Isaiah Jewett wanted to show the world who he is, and he believed the place to do it would be the final of the men’s 800 metres.
In the past three months, he had graduated from USC, won an NCAA championship and, with a bold move, pulled an upset to make the toughest team in the toughest race.
On Saturday night (local time), more than anything else, he wanted to place in the top two of his semifinal heat and make the Olympic final.
Coming around the final turn, he ran in a tightly bunched pack, in close pursuit of three runners. He felt confident in his race strategy and believed in his stamina. And then he felt something clip his foot.
Jewett lost his balance and, in the biggest race of his life, tumbled to the ground. One portion of his Olympics had ended.
“It was devastating,” Jewett said.
There are athletes whose love for their sport radiates off them, and Jewett is one of those. He smiles on the start line. He races in sleek, black sunglasses. He hugs rivals at the finish line. In interviews, to describe his strategy or motivation, he often reaches for references to his beloved superhero anime – he watches a scene before every race.
Even running the 800, the most gruelling race, he relishes what he is doing. Each time he runs and discusses his race, it feels like an ode to the sport.
“It’s a whole concept of fighting,” Jewett said. “You’re learning things on the fly to get stronger and reach a new potential. I feel like track is like where you reach new potentials. You find your own superpower within the race.
“Whether it’s somebody that runs in the back, or somebody that runs in the front, or somebody that runs a part of the race differently, that’s their power. And it’s cool to test your power and abilities against somebody else. And getting stronger as a human being – that’s such a cool concept to me, that we can push our bodies and push our limits.”
Jewett had established a reputation as a front-runner. At the NCAA championship, he took an immediate lead and demolished the field. At the US trials, Jewett burst off the line and panicked typically unflappable world champion Donavan Brazier.
In the first round in Tokyo, he stormed to the front and maintained the lead on the second lap. Just as two opponents passed him and it appeared he had faded, he summoned enough to finish in 1:45.07, the fastest preliminary he had ever run.
“I realised my race strategy is what I am supposed to do to make me happy,” Jewett said on Friday. “Having fun is so much a part of this. If you’re not having fun in the 800, you’re going to burn out really fast.”
Jewett’s coach, Quincy Watts, dislikes when people call him a front-runner. He believes Jewett can race in any style, from front or back. Before the semifinal, Jewett’s coach had told him the race would start fast, and that he needed to conserve strength for a finishing kick.
“I’m feeling really good for a kick home,” Jewett told Watts before the race.
