DAYTON, Ohio — Former Xenia and Cedarville University standout Daniel Michalski is on the brink of making it to the Tokyo Olympics next month.
News Center 7′s James Rider caught up with the track start ahead of his final race to determine if he gets to compete with the greatest in the world.
If you have never heard of or seen the Steeplechase, it’s a strange event, but an event that Michalski quickly fell in love with.
Michalski said, “When I first tried my freshman year at Cedarville it kind of clicked. It’s a weird event. A lot of guys don’t try it because they fear the risk of falling or injury or just can’t walk and chew gum let alone jump over some hurdles. My first try was maybe this could be my thing, my second try was oh yeah, this is my thing.”
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He said he knew he had a lot of potential in this sport, but ifyou told him he’d be where he is today, he’d probably laugh.
“One of my college teammates said something to that effect to me. I told him I never, I never quite saw myself as going to be trying out for the Olympics, let alone making the team. I just wanted to get better. I was just competitive. I knew I had upside, I had just scratched the surface in my training,” Michalski said.
He graduated from Xenia High School and Cedarville University, but transferred to Indiana. He’s the second Cedarville track standout to ever make it to the final at the Olympics trials. Being at this point in his journey makes it easy to reflect on just how far he’s come.
Michalski said, “I was cooling down with some guys, telling them about my worst meet ever and daring them to come up with a worse story than how bad my worst meet was. It’s fun to take it all in and think about how good God is to be kind to me in setting up my entire context just how I’m set up right now.”
He said he really enjoys the people that have been reaching out from all stages of his life - high school, college and beyond. Also, from several different states too. On this journey, he thinks about the people he’s tried to follow and doesn’t want to be the bet, but rather inspire the best.
Michalski said, “Wherever I’ve gone. I want people to follow in my footsteps just as I’ve chased records, school records. In my high school I would entice the younger kids and say go get my records, make me roll in my grave when you beat my record, same with Cedarville, same with IU. I encourage the other steeplechasers to go be better than I was. Figure it out, I’d love to help.”
Now, he has a chance to set the bar even higher for others to chase.
“Knocking on the door of that and I’m really excited to see what I’ve got in the final and for a spot on the team,” Michalski said.
He has already reached the Olympic standard so if he can finish in the top three at the finals on Friday, he will make the U.S. Olympic Team and be on his way to Tokyo.
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