Carter, Oliver reunited again in Birmingham after successful run together at Kentucky

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Perseverance isn’t often associated with a seven-second race on the track.

But the tenacity and determination demonstrated throughout the running careers by first-year professionals and close friends Javianne Oliver and Destiny Carter just to run those seven-plus seconds in a 60-meter dash highlights a pair of journeys far longer than an indoor straightaway.

The former Kentucky standouts made their first U.S. national team together for the IAAF World Indoor Championships by both running personal bests to take the top two spots Feb. 18 in the women’s 60 final at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

Oliver, 23, ran a world-leading 7.02 seconds, with the 25-year-old Carter surging in the second half of the race to clock 7.19 and edge 2016 NCAA Division 1 indoor champion Teahna Daniels of Texas (7.22), securing their opportunities to compete Friday at Arena Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

“Before my name even came across the line, I was so happy for her time, because she PR’d by a lot and became the world leader. Then when I saw my name, it was even better,” said Carter, who attended Danville High in Illinois and Iowa Central Community College before arriving at Kentucky in 2015.

“I’m always happy for my friends, but when I saw that we both PR’d by more than a tenth of a second, I was really happy. It shows all of our hard work has paid off. We wanted it for each other and I think that’s what helped us both get what we wanted. We were helping each other and we wanted it really bad for one another. We wanted to make the team together, so that was really exciting.”

For Oliver, running the fastest time in the world was just a bonus. Winning her first national title and making the American roster with Carter less than nine months after missing the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships with a broken right big toe was a testament to her fortitude and commitment to excel at the sport’s highest level.

“It’s awesome and it’s amazing. We’ve been through a lot of stuff together. She’s one of those people I would run to when I was disappointed, when things weren’t going right throughout the summer,” said Oliver, who ran equal to the No. 6 performer in U.S. history, joining Tianna Bartoletta, Carmelita Jeter and Gwen Torrence.

“It was really special. I went to the meet thinking that I wanted to PR, but I didn’t think about the time. When I ran 7.02, it was a crazy feeling. I told Destiny before the final that I was going to run 7.0, but I didn’t think it was going to be 7.02, maybe 7.09 or 7.10 at the worst. To run 7.02, I was in shock. I still don’t remember what half the people asked me after I ran.”

But what Oliver recalls clearly is the challenging road to recovery after suffering the toe injury, resulting in her not being able to race with Carter in June on Kentucky’s 4x100 relay team that captured the Division 1 title in 42.51 after collegiate record holders Oregon and LSU were both disqualified in qualifying races before the final.

The injury also prevented Oliver from competing with Carter later that month at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Sacramento.

“It’s been a really long journey, lots of tears, lots of arguments, lots of battles. In the summer, after I broke my foot, I didn’t know if I wanted to do this anymore,” said Oliver, who attended Monroe Area High in Georgia and North Carolina, before transferring to Kentucky in 2014.

“This summer was a big growing situation for me. I believe everyone gets their blessings at different times. Me not being on the 4x100 maybe allowed somebody else on the team to run because I want everybody to get their blessings.

“I feel like everybody gets their turn and mine came later on. The 4x100 was somebody else’s turn, which is fine. To be here now, it took a lot of disappointments, it took a lot of faith, it took a lot of praying, it took a lot of crying, it took a lot of phone calls, it took a lot of giving up and it took a lot of getting back up. But I’m grateful for everything that happened. Breaking my foot made me realize this is what can happen if you don’t take it seriously. You can be sitting at home crying during the summer, or you can get up and keep going. It drove me to realize what life would be like if I didn’t have track.”

When Oliver reached out for encouragement, support and advice throughout her rehabilitation, Carter offered the wisdom and perspective of an athlete who had already experienced a lengthy break from track during her career, but for different reasons.

Carter was away from the sport for nearly three years after the former Illinois state 2A 400-meter champion was dismissed from the Danville girls track and field team during her senior season in 2011. But the time off the track helped Carter mature and gain a greater appreciation for how much she values running and the relationships the sport has allowed her to build.

Carter followed her sister, Kimberly, to Iowa Central in August 2013 and decided to join the track and field team as a walk-on the following spring since her sibling was a distance runner for the Tritons.

In two years at Iowa Central, the elder Carter won National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 titles indoors and outdoors in the long jump, in addition to contributing to a 4x100 championship in 2015.

“We both came from a long way and we accomplished so much and we made the team together,” Carter said. “It’s very powerful. Most people who come in 1-2 in their event aren’t old teammates or great friends. We talk every day and our friendship is very powerful. It should inspire people to help their friends to get to the point they want to because we’ve both had a lot of people help us along the way.”

Although they are not training together as professionals, with Oliver remaining in Lexington to practice with a star-studded group guided by Kentucky coach Edrick Floreal and Carter working with North Carolina State sprint coach Allen Johnson, the bond between the sprinters remains as strong as ever.

They were both part of the elite women’s 60 field Feb. 3 at the NYRR Millrose Games, with Oliver placing third in 7.15 and Carter taking fifth in 7.30, before reuniting as roommates during their stay Feb. 16-18 in Albuquerque, constantly discussing what it would mean to both make it to Birmingham.

“To have my (Kentucky) teammate be my teammate on a USA team is crazy,” Oliver said. “This is my first time traveling this far. I went to Canada for my first international meet (Montreal Grand Prix) but it wasn’t that far away. Just to have somebody there for you, and to know that she’s used to this since she did the circuit over summer, I feel a lot more comfortable with her around.”

They have also become more comfortable with constructing their races, executing their phases and setting bigger goals since becoming professionals.

Carter has become more aggressive out of the blocks and learned to transition better from her drive phase in order to reach top-end speed quicker and become a better finisher.

“When I finally caught on to the rhythm and how to run the race, it made it easier for me to compete, instead of just going out there and running,” Carter said. “In the past, I just got out of the blocks and ran my race and didn’t try to run people down. Once I saw that I had PR’d (7.24 in the semifinals), I was more confident with what I was doing with my transition, so I knew it was working. I came into the finals believing that if I did the same thing, I would get great results.”

Oliver has also become more explosive with her starts, but it has been her ability to maintain more poise and composure throughout the race that has allowed her to ascend to another level in terms of performance this year.

“I’ve gotten more comfortable at the end of my race with being relaxed. I always used to run so tense inside and ball up my fists so hard, but at the end of that race at USAs, I was like, ‘Chill, relax and do what you’ve been doing at practice,’” Oliver said. “Before USAs, I believed in myself, but not as much as Flo believed in me and the assistant coaches and the people I train with. So once it happened, I was like, ‘Wow, I can do this.’ It’s just a different feeling from being in college to being a pro, and to make that adjustment so fast caused some anxiety. But it was good anxiety at the end, clearly.”

With no clear favorite in Birmingham, Oliver and Carter are first focused on extending the U.S. streak of 13 consecutive World Indoors with a medal in the women’s 60-meter final. Only twice in the previous 16 World Indoor Championships have the Americans not earned a medal in the event and the U.S. leads all countries with seven golds.

“Now that I’m a contender and I’m up with the top women in the world, I have a goal like everybody else on that line and that’s to win, or come in the top three. I’m grateful to even be there and to able to run overseas and to have the experience that comes with it, but I know what I’m going for at the same time,” Oliver said. “I’ve gotten two big meets out of the way, so I shouldn’t get on the line feeling scared. It was my first USAs, my first USA team, my first everything, so I’m just going to go out there and do the best I can and hopefully that’s enough to win.”

Floreal said Oliver’s workouts prior to flying overseas were among her best this year, continuing to validate his belief that she is capable of becoming only the third American in history to run under 7.00 seconds.

“If you look at where Javianne came from, every year, she’s gotten better and better, and now she’s the world leader with a legitimate chance to win the World Championship,” Floreal said. “Sometimes as an athlete, you don’t know what’s possible, even if your coach does tell you. I told Javianne she was going to run 7.0 or 6.9 and she said, ‘You’re crazy.’ But now it happened, so she believes it.

“I’m not going to go out there and do the work. There is no way I’m going to sprint anything, I’m just going to put the concept together and keep reminding her to keep her knees up, which sometimes takes a while to do. But watching her and Destiny compete at that level is great.”

Carter knows prevailing against a field that includes past World Indoor medalists Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast, Elaine Thompson of Jamaica and Dutch star Dafne Schippers – three of the 13 women in history to run 7.00 or faster – along with Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji, Germany’s Tatjana Pinto and Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou will be a challenge for Oliver, but one she is prepared to handle.

“She has everything she needs,” Carter said. “She’s ready for it and I believe she’s going to win. Unless, I win it.”

But friendly bragging rights aside, Carter knows how memorable this opportunity is for both her and Oliver at this point in their careers. They also hope it is the first of many national team experiences they get to share together.

“Going to Birmingham, I’m going to have Dafne over here and Elaine over there, plus Murielle and Marie-Josee, just the biggest competition around. But now I don’t have to feel like I’m under them. I’m on their level now and I shouldn’t feel starstruck or I shouldn’t feel like I’m not a true competitor in the race because, at this point, I believe I deserve to be right there,” Oliver said. “To come back, at this point last year, I would have never imagined being here, so I’m super blessed. Where I was at this point last year, I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll get a job.’ But I never would have imagined being a world leader, going to Worlds with the top people in the world.

“I’m still in disbelief. I wouldn’t have believed it eight months ago, so just to be here and sharing this with Destiny, I’m super grateful.”