Rooks-Podcast
    BYU’s Kenneth Rooks clears a hurdle on his way to winning an NCAA championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas, on Friday, June 9, 2023. Photo courtesy of BYU Athletics, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.

    Latter-day Saints Going to Paris

    Other Latter-day Saint athletes going to Paris are marathoners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, steeplechaser Kenneth Rooks and basketball’s Jimmer Fredette.

    James Corrigan was third in the men’s steeplechase earlier this week and still needs an Olympic qualifying time. He’s scheduled to compete in a race in Philadelphia Saturday night.

    Send It In: Olympians and Paralympians Heading to Paris

    Athletes from around the world will compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, July 26 to August 11 and the Paralympics, August 28 to September 8.

    As the trials are completed, the Church News is looking for information about Latter-day Saint athletes. Please send information about 2024 Olympians and Paralympians, including name, country and event, to churchnews@deseretnews.com.

    Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.

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