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Race walking Olympian Robyn Stevens discusses Olympic experience ahead of Paris
Olympic race walker Robyn Stevens sat down with KCRA 3 to talk about her experience at the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the 2024 Summer Games.
Updated: 1:11 PM PDT Jul 16, 2024
AMERICA’S TOP ATHLETES ARE HEADING TO PARIS WITH THE OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY. NOW JUST A WEEK AND A HALF AWAY. MANY OF THOSE ATHLETES EARNED THEIR OLYMPIC SPOTS THROUGH THE OLYMPIC TRIALS PROCESS. KCRA 3’S DEIRDRE FITZPATRICK IN STUDIO NOW WITH AN OLYMPIAN WHO WON HER TRIALS RACE BUT WON’T BE THERE IN FRANCE. IT’S INTERESTING. RIGHT? SO VACAVILLE ROBIN STEVENS REPRESENTED TEAM USA AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS IN RACEWALKING. THREE YEARS LATER, SHE’S STILL OUR FASTEST RACE WALKER AND SHE JUST DEMOLISHED THE COMPETITION AT LAST MONTH’S TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS. AND SHE’S JOINING US NOW LIVE TO EXPLAIN WHY, EVEN THOUGH YOU DID SO WELL AT THE TRIALS, YOUR SPORT HAS SUCH A COMPLICATED PROCESS FOR █THE ACTUAL OLYMPICS YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT THE US KIND OF COMPLICATES IT. IT USED TO BE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. TOP THREE AT THE OLYMPIC TRIALS GOES TO THE OLYMPICS. BUT NOW, AS THINGS HAVE EVOLVED, THERE’S A WORLD RANKING. AND THAT’S WHAT MOST OF THE WORLD IS USING. SO, UM, WE’RE IN A TRANSITION PHASE RIGHT NOW WHERE WE’RE TRYING TO STILL KEEP THE OLYMPIC TRIALS, BECAUSE THAT’S SOMETHING THAT ONLY OUR COUNTRY DOES, AND IT MAKES IT SUPER SPECIAL, REALLY EXCITING. YEAH, IT’S SUPER EXCITING. SO WE’RE TRYING TO KEEP THAT WHILE TRYING TO TO MAKE IT WORK WITH THE NEW SYSTEM. AS WELL. YEAH. ONE THING I’VE ALWAYS LOVED ABOUT COVERING YOU IS YOU HAVE THIS LIKE INCREDIBLE SENSE OF SELF AND YOU COME TO PEACE WITH THINGS. SO I WOULD IMAGINE IT’S DISAPPOINTING TO NOT BE GOING TO PARIS. BUT YOU ALSO ARE LOOKING AHEAD BECAUSE YOU’RE STILL GOING TO WORLDS. UH OH. WELL, YEAH, I’M DOING THE WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SWEDEN. YEAH. AFTER. SO THE DAY IT STARTS IS ABOUT THREE DAYS AFTER THE MIXED MARATHON RELAY IN PARIS. YEAH. WHICH I WAS HOPING TO BE AT THIS YEAR. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, MY OLYMPIC DREAMS CAME TO FRUITION WHEN I PUNCHED MY TICKET TO TOKYO. AND SO THAT WAS. THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR ME. PARIS WAS JUST GOING TO BE A CHERRY ON TOP. I WANTED TO TAKE MY PARENTS TO AN ACTUAL SUMMER OLYMPICS BECAUSE THEY HAD TO STAY HOME FOR TOKYO. UH, BUT, UH, AS THINGS EVOLVED, THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE, UM, YOU KNOW, MY NIECE AND NEPHEW ARE GETTING OLDER, AND I JUST, I DON’T KNOW, LIKE, I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT THING. YEAH. WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING FOR FOR ATHLETES, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE GOING IN THERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR THEM IN TERMS OF THE EXPERIENCE AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS FOR AN ELITE ATHLETE TO TAKE PART, ENJOY IT LIKE DON’T GET SO FIXATED ON LIKE A CERTAIN OUTCOME. JUST TAKE IT ALL IN AND REALLY IT GOES BY FAST. SO JUST JUST TAKE IT LIKE ALL THE WORK’S DONE, YOU KNOW? EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO TO GET THERE IS DONE. SO NOW JUST JUST EMBRACE IT. YEAH I KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY REALLY HAS EMBRACED YOU OVER THE YEARS BECAUSE UNLIKE SOME SPORTS WHERE YOU GO TO MAYBE A FACILITY TO TRAIN, YOU TRAINED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SO THE PEOPLE IN VACAVILLE AND YOUR COMMUNITY AND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU TRAIN DAILY, JUST RACING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD. YEAH, IT’S FUN BECAUSE SOMETIMES I’M SO USED TO BEING IN MY OWN HEAD AND I HAVE THESE HUGE HEADPHONES I WEAR NOW BECAUSE I LOST MY LITTLE ONE. SO, SO ONE OF MY FRIENDS SAW ME AND HE LIKE, HONKED AT ME AND HE WAS LIKE, YOU LOOK AT YOU WERE WEARING EARMUFFS. BUT IT’S REALLY FUN AND IT’S REALLY ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTIVE. WHEN I SEE PEOPLE AND THEY JUST WAVE AND DIFFERENT CYCLISTS THAT I PASS BY AND IT’S IT’S HELPFUL. YEAH, BECAUSE I’M OUT THERE ALONE A LOT. YOU KNOW, YOU ARE WALKING VERY FAST. UM, SO ONE MAYBE JUST ONE THING. YOU, MAYBE YOU WOULD TELL US AS VIEWERS, AS WE WATCH A LOT OF THESE FIRST TIME OLYMPIANS AS YOU WERE IN TOKYO, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO US VIEWERS LIKE IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING PEOPLE, BUT ALSO LIKE RECOGNIZING THE WORK THAT’S GONE INTO IT, ESPECIALLY YOUNG ATHLETES? HOW DO YOU MEAN? WELL, LIKE, UM, I SOMETIMES I THINK LIKE AS AN ARMCHAIR PERSON WATCHING SOMETHING LIKE CUT SOME PEOPLE, SOME SLACK BECAUSE IT IS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST STAGE AND THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME. WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORK THAT’S GONE INTO GETTING TO THE OLYMPICS FOR YOU? BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THE SPORT. IT’S NOT JUST THE THE ACTIVITY OF IT, YOU KNOW, THERE’S SO MANY THINGS THAT WE’RE SACRIFICING TIME WITH FAMILY HOLIDAYS. YOU KNOW, UM, TIME WITH LIKE MY NIECE. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER IN MY LIFE BECAUSE MY NIECE IS 12 AND MY NEPHEW IS TWO YEARS YOUNGER AND HE’S REALLY, REALLY GETTING INTO BASEBALL. AND SHE’S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SINGER THAT IT’S LIKE, NOW IT’S LIKE, I WANT TO PUT ALL MY TIME INTO FOCUSING ON SUPPORTING THEM AND ELEVATING THEM. SO THERE’S STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND THAT WE’RE, YOU KNOW, THERE’S MOMS, THERE’S DADS, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE’RE WE’RE TRAVELING SO MUCH THAT, UH, THE QUALITY TIME THAT WE GET IS REALLY SACRED. AND WE DON’T GET A LOT OF IT WITH OUR, OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET HOME. AND THAT’S THE CULMINATION OF THE DREAM WHEN WE’RE WATCHING THEM ON TV. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN AND SHARING SOME REFLECTIONS AND BEST OF LUCK AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES UP FOR YOU. ALL RIGHT, SO THIS WHOLE WEEK WE ARE SITTING DOWN WITH OLYMPIANS AS THEY REFLECT ON THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THE SUMMER GAMES.
Race walking Olympian Robyn Stevens discusses Olympic experience ahead of Paris
Olympic race walker Robyn Stevens sat down with KCRA 3 to talk about her experience at the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the 2024 Summer Games.
Updated: 1:11 PM PDT Jul 16, 2024
Vacaville’s Robyn Stevens represented Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in race walking.Three years later, she’s still the fastest race walker in the country and blew past the competition at last month’s track and field trials. However, she will not be in Paris this year as the sport has a complicated process for the Olympics.”I would say the U.S. kind of complicates it,” Stevens said. “It used to be pretty straightforward. The top three at the Olympic trials go to the Olympics.” | MORE LIKE THIS | Olympian Gabe Gardner reflects on Olympic appearancesThe qualifications to make it to the Olympics for race walking now involve the world rankings. Stevens said that’s what most other countries are using but the U.S. is trying to stick with its tradition. “We’re in a transition phase right now where we’re still trying to keep the Olympic trials because that’s something that only our country does,” Stevens said.Watch her full interview from Deirdre Fitzpatrick’s “Dying to Ask” series here.While Stevens is not going to Paris, she will compete at the World Masters Championships in Sweden. She says while it would be nice to go to this year’s Summer Olympics, she’s content with having Tokyo as her world-stage experience. “That was enough for me. Paris was just going to be a cherry on top,” Stevens said.
Vacaville’s Robyn Stevens represented Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in race walking.
Three years later, she’s still the fastest race walker in the country and blew past the competition at last month’s track and field trials. However, she will not be in Paris this year as the sport has a complicated process for the Olympics.
“I would say the U.S. kind of complicates it,” Stevens said. “It used to be pretty straightforward. The top three at the Olympic trials go to the Olympics.”
| MORE LIKE THIS | Olympian Gabe Gardner reflects on Olympic appearances
The qualifications to make it to the Olympics for race walking now involve the world rankings. Stevens said that’s what most other countries are using but the U.S. is trying to stick with its tradition.
“We’re in a transition phase right now where we’re still trying to keep the Olympic trials because that’s something that only our country does,” Stevens said.
Watch her full interview from Deirdre Fitzpatrick’s “Dying to Ask” series here.
While Stevens is not going to Paris, she will compete at the World Masters Championships in Sweden. She says while it would be nice to go to this year’s Summer Olympics, she’s content with having Tokyo as her world-stage experience.
“That was enough for me. Paris was just going to be a cherry on top,” Stevens said.
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