‘I wanted to run the best race of my life.’ Former UK athlete qualifies for Olympics.
Former University of Kentucky standout Alexis Holmes has qualified to run in the Paris Olympics this summer.
Holmes, a 2022 UK graduate, earned her spot by finishing third in the 400-meter competition at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday.
Kendall Ellis, a three-time NCAA champion from Southern Cal, won the 400 in 49.46 seconds Sunday. Georgia sophomore Aaliyah Butler finished second in :49.71. Holmes was the third and final U.S. Olympic qualifier in the event with a personal best :49.78.
“I just knew I wanted to run the best race of my life, and whatever that was going to be, hopefully enough to make the team,” Holmes said during her post-race press conference. “Of course I wanted to win, but the work doesn’t stop so I’m just feeling really grateful for today.”
Holmes, a native of Hamden, Connecticut, in her second season as a professional, qualified for the Olympics for the first time. After transferring from Penn State, Holmes won SEC Indoors championships in the 400 in 2020 and 2022 for Kentucky.
“It’s surreal,” Holmes said of making the Olympic team. “It’s something you think about since you’re a little kid. ... It means everything.”
UK narrowly missed sending a second athlete to Paris on Sunday.
Keaton Daniel, who won this year’s NCAA Indoors and Outdoors national championships in the pole vault for the Wildcats, finished fourth in that event Sunday with a personal best leap of 19 feet, 1 inch.
Former Ole Miss standout Sam Kendricks (19-5), ex-South Dakota vaulter Chris Nilsen (19-3) and former Texas A&M star Jacob Wooten (19-3) captured the top three spots and berths on the U.S. Olympic team.
Also Sunday, former Cat Ethan Shalaway finished 12th in the finals of the men’s javelin throw, ex-Cat Ronnie Baker was 11th in the 100, and Brian Faust and Kennedy Lightner wound up 15th and 27th, respectively, in the 400 meters.
The U.S. Olympic Trials continue all this week, with several decorated former UK athletes in the running for spots in Paris, including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Daniel Roberts, Abby Steiner, Keni Harrison, Sha’keela Saunders and Masai Russell.
The 2024 Summer Games are set for July 26-Aug. 11 in France, with the track and field competition scheduled Aug. 1-11.
