Lubbock Local Heading to Olympic Trials for Marathon
Lubbock local, Brandon Birdsong-Johnson, is running towards his Olympic goals with the intent of making top 10 in the trials later this week. Birdsong-Johnson was a Monterey High School graduate and ran for Texas Tech while he lived in Lubbock.
"My goal is just being satisfied with my performance, that I gave it the best shot that I could, that I performed up to my ability because if I do perform up to my ability, I will be in the top 15, in the top 10," said Birdsong-Johnson.
The 27-year old has high hopes and will continue the last part of training in town before traveling to Los Angeles on February 13th to compete. If Birdsong-Johnson makes the top three competitors he'll be on the Olympic team.
Although a back injury set him back, he's back to work after three months of not being able to walk. Just a year later, he's speeding down the track. Birdsong-Johnson hopes to run at a five minutes a mile pace.
"He's still super fit right now, he's mentally ready to go, which is a huge battle in and of itself," said Birdsong-Johnson's coach Quent Bearden. "If we can get him to the starting line healthy it will be a great victory and it will be fantastic."
[Via Everything Lubbock]