North Mason grad headed to Olympics

CJ Allen, a 2013 graduate of North Mason High School, is headed to the Paris Olympics with Team USA.

Competing in the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Team Trials on June 30 in Eugene, Oregon, Allen finished with a time of 47.81 seconds in the event finals, earning second place and qualifying for the Olympics, which begin later this month.

“I was 10 years old when I saw the Olympics go off. I said that one day I’d be an Olympian,” Allen said in a YouTube interview with CITIUS MAG, which is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQziGpLd10s. “I’ve been running the hurdles for 19 years. This is probably my greatest dream to make this team and I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet. Probably won’t hit me for a couple of days. Just trying to relish this moment. Soak it all in.”

“Sitting in my hotel room for the last week and a half, watching the trials go off, just knowing that I could be on this team, but having to wait till the very end. It’s just relief.”

Allen won the 2A state 300-meter hurdles championship in 2013 competing for the Bulldogs before heading to Pullman to compete for Washington State University. For the Cougars, he was a two-time Pac-12 champion, winning the 400-meter hurdles in 2014 and 2016.

Competing at the NCAA championships in 2016, Allen earned second-team All-America honors.

The Paris Olympics begin July 26.

Author Bio

Justin Johnson, Editor

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
Email: [email protected]