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Encouraged By USATF Indoors, Marvin Bracy Re-Focused On Making Olympic Team

Published by
DyeStat.com   Feb 21st 2020, 6:18pm
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Marvin Bracy Working To Make His Second Olympic Team In The 100

By Todd Grasley for DyeStat

Professional sports has been a wild ride for Marvin Bracy.

Speed has taken him from high school phenom to the Olympic Games, a brief flirtation with football, and ultimately back to the oval.

Last weekend at the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships, Bracy turned in a silver-medal performance Feb. 15 in the 60-meter dash.

After running a great prelim and a sub-par semifinal by his standards, he told himself he was going to run his race in the final. 

“I ran 6.53 running my race so that is what I was going to do in the finals and just see what happens,” he explained. “Six-forty-nine happened as a result, which is still crazy to think about.”  

Bracy’s confidence is renewing as he begins a quest to return to the top of sprinting.

“I never lose. I either win or I learn,” he said. I learned that I'm even more of a fighter than I think I am and that with hard work I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.” 

Sprint Phenom 

Eight years ago, in January 2012, the senior from Boone High in Orlando, Fla., set the high school national indoor record in the 55 meters with a blistering 6.09 seconds. With a storied high school career that included multiple state titles and 100-meter championships at USA Juniors and Pan Am Juniors, that moment indoors is one that still sticks out. 

“Jimmy Carnes was definitely extra special for me,” Bracy recalled. “I had put so much hard work going into that race. I ran 6.24 the year before so I knew I could challenge for the record. It was my first and only high school national record so it makes it that much more special.” 

Bracy signed with Florida State out of high school with dreams of making it in both track and field and football. The opportunity to sign his first professional contract with adidas came a year later. In 2014, he earned a silver medal in the 60 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland. Two years later, he won the same race at the 2016 USATF Indoor Championships and went onto place seventh at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore.

That summer brought the biggest moment of Bracy’s career. At the 2016 Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore., he placed third in the 100-meter final in 9.98 seconds. His performance earned him a spot on Team USA and a trip to his first Olympic Games. 

“From meets like the USA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and the Olympics, I learned to run fast when the chips are on the line,” he said. “In this business, that’s probably the most critical component. “ 

Football Dreams

After the Olympics, Bracy thought he deserved a larger contract and didn’t see that come to fruition. So he had a business decision to make: Keep grinding on the track or return to his football roots.

“I always had the itch to go play ball, so right then and there it felt like that was my window to make that happen,” he said. 

Bracy bounced around the NFL and AAF trying to pursue the dream. In August 2017, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts after a five-year hiatus from the game but was waived one month later. He continued to train and work to get back in the league when a call came in July 2018. It was the Seattle Seahawks. His time in the Pacific Northwest was short-lived as well.  

A chance to play at the newly formed Alliance of American football and the hometown Orlando Apollos seemed like an excellent opportunity, but a shoulder injury in the inaugural game ended those dreams. 

“Being with the Colts, Seahawks and Apollos was some of the best times of my life,” he said. “It was such an honor to even be invited to their training camps to catch passes from Russell Wilson and learn about the game from Doug Baldwin and T.Y. Hilton. Some guys play 4-5 years of college football to have their career end there.”

While he had opportunities to make his NFL dreams come true, the feeling of getting cut resonated, but it never meant the end for Bracy.

I have been to the bottom in REAL LIFE,” he noted. “Once you’ve been there nothing else really seems as bad.” 

New Dad, New Ambitions 

May 20, 2018, Bracy welcomed a son, Marvin Bracy-Williams III or “Tripp” into the family. After his time with the AAF ended, he talked to his family and decided that if no more football opportunities became available, he’d return to the track and start training for the 2020 Olympics.

“I opened up at Clemson on Jan. 11 and ran 6.70,” he said. “I was kind of in limbo with my feelings. I wanted to run faster, but it had been years since I raced.” 

His no-quit mentality and hunger to be the best in the sport kept him going. At the 113th NYRR Millrose Games on Feb. 8, he ran slightly better, 6.67 seconds. He felt disgust. He wasn’t executing his race and it was messing with his mind. Then came Albuquerque. 

“I was able to pull out three unbelievable rounds of racing to change the whole trajectory of my season,” he exclaimed. I can't be more thankful for that!” 

Bracy, who currently trains in Clermont by himself, is locked in on building a support team and focusing on what it takes to get to Tokyo. 

“Next up is trying to get a contract with someone so that I can continue to provide for me and my family as well as getting ready for the Olympic Trials,” he said. “To make this team it's going to take everything I have. (Justin) Gatlin is still here, (Christian) Coleman is on fire, and Noah Lyles is a dog. So this should be fun!”



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