Central Ohio Olympic Hopeful Preparing For Upcoming Track And Field Trials

Central Ohio athlete Julia Rizk has taken advantage of the delay in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, working on getting stronger to compete against the world’s top athletes.

“I was fighting through a couple of injuries last year, but I’m back and I’m healthy so I’m happy for the season to start,” said Rizk, 24, of Blacklick.

The Ohio State graduate and 2019 NCAA 1-mile champion is ready to begin the Olympic trials for the 800-meter race. Track and field events will be held June 18-27 in Eugene, Ore.

Rizk has been training twice a day, sometimes running and sometimes weightlifting at a Columbus facility.

“I think putting in that time is super important in the long run,” Rizk said. “To take care of your body and all of that. And then secondly the effort, the mental strength and the physical strength it takes to get through the whole season and then also get to the trials at the end I think is all super important.”

Having an extra year to train will help her shorten her time in the 800-meter race, Rizk said, but will be a boost for everyone else fighting to get to Tokyo.

“There’s so many awesome athletes this year because of COVID and people have decided to train another year, so people are ready to run fast, and they are running fast," she said.

Rizk spoke to WOSU last year as she trained for what would have been the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At that time, she hoped to race for her father’s native country, Egypt. She explained that strict citizenship laws there would have forced her father to travel with her to Egypt to prove he was born in the country. The process would have taken at least six months to complete. Instead, she's trying for a spot on the U.S. team, which she said will be very competitive.

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