WACO, Texas — The countdown to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics continues, and exciting news for Baylor, one of their very own is making the trip.
Baylor track and field head coach Michael Ford was once taking home titles in the green and gold, and now he hopes for that same result as the sprints and hurdles Olympic coach.
Our 6 Sports team, Ben Peck and Nicole Shearin, had the chance to sit down with Ford to talk all about his prep for Paris.
Nicole Shearin: "Let's go back to February. You get that call, you're going to be coaching in the 2024 Paris Olympics. I mean, what went through your head in that moment? How did it feel?"
Ford: "Um, well, the weird thing is, I already kind of knew that I was going to be on the team, but it confirmed, the call, confirmed everything. And so I was pretty excited, because I had, like, a lot of staff members that I kind of told about, and they were just like, 'When are they going to make it official? When are they going to make it official?' And so they finally made it official that night when I got an email saying 'Congratulations, you're on the Olympic team for Paris 2024."'
Ben Peck: "You were here at Baylor when Michael Johnson won those gold medals with the gold shoes, set the world record that stood for 12 years in the 200 meters. Just what was it like to be at Baylor during that time, and especially in your position now as the Baylor head coach? What's your relationship like with Michael?"
Ford: "It was awesome. I mean, I can go farther back through my Senior year in High School. I remember, I get this phone call, not on my cell phone but on the landline call, my mom like, 'Hey, it's Michael Johnson'. I was like 'Michael Johnson?' Talked to him, and he said 'Hey, I'm a volunteer coach at Baylor. We would love to have you coach once you come in'. I remember flying into Waco on a propeller plane. Michael Johnson is at the airport picking me up in a Corvette. And so for me, it was awesome to see that, to train with him, to see how dedicated he was, how focused he was, like every day, non-stop. And when I saw that, I said, to be at that level, you have to be dedicated, you have to be focused, you have to do a lot of sacrifice, and that's what he did. So every time I saw him run, I just thought, no one can beat him just because of how dedicated he was to the sport."
Nicole Shearin: "Going off of your time at Baylor, you know you were, of course, a two-time 4x400 meter national champion. You've had success here, for sure. How does it feel for you to now be representing Baylor, but on a different stage?"
Ford: "Oh, that's a huge honor. I mean, anytime you can represent your alma mater and anything it's, for me it's just, I'm just really blessed to be able to do it. Just want to make Baylor Nation proud, and my family really proud. And I think just trying to cement another legacy at Baylor track and field."
Nicole Shearin : "It's hard to put myself in those shoes, because I've never done it before, but in terms of the nerves, kind of the anticipation, the gun goes off, you're ready to go. Obviously, it's stressful in any situation, but in an Olympic setting, I mean, just describe the atmosphere that you're going to be experiencing from your coaching standpoint, but also that your athletes are going to be experiencing?"
Ford: "Yeah, I think the nerves go even higher. I think just because you're always going to be nervous, I don't, I don't care if people say 'I never get nervous'. I think they do get nervous, I think. But I think if you do the prep work on the front end of it, it's a lot easier. So you normally get the nerves. You know, when I used to run, I used to get the nerves before the gun went off. When that started, was like, 'Runners on your mark', my heart was pounding so hard. But once the gun went off, then it was like, 'All right, let's go ahead and go.'"
Nicole Shearin: "You touched on it a little bit. But just in terms of being able to represent your country, I mean, what kind of honor is that for you and what is so special about that to you?"
Ford: "The coaches that are on that staff. You may get it again, but you have to wait maybe four years or another eight years to get it. I think that's the thing. And then think about it, where can you get a bunch of people that you can run for Nike, to run for whoever? Now you gotta come together on the US team. I think that's a huge honor. And then we gotta show that we're the best country in the world in track and field."
It's definitely an exciting time for Ford, and he's hoping to bring that gold back home to Texas.
The games officially kick off on July 26, so be sure to tune to NBC for all the updates.
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