Natasha Hastings

“The thing about Rio was it was my second Olympics, but in a lot of ways it was my first: my first individual appearance; my first time running 400m prelims and then the final. In 2008, I only ran the relay prelim and this year I only ran the final. I remember what it is like in ’08 to face the final, to want to be out there so badly, and I wasn’t.”

“I have been in the system for so long that I kind of understand that this is a call that has to be made and will be made – so just be prepared for it. In most circumstances, you kind of know what kind of call will be made. Sometimes, it may be more political than based on performance or vice versa. But sometimes you get a sense of what the call is going to be. And when you’re not one of the final four, it’s a tough one – I’m not going to lie.”

“There are relationships that are built on these teams. Having to make the call can sometimes be very hard and often political. For me that is neither a good nor a bad thing.”

“Keeping everyone happy is kind of an impossible thing. It is a tough job for the coach. The decisions are definitely hard ones – not easy by any means.”

“From a very early age, my mom made it clear that academics was going to be important, that I can’t run for the rest of my life, I do plan to move on and do something else [after track & field]. When I went to South Carolina, I had hopes of going on to become a chiropractor. I am still toying with the idea of going back in order to become a chiropractor. The scholar athlete recognition, along with being a member of the honor society and graduating with a 3.6 GPA, are accomplishments to celebrate and be proud of.”

“A part of me wants to say no. But then the realistic part of me says, ‘Absolutely! I’m a firm believer in not changing the game plan when you get to the big stage. It was good enough to get you there. I think many mistakes people make in the championships derive from thinking they need to try something different. And I don’t think that’s the case, But what I do think is that you have to manage the adrenalin, the rounds, those types of things. But I don’t think you necessarily have to change your style or your form of execution.”

“I would definitely say I am a gutsy 400 meter runner. I like to put it out in front. I trust my speed and I trust my strength, I feel like that there is a very different energy system at the front of the race that I’m never going to get back. So rather than let it go to waste, I’d rather use it up front and trust my training, my strength, and my speed to come home.”

“I think every runner, every athlete has to find their own style. As far as breaking the race down, I think it is pretty standard that you break the race down into four 100 meter segments. That initial step probably doesn’t change much. But how you run those four 100 meter segments can be different, I think every athlete develops a plan to the best of their strengths. Athletes who are powerful may come home stronger, but don’t necessarily take it out faster at the beginning. The key is figuring out who you are, your strength in running, and then mastering it.”

“I thing I liked a lot about Coach Frye’s program and the thing I developed the most in his program was speed, He was not a fan of utilizing a lot of long distance. I did a lot of my base work with the cross country team. But when it came to developing my speed, he was very much on board with that. And the philosophy was the faster my 200 was, the faster my 400 would be. We kind of figured that out as soon as I got there and we saw immediate returns in that way.”

“I kind of watched them from very early on. I knew I wanted to be a Gamecock – probably as early as my freshman year in high school,Coach [Curtis] Frye had the reputation as being a great hurdle coach and a great quarter miler coach. So it was kind of like I knew that was where I wanted to be.”

“It was kind of like the best of both worlds, There was a good track program at Randolph, but I was also going to a good school. On my gosh, the Armory was like home. I’m pretty familiar with the Armory and I sure know my way around that building.”

“To any youngster competing at the World Juniors, I would say be present in the moment and it will show up in your performances.”

“I would say enjoy the moment and make the most of the experience, I remember when we were in Italy at World Juniors we went out shopping together and went into Rome for the day. Later, when I started my professional career, I used to be super-focused on my competition and I would spend most of my time in the hotel, before I realised I’m not taking time out to enjoy these beautiful places. Once I reached this point and made that shift, it made the meets more enjoyable and I started to enjoy an upturn in my performances.”

“I think what the World Juniors taught me was how to be successful to reach that next level, I recall my coach and me saying we were not going to change anything at World Juniors in terms of racing style or strategy. It is an important lesson to not get too caught up in the emotion of the event. I would say stay with the plan and the results will take care of themselves.”

“I’m not normally the type to celebrate after a race, but I think that is the most I’ve celebrated post-race.”

“To win and win with a PB was pretty darn exciting, I remember the year before being very happy to win the world youth title but to win the world junior title the following year was pretty special because very few people have won both.”

“Going into the World Juniors, I knew I had a pretty good shot at winning a medal, but the semis gave me a glimpse I could win, Ashlee, the girl who had beaten me at trials, was behind me (in third), although that did remind me too that it could be anyone’s race the next day.”

“My critique of my heat was that I ran a good race, but it was not very controlled, I was pretty nervous and maybe it had something to do with the adrenaline.”

“I made many great friends on that team and we still talk about it today because we had so many great US athletes such as Aries Merritt, LaShawn Merritt and Michelle Carter. I still have a great relationship with those people today.”

“It was tough adjusting to the time change, unfamiliar food and the language because I didn’t speak Italian, Although, I think the team did a good job of trying to make the transition a lot easier.”