Spartan Echo

Spartan track runner, Premier Wynn, participated in the 2024 Track & Field World Athletics U20 Championship in Lima, Peru from August 27th to August 31st. He participated in the 400m hurdles for Team USA, making it through the preliminaries and finished in the semifinals

“I was trying to enjoy the moment… and my dad and mom and everyone kept telling me to enjoy the moment,” said Wynn.  “It was good seeing all of the different cultures and people… just seeing that we’re all the same but we’re also all different.”

A sophomore from New Jersey, Wynn’s interest in the sport of track and field was first sparked during his time at Pennsauken High School. He was introduced to the sport by a good friend that he played other sports with. It wasn’t until Wynn’s junior year of high school that he truly realized he had the opportunity to go to the next level of athletics and later made the decision to attend and represent a Division I institution.

“My family was very supportive of course, they have always supported me in everything I’ve done… so they just show me love,” said Wynn. “I won’t say track-wise I have any idols but if anything, I want to be like my father. He’s just… everything I want to be as a man… his character speaks volumes.”

Wynn accomplished a great deal during his freshman season as a student-athlete. Not only did he record back-to-back personal bests throughout both the indoor and outdoor season, helped the Spartan 4x400m relay team break a school record and come home with gold; but he also qualified for regionals, as well as the U20 Championships.

This successful timeline, alongside Wynn’s natural gift for running, are what ultimately led him to Lima Peru for the World Athletics U20 Championship. This doesn’t mean, however, that it was achieved without overcoming certain obstacles.

“Team USA was a process… after regionals I didn’t qualify, so I had to fly to Oregon early June and had to basically run to qualify for the team,” said Wynn. “You had to place top two in your event, so I got second and that made me eligible to be on the team.”

With this came not only a surplus of fans and love from back home, but also a gear pack from Team USA itself. It contained athletic wear ranging from compression gear, socks, and tshirts, to cosmetics, socks, and several kits consisting of tops and jackets.

Reflecting on his performance in Peru, he finished at the line as second in his heat for prelims, which allowed him to advance to semifinals where he finished in fourth place.

“Basically, I ran the 400m hurdles and for my event there were 3 rounds: prelims, semi-finals, and finals. In prelims you had to place top three in your heat, and in the semifinals, you had to win your heat or be in the top nine fastest times because there are only nine lanes in finals.”

Everyone has a routine they do to get them ready for an important event. Music is a common resource athletes use to prep them before they have to perform, but Wynn has a different approach that helps him before a race.

“Preparing for races, music and things like that don’t really do much for me, so I just try to positively talk to myself and make sure I’m straight and not too worried or anxious,” said Wynn. “Track is just as much mental as it is physical.”

Taking care of yourself both mentally and physically for a race is a vital piece in one’s chances of success; however, some overlook the importance of dealing with the results of a race. Wynn makes sure to remind himself of how far he has come and how much potential he has yet to unlock.

“Well, I’m a competitor so of course afterwards I was mad I lost,” said Wynn. “At the end of the day it was a long season and just being able to get there was a challenge, so I was proud of myself.”

One of the biggest obstacles Wynn faced while being in Peru was the environment. During the event, it was the city’s winter, and the weather was rainy and on the cooler side.

“It wasn’t really ideal for running,” said Wynn. “The track was weird to me too because it wasn’t a track I had run on before, but besides that the atmosphere was good, and I know there was a lot of elite talent there.”

Another struggle Wynn faced was connecting with other runners there. He often stayed in his hotel alone and ate his meals by himself, which made it hard to bond with his teammates.

 “I was isolating myself, but still had a lot of things to do and handle, but coaching-wise I was receiving a lot of positive phone calls and positive messages from everyone,” said Wynn. “It kept me kind of level-headed. Receiving messages from my coaches that weren’t there meant so much to me and I appreciate it a lot.”

Wynn didn’t expect to accomplish what he has so far, but he has been grateful for every opportunity. His journey was unexpected and the path he took was different from most, but he encourages everyone with a passion to stay true to themselves and follow their dreams.

“I would say, first, enjoy what you do and if you enjoy it, put the work in and genuinely care about what you’re doing… then, you should be on the right course. You can’t say you want something without taking the right steps to do it,” said Wynn. “Even though I didn’t want to run track I wasn’t taking any shortcuts… I wasn’t being lazy. You gotta put the work in, you can’t say you want something and not do anything to get it.”