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Hasay has done her homework

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This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

(Jordan Hasay didn’t write this, but she could. . .)

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

(Abridged Version)

By Jordan Hasay, age 16
12th Grade
Mission College Preparatory School
San Luis Obispo

July 2 -- Attended U.S. Olympic trials with my family. Found out I could run in the U.S. Olympic trials because someone had withdrawn from 1,500 meters.

July 3 -- Finished seventh in my 1,500 meters heat and made it to semifinals on the basis of time. Started to talk with media but had to take a break to throw up.

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July 4 -- Finished fifth in my semi and set a national high school record of 4 minutes 14.50 seconds to qualify for final on time. Reporter asked me about my waist-length hair. Told him I wanted to cut it but can’t because it’s my trademark. He loved that anecdote. Pretty media savvy for 16, huh?

July 5 -- Supposed to leave for Poland to compete in World Junior Championships. Nice lady from USA Track & Field rearranged my schedule so I can run the final Sunday.

July 6 -- Finished 10th among 12 in final. Told reporters I was really happy with the way I performed these three days, and I learned I can compete at this level without being intimidated.

July 7 -- Left for Poland.

July 8 -- Arrived in Bydgoszcz, site of the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships. It is a river city of 369,151 in north central Poland. Its airport was named for the legendary Polish pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski. (I get extra credit for that, right?)

July 11 -- Felt a little jet-lagged, but managed to finish fifth in my heat and qualify for final. It was a really physical race, with elbows flying everywhere. Good thing I’m only 5 feet 2 inches so I could duck some of them.

July 13 -- Finished fourth in the final. I’m not bummed about just missing a medal, and, hey, no U.S. runner ever had finished in the top eight before in the women’s 1,500 at world juniors. And my teammate, Alex Kosinski of El Dorado, Calif., was sixth.

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This is what I told the U.S. track and field media guy: ‘On the bell lap I tried to move up, but got bumped out of my spot. I kind of ran a stupid race for the first half and then with 800 left I stayed in Lane 2, which is something I shouldn’t have done. It’s OK. I’m really happy with fourth. I just couldn’t get them at the end. I’m happy with everything.’’

Pretty cool sort-of vacation, huh?

-- (as imagined by) Philip Hersh

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