Olympian shares experiences with Othello students, folks
Jeremy Taiwo
OTHELLO — Thanks to Sandy Anderson, who works at Wahitis Elementary School, the students and parents of Othello were able to enjoy a visit by an Olympic athlete recently.
Jeremy Taiwo finished in 11th place in this summer’s Olympics decathlon with 8,300 points.
The Newport High School graduate spoke to the fourth and fifth grades of Othello in the afternoon and then shared his experiences at a public question and answer session at Othello High School.
Taiwo was an outstanding high school athlete, winning the 3A state triple and high jumps as a sophomore at Newport High School. He lettered in basketball and graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA.
“My comments are centered around striving for excellence in each part of your life, whether it be your hobbies, your personal passions, school or athletics,” he said.
Taiwo shared his experiences of overcoming various obstacles in his pursuit of his dream of making the Olympic team.
The time demanded for training at the elite level makes it virtually impossible to hold down a regular job. Having enough money to buy food becomes a challenge.
“When you get to that elite level out of college, training becomes your job,” Taiwo said.
Training days are from four to six hours with some time to take care of yourself with treatment like chiropractic or massage or active release therapy.
Taiwo was able to obtain a part time job at Dicks Sporting Goods and his agent reached out to Brooks Running as a sponsor. Still, Taiwo created a GoFundMe account to help support his athletic pursuits.
The Olympian spends most of his training time on his weakest events.
“I practice the high jump maybe every two weeks,” he said. “The technical throwing events I will practice every other day.”
Taiwo has the indoor heptathlon world record high jump of seven feet, five inches.
“The most stressful part of the Olympics is making the team,” he said. “I didn’t sleep for like two weeks before qualifying because all my life is culminating with one meet. So when I got to the Olympics, that was the time to enjoy myself.”
When Taiwo finished second in the decathlon at the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon to become a member of the USA Olympic team, his dream had come true.
“(At the Olympics) I was just all smiles, and that was the best part,” he said.
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