From Sailor to seventh in the world

This summer, Mount de Sales alumni Juliette Whittaker represented the U.S.A. at the Olympic games in Paris. The news spread all over the DMV that Juliette and her sister, Bella Whittaker, made the Olympic team. But not enough people are talking about what Juliette did on the biggest stage in track and field. If the track world didn’t know the name Juliette Whittaker, one thing is for sure: they know it now.

At MDSA, Juliette was in a league of her own. She broke the national high school women’s 800-meter record as a senior, running a time of 1:59.04. Coincidentally, she happened to break the record of her current teammate at Stanford, Roisin Willis, who ran 1:59.13 that same year. Juliette is arguably the best female high school track athlete in Maryland history. I could go on and on about her track career at MDSA, but this article is about her journey through the US trials and the Paris Olympics this past summer.

In June, the country’s best track and field athletes headed to Eugene, Oregon, for the 2024 Olympic trials. Juliette had established herself as the country’s best female collegiate 800m runner. Earlier that year, she won the NCAA indoor and outdoor championship, which boosted her confidence. Even though she was the best college runner in her event, there was no guarantee that Whittaker would be one of the three female 800m runners representing the US in the Olympics.

In order to make the team, Juliette Whittaker had to race three times. In the first round, she had to finish in the top six in her heat or be one of the following three fastest. Then, in the semi-finals, there are three heats. The top two in each heat and the following three fastest times advance to the finals. For the finals, the first three finishers are selected for the team if they have run an Olympic standard time.

The first round of the trials was nothing eventful for the former sailor. She ran a 2:01.70 and came in first in her heat. Luckily for her, she was in the slowest heat, so she did not have to run a ridiculous time to advance, allowing her to conserve herself for the days to follow.

In the semis, Juliette would not be as lucky with her competition as she was in the fastest heat. Whittaker had to race against Athing Mu, the reigning 800m gold medalist. She ran the fourth fastest time in the semi-finals and finished fourth in her heat, running a time of 1:59.58. Luckily for her, she was able to qualify for the finals on time. Whittaker was one good race away from punching her ticket to Paris.

The women’s 800 final was one of the most entertaining races of the trials. Juliette looked calm and composed as she waited for the gun to sound. When the race started, she did a great job of not getting bunched in the middle of the pack, putting herself in third place at the 100-meter mark. Remaining calm, she settled into a consistent pace when, at the 200-meter mark, Athing Mu fell and was out of contention. Just like that, the best female 800 runner in the world was out of the picture and could not make up the gap. Hayward Field was stunned. Juliette didn’t know for sure if Mu fell or where she was behind her, so she continued running her race. She went into the final lap in fourth place, running the first lap in about 58 seconds. Whittaker started to make her move as she was in third place, with 300 meters to go. She followed closely behind her college rival, LSU’s Michaela Rose, who is known for her aggressive race style. She let her set the pace until the final 100-meter kick. Juliette made her move on Rose, passing her, putting her in second. It was clear at that moment that Juliette would be going to Paris. She was passed at the very end by Allie Wilson as Whittaker finished third, which guaranteed her a spot on the Olympic team. She ran a personal best of 1:58.45.

Whittaker was overjoyed at the finish as she hugged the two other women (Nia Akins and Allie Wilson) who also made the team. In the interview after the race, Juliette said how, in the past year she felt she had a shot to make the team. Now that it was true, she was star-struck. She had run a perfect race, which was what she needed to do to make the team.

Going into the Olympics, Juliette Whittaker was not a popular pick of women likely to medal or make it to the finals. It was her first Olympics; she had only raced in a large professional, noncollegiate meet before. 

In the Olympics, there are three rounds. Like the US trials in the first round, you have to finish in the top 3 in your heat to advance automatically. All runners outside of the top 3 have the option to race again in a rep change round for another chance to make the semis. In the semis, only the top 2 in each of the 3 heats and the next 2 fastest times automatically advance to the finals.

Juliette finished third in her heat in the first round. She ran 2:00.45. She barely qualified for the next round as she eased up at the finish line, thinking she had third place locked. Out of the corner of her eye, a Swiss runner put on a powerful kick. After review, they said Juliette beat her by 3 1,000ths of a second. 

Whitaker was placed in a tough heat in the semifinals. She needed to run a brilliant race if there was any chance of moving to the finals. Like we’ve seen so many times before, Juliette delivered, setting a personal record running 1:57.76, placing third in her heat. It was the first time she ran a sub 1:58. However, she did not qualify by place and had to wait patiently to see if her time was good enough. The time and anxiety of waiting paid off for her as she advanced to the finals.

Juliette Whittaker was the only American woman that qualified for the Olympic finals. No one expected her to make it this far, but now the world was watching as she represented the United States and had a chance to bring home a medal. She had run brilliantly over the past several days, but it took a toll on her energy. If she wanted any chance of medaling, she would have to break her personal record in back-to-back races, which is extremely hard to do, especially with such little rest.

She lined up in lane 2 and, as always, looked calm and composed. The Olympic broadcast on NBC right before the race started showed the Whittacker family all there to support her. Over twenty relatives had made the trip across the pond to support Juliette in her big moment. Her family’s presence and support were one of the biggest reasons for Juliette’s success in Paris.

The gun fired, and they were off. Juliette was with the lead pack and, on the inside, right where she’d want to be. She stayed with the front pack through the 400-meter mark, coming in at 58.7 seconds, just 3-tenths of a second behind the leader. However, at this point in the race, it started to pick up as Whittacker fell behind. She quickly fell to seventh, and with 100 meters to go, she was in last. She had no chance of getting a medal but showed the beauty of the sport by giving everything she had to finish in 7th, running a time of 1:58.5.

After the finish, she laid down on the lavender track, exhausted from her efforts that past week. She had given it her all and was now the 7th fastest in the world. No one expected her to make it as far as she did at just the age of 20.

Juliette is now back at Stanford for her junior year, hitting the books and the track as she works to defend her NCAA title. It’s safe to say that any doubt that she wasn’t the best female collegiate 800-meter runner has been erased. 

It’s crazy to think that one of the best track athletes in the world went to high school just up the street. I was able to see her run at MDSA her senior year when I was a freshman. I don’t know if anyone except her and her family thought she would be running in the Olympics just a few years later.

Mason Billings is a Senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

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