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Samirah Moody Identifies With Gabby Thomas' Rise In Massachusetts

Published by
DyeStat.com   Jul 14th 2021, 9:16pm
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'Crazy' Work Ethic, Athletic Family Drives Moody To All-Time New England Records In Sprints

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Samirah Moody can see the parallels of herself in Gabby Thomas.

Thomas, the Olympic Trials champion in the 200 meters, grew up as a virtually unheard of high school  sprinter from Florence, Mass., despite winning 12 New England prep school titles. Her rise to stardom began at Harvard University, where she became the greatest sprinter in Ivy League history and won an NCAA national indoor title.

Now, she's Tokyo-bound after running 21.61 seconds June 26 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.. the third-fastest 200 time in history, with only Florence Griffith-Joyner having achieved better marks at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. 

Moody has a similar story. She's a bright student at a New England prep school, a standout sprinter, and earned a reputation at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge for her humbleness, maturity, book smarts and work ethic.

The national track and field spotlight never shone on her during her high school years, at least until recently.  

“Believe it or not, if someone asks you, ‘Have you heard of Gabby Thomas in high school?’ I'm pretty sure no one would say 'yes.' Same thing goes for Samirah,” Moody's high school and Metro Cobras Club track coach Saleena Rashed said. “Everyone in Massachusetts knows who she is, but if you step out of Massachusetts, they are like, ‘Where did you come from? Who is this girl?’

So who exactly is Samirah Moody?

She’s an 18-year-old recent graduate of one of the top independent day schools in the country. Earlier this month at Hayward Field, she burst onto the national scene winning the 200 title at The Outdoor Nationals in a US#7 time of 23.32 and finishing second in the 100 (11.51), US#17, setting All-Time New England records in the process. 

“I do see the little underestimated aspect of Gabby Thomas’ journey really in myself and I’m ready to kind of come out and prove that,” Moody said. 

Like Thomas, Moody was passionate about other sports from a young age and didn’t start running until she was in the seventh grade. This past weekend at the AAU West Coast Junior Olympics in Las Vegas, Moody placed second in the 17-18 division in the women’s 100 (11.79) after clocking 11.64 in the prelims.

She led all qualifiers Wednesday in the 17-18 division in the 200 by clocking 23.59 at the AAU Club Championships this weekend in Satellite Beach, Fla., and is scheduled to race Thursday in the 100 prelims. The 200 final is scheduled for Friday and the 100 championship is Saturday.

Moody will then head to Humble, Texas for the AAU Junior Olympics, with the 100 and 200 scheduled for Aug. 2-7.

After that, Moody will begin preparing to make the move to Villanova University in Philadelphia, where she looks forward to carving her own path.

“I love Gabby Thomas simply because she had a natural progression and she’s so humble and beautiful and graceful in her journey, that’s something I really see in myself,” Moody said. “But I also think there’s something a little different there for me, just simply in my journey.”

Moody’s track and field journey is built upon patience and perseverance. Rashed said the first time Moody competed, she fell. 

“She got back up, she crossed the line, and she wanted to quit,” Rashed said. “She didn’t want to do track anymore. I told her this is your first race, you’ve only practiced a few times, if you really want to get better and want to succeed, you have to put the work in.”

Moody, who describes herself as having a 'crazy work ethic' in everything she does, set out to do better from that first mishap.

Moody’s mother, Jamie Moody (Sims-Bello) ran at Boston University and holds the indoor 55-meter dash record (7.03) and outdoor 100 (11.92) record. Her dad, Kwesi Moody, was an athlete, and brother, Kaleb is on the Harvard football team. All three have contributed to her never-quit approach to life and sprinting. 

“I feel like there’s no limit, there's always room for growth, you don’t have to be as good or as bad as you are. You can always push yourself to be greater,” Moody said of her passion for track and field. “Whatever anyone else is doing or has done, you can push that envelope, which I love.”

Rashed said a year after that first race, consistency with workouts, practices and a shift from playing basketball to a solely focusing on track began to pay off. Her freshman indoor season, she placed second in the 100 and 200 at the New England Prep School Track Association (NEPSTA) Division 3 Championships, finishing right behind current University of Kentucky standout Alexis Holmes.

During Moody’s sophomore outdoor season, she swept the Independent School League and NEPSTA Division 3 Championships in the 100 and 200. At the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, she collected a PR in the 200 (24.41) and finished ninth in the Emerging Elite category. 

“I’m her coach, but honestly 90 percent of this sport is mental and with her mindset and her upbringing by her parents, (they) have helped her become successful on the track,” Rashed said. “Knowing there’s an obstacle in the way she never gave up. She pushed through it.”

A big part of Moody’s journey has been facing down hurdles and the way she’s chosen to overcome them.

In the spring of her eighth-grade year, an errant discus throw at a track meet struck Moody in the head, knocking her unconscious. 

“The crazy thing, she got up and didn’t know she got hit,” Rashed said. “That was scary because her life could have ended.”

Moody was able to recover and wanted to get right back on the track as soon as possible. With her body wanting to move faster than her mind would allow at the time, Rashed told her to slow it down and take some time off to fully recover. 

“Your life is more important than a track meet and a practice,” she said.

Moody was out that summer and fall with a focus on her physical well-being. Moody, who also suffered a hamstring injury during her junior year, said the time away from the sport in both instances made her appreciate in more.  

“It allowed me to know how much I like the sport of track and field,” she said. “I was itching to run, watching videos, looking at times. I could have simply given up, but all the sudden I had this fire that I didn’t necessarily have in the beginning to really want it and go after it. Coming back, it allowed me to have no fear.” 

With limited racing opportunities last summer due to the pandemic, Moody managed to continue to consistently train and find opportunities. In July of 2020, she won the New England Track Club Championships, clocking 11.74 in the 100 and running 24.34 in the 200. She also competed at the AAU National Championships, setting herself up for a successful senior indoor season. 

Being a sprinter in the New England region, with limited access to facilities or the ability to train in warm weather year-round, Moody has faced some additional disadvantages. But Rashed said Moody is an individual who is able to see the long-term vision and knows that her opportunities will come.

“As a competitor, I think it's interesting living in New England with track because (sprinting) in New England isn’t exactly the most competitive,” Moody said. “So that’s kind of where the idea of the, ‘Do more and be more than anyone I’m around’ kind of comes in and helps push me to where I am right now.”

The 2021 indoor season featured PRs in the 55-meter dash (6.99), 60 (7.50) and 200 (24.13). 

“I think my progression has been perfect timing, at least in my eyes,” Moody said. “I love seeing other girls hit times, but I knew my time was coming. We’ve been working and injuries slowed the progress as well as COVID, but at the same time, we never stopped. Also my body development came with time. I’m naturally pretty small, so weight training, learning how to use my body while sprinting, that took a lot of body awareness that I didn't necessarily have during the earlier years of high school.”

Moody’s performances at Hayward Field were a long-time coming, according to Rashed. A culmination of training, being in a special environment and of course, patience. 

“It really does take a level of adrenaline and excitement and competition to kind of bring that out fully,” Moody said. “It was really exciting to be at Hayward and be in a place where so many great athletes have been in the past month, it was exciting.”

Like Thomas, Moody was overlooked by many programs when it came to the college recruiting process. Rashed said Villonova presented the perfect package of academics, athletics and a genuine family-atmosphere. 

“Villanova is a big school, but it’s not too big for her,” Rashed said. 

Moody said she’s considering pursuing a Law degree at Villanova, or some field of social work, explaining she’s discovered she enjoys working with people and providing resources for them. 

“She knows the discipline and commitment of anything whether it's a school, a job, an internship or on the track,” Rashed said. “I think she will make a name for herself there.” 



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