After Upsetting Sha’Carri Richardson’s Perfect Paris Olympics Debut, McKenzie Long Recalls Late Mother: “Your Baby Girl Is Going to Paris”

On Saturday, the Hayward Field was all set to witness the battle between Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas. However, with that, the audience was also engaged in watching McKenzie Long’s step in the big leagues. She had entered the final round of 200m, showing great promise. Eventually, the first contest announced Gabby Thomas as the clear winner. On the other hand, Long reached her target of competing in the Paris Olympics with her qualification in the 200m round. 

As the leaderboard displayed, Long took 21.91 seconds to claim the third position on the list, whereas Sha’Carri Richardson had to face heartbreak, as she could take the fourth place only. Stunningly, the NCAA phenom defeated Sha’Carri by a difference of 0.25 seconds. Meanwhile, after securing her place among the veterans, she took a moment to showcase her gratitude to everyone in the post-match conversation. For her deceased mom, McKenzie let slip her most emotional being by saying, “All I got to say is, Mom, your baby girl’s going to Paris.” The emotional tone continued while cherishing the achievement.

Notably, McKenzie Long had featured in the 100m trial event as well. However, that day, she had to digest a defeat from Sha’Carri Richardson and watch herself lose the Paris Olympics berth. But, today she settled the score somehow. In her post-game statement, McKenzie Long narrated her takes after facing that defeat and the factors that helped her to make the comeback. 

Nonetheless, this also became an emotional affair for her, stating the ups and downs. The prime reason for it remained her late mom’s memory. “I’m just very proud of myself and proud of these girls for pushing me in this 200. So, yeah, I’m doing it for you, Mom,” she conceded with a drop of tears. That has been her story of finding her late mother’s touch in her life. The track and field world has been witnessing this for a while. 

A riveting tale of the mother-daughter bond 

McKenzie Long’s bond with her mom, Tara Jones, has overwhelmed the sports, not for the emotional back-story, but for the athlete’s try to cross mountains only to fulfill her mother’s wish. Notably, McKenzie’s last conversation with her mom was about making it to the national team. Her mom could not see it happening as she passed away before this Paris Olympic season. Yet, her daughter’s promise to her made the athlete adamant to chase the Stars and Stripes to garnish the Paris Olympic platform. Still, she knew that the job wasn’t going to be easy. 

In the presence of Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas, the 200m event had looked to be a test of fire. But McKenzie Long held her breath. In fact, she described the situation as, “It’s hard because I’m just like, ‘Mom, what do you think of this?’… Because my mom, she wanted to be involved — she wanted to deal with all the hands-on stuff.” She can feel her mother around in every such situation. Furthermore, she finds her motivation from Tara Jones’ words as well. 

Riding on those emotions, McKenzie Long had won the NCAA tri-crown in this season. Now, she is on her way to the Paris Olympics. Her expression has reflected every bit of that fable where the bond between her and Tara remains invincible. Ultimately, McKenzie Long has put another gesture by saying, “I know she’s beyond proud of me, and that’s all I could ever want from.” Let this story be continued!