Alaysha Johnson might be on the cusp of achieving national stardom, but she still has her feet firmly planted on the ground. While the 28-year-old could see herself being propelled to fame and fortune, should the French capital feel generous, Alaysha still remains a champion of the have-nots who couldn’t achieve their true potential because of a troublesome childhood. And yet, she believes it was her experiences as a child that helped her to reach out to grab her shot at being famous by the scruff of its neck.

Johnson punched her ticket to Paris with a second-place finish in the women’s 100mH race at Hayward Field last month. Silencing naysayers at the US Olympic Team Trials, the University of Oregon alum was emphatic about the opportunity on hand. However, as the hurdler notes, a lifelong struggle was bound to bear fruit at some point in time. Now, how far was she willing to go through the grind to come out victorious and scot free as she is now? How did she pick herself up, dust herself off, and get back on the saddle?

Adversity forged Alaysha Johnson to be the apostle she is now

In a post by Ryan Clark on X from earlier today, Johnson could be seen talking about her life in an interview with The Pivot Podcast. “U.S. Olympic hurdler Alaysha Johnson had nothing when she returned to track. 3 a.m. wake ups to train at @24hourfitness, practice at 10:00, sleeping in her car, & bartending at Twin Peaks until 2 a.m.,” reads the caption of Clark’s post underscoring Johnson’s determination to do everything in her power to turn her luck around. When the interviewer went on to enquire if Alaysha would find the determination to excel in sports had she not experienced what she did, the Olympian confessed she wouldn’t be who she is today if she hadn’t seen her mother struggling or hadn’t been separated from her brothers.

“I’ve never been one of the people who feel like, ‘Dang man, I missed out’,” stated Alaysha clearly before hailing her mom for giving her best as a single mother. “I feel like my mama did what she had to do and that taught me what I have to do,” she didn’t beat around the bush on her difficult upbringing. Alaysha went on to note that such experiences helped to develop her personality and characteristics.

“I’ve always been the person that’s going to do what she had to do,” elaborated Johnson on her cast-iron mentality that has helped her to navigate through the chaos of her life. Furthermore, she claimed that if she didn’t pass through such a rough patch, she would have stopped a long time ago. While such ordeals would be a difficult ask for others to handle, Alaysha took inspiration from her own life experience to finally secure her flight to Paris at Track Town in June.

A lifetime of difficulties culminated in Eugene

Alaysha booked her berth to the French capital by finishing the women’s 100mH race with a personal best of 12.31 seconds, coming in behind only Masai Russell. After her triumph, Johnson was justifiably livid and was heard saying to NBC’s Lewis Johnson, “I have so many emotions because this has been the hardest season of my life…But I just stayed true to myself, my work and my craft and this is all God.” She added further, “This is for the hood babies, the people who are poor and come from nothing, this is for everybody that looks like me that was ever doubted. This is what I stand for and I’m making a way for everybody in my position.”

In an even more impressive act, Alaysha secured her spot in Team USA using a pair of borrowed spikes at the Team Trials, which was lent to her by Tonea Marshall, who finished the same race in fifth place. With Alaysha making it clear that she has what it takes to be remembered as one of the icons of the sport, will that be enough for her to reach out to grab track greatness in Paris as well? Only time will tell.