Britton Wilson sucked at Tennessee and then she transferred to Arkansas and put all her faith in Coach Johnson

rojo wrote:

Link:trackandfieldnews.com/britton-wilson-c...

I loved this TFN feature by Jeff Hollobaugh on Britton Wilson. Yes, it's cool that the guys name is Coach Johnson. I think I've heard that a few times (his first name is Chris).

But it's just a great story of perseverence and what good coaching can do and how "talent doesn't go away."

Wilson won US jrs in HS when she ran 56.36 for 400h in 2019. Then she went to college at Tennessee and sucked by elite standards. Her collegiate bests in the 400h in two years at Tennessee was just 58.68. For the flat 400, she ran 52.06 in HS but only 52.99 at Tennessee.

She never even made an NCAA meet individually.

She transferred to Arkansas and now is an absolute monster. Not only did she make NCAAs, she won them. In her first year at Arkansas, she almost ran the 400h as fast as she did the flat 400 at Tennessee. For 400h, she ran 53.08 last year and was 5th in the world. Her 400m pb is now 49.48.

She almost went pro after her great year last year but Chris Johnson told her to come back and build up her resume. Doesn't that look smart? Wow.

lost money wrote:

rojo wrote:

Link:trackandfieldnews.com/britton-wilson-c...

I loved this TFN feature by Jeff Hollobaugh on Britton Wilson. Yes, it's cool that the guys name is Coach Johnson. I think I've heard that a few times (his first name is Chris).

But it's just a great story of perseverence and what good coaching can do and how "talent doesn't go away."

Wilson won US jrs in HS when she ran 56.36 for 400h in 2019. Then she went to college at Tennessee and sucked by elite standards. Her collegiate bests in the 400h in two years at Tennessee was just 58.68. For the flat 400, she ran 52.06 in HS but only 52.99 at Tennessee.

She never even made an NCAA meet individually.

She transferred to Arkansas and now is an absolute monster. Not only did she make NCAAs, she won them. In her first year at Arkansas, she almost ran the 400h as fast as she did the flat 400 at Tennessee. For 400h, she ran 53.08 last year and was 5th in the world. Her 400m pb is now 49.48.

She almost went pro after her great year last year but Chris Johnson told her to come back and build up her resume. Doesn't that look smart? Wow.

Not to take away from the coaching, but Wilson is possibly the most talented 400m runner in the world (fastest indoor split ever, naturally has 800m endurance). She probably just made freshman mistakes at Tennessee and needed a change of scenery.

I disagree that it was smart to stay in college. She was 5th in the world in the 400h and split 48 last year, and has a World Championship gold medal. What she achieved outdoors is still more impressive than what she did indoors (AT ALTITUDE, which helps sprint times), so I don't think these performances increased her stock. If she runs the 400h, she still loses to Syd, Femke, and Dalilah so going from 5th to 4th is not going to get a bigger deal.

But if she went pro, she would have gotten a MASSIVE bonus for an American Record, in addition to the 12 months of pay she would have received this year. If she got offers for 200k per year, and a 20k bonus for a record, she would have made bank this year. Maybe she gets a 225k per year contract, it will take 9 years to make up for the money she didn't make this year (220k).

rojo wrote:

Link:trackandfieldnews.com/britton-wilson-c...

I loved this TFN feature by Jeff Hollobaugh on Britton Wilson. Yes, it's cool that the guys name is Coach Johnson. I think I've heard that a few times (his first name is Chris).

But it's just a great story of perseverence and what good coaching can do and how "talent doesn't go away."

Wilson won US jrs in HS when she ran 56.36 for 400h in 2019. Then she went to college at Tennessee and sucked by elite standards. Her collegiate bests in the 400h in two years at Tennessee was just 58.68. For the flat 400, she ran 52.06 in HS but only 52.99 at Tennessee.

She never even made an NCAA meet individually.

She transferred to Arkansas and now is an absolute monster. Not only did she make NCAAs, she won them. In her first year at Arkansas, she almost ran the 400h as fast as she did the flat 400 at Tennessee. For 400h, she ran 53.08 last year and was 5th in the world. Her 400m pb is now 49.48.

She almost went pro after her great year last year but Chris Johnson told her to come back and build up her resume. Doesn't that look smart? Wow.

lost money wrote:

Not to take away from the coaching, but Wilson is possibly the most talented 400m runner in the world (fastest indoor split ever, naturally has 800m endurance). She probably just made freshman mistakes at Tennessee and needed a change of scenery.

I disagree that it was smart to stay in college. She was 5th in the world in the 400h and split 48 last year, and has a World Championship gold medal. What she achieved outdoors is still more impressive than what she did indoors (AT ALTITUDE, which helps sprint times), so I don't think these performances increased her stock. If she runs the 400h, she still loses to Syd, Femke, and Dalilah so going from 5th to 4th is not going to get a bigger deal.

But if she went pro, she would have gotten a MASSIVE bonus for an American Record, in addition to the 12 months of pay she would have received this year. If she got offers for 200k per year, and a 20k bonus for a record, she would have made bank this year. Maybe she gets a 225k per year contract, it will take 9 years to make up for the money she didn't make this year (220k).