Natasha Hastings

thumb|Natasha Hastings Natasha Monique Hastings (born July 23, 1986) is a retired American 400 meter track and field sprinter. She is a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion in the 4 × 400 meter relay. Quotes It was a big year of preparation for me. I had my usual high school calendar and then junior nationals at College Station (Texas), but we did make adjustments for competing at World Juniors. It was tough adjusting to the time change, unfamiliar food and the language because I didn’t speak Italian, Although, I think the team did a good job of trying to make the transition a lot easier. I made many great friends on that team and we still talk about it today because we had so many great US athletes such as Aries Merritt, LaShawn Merritt and Michelle Carter. I still have a great relationship with those people today. My critique of my heat was that I ran a good race, but it was not very controlled, I was pretty nervous and maybe it had something to do with the adrenaline. Going into the World Juniors, I knew I had a pretty good shot at winning a medal, but the semis gave me a glimpse I could win, Ashlee, the girl who had beaten me at trials, was behind me (in third), although that did remind me too that it could be anyone’s race the next day. To win and win with a PB was pretty darn exciting, I remember the year before being very happy to win the world youth title but to win the world junior title the following year was pretty special because very few people have won both. I’m not normally the type to celebrate after a race, but I think that is the most I’ve celebrated post-race. I think what the World Juniors taught me was how to be successful to reach that next level, I recall my coach and me saying we were not going to change anything at World Juniors in terms of racing style or strategy. It is an important lesson to not get too caught up in the emotion of the event. I would say stay with the plan and the results will take care of themselves. I would say enjoy the moment and make the most of the experience, I remember when we were in Italy at World Juniors we went out shopping together and went into Rome for the day. Later, when I started my professional career, I used to be super-focused on my competition and I would spend most of my time in the hotel, before I realised I’m not taking time out to enjoy these beautiful places. Once I reached this point and made that shift, it made the meets more enjoyable and I started to enjoy an upturn in my performances. To any youngster competing at the World Juniors, I would say be present in the moment and it will show up in your performances. World Junior memories – Natasha Hastings, June 29 2016 It was kind of like the best of both worlds, There was a good track program at Randolph, but I was also going to a good school. On my gosh, the Armory was like home. I’m pretty familiar with the Armory and I sure know my way around that building. I kind of watched them from very early on. I knew I wanted to be a Gamecock – probably as early as my freshman year in high school,Coach [Curtis] Frye had the reputation as being a great hurdle coach and a great quarter miler coach. So it was kind of like I knew that was where I wanted to be. I thing I liked a lot about Coach Frye’s program and the thing I developed the most in his program was speed, He was not a fan of utilizing a lot of long distance. I did a lot of my base work with the cross country team. But when it came to developing my speed, he was very much on board with that. And the philosophy was the faster my 200 was, the faster my 400 would be. We kind of figured that out as soon as I got there and we saw immediate returns in that way. I think every runner, every athlete has to find their own style. As far as breaking the race down, I think it is pretty standard that you break the race down into four 100 meter segments. That initial step probably doesn’t change much. But how you run those four 100 meter segments can be different, I think every athlete develops a plan to the best of their strengths. Athletes who are powerful may come home stronger, but don’t necessarily take it out faster at the beginning. The key is figuring out who you are, your strength in running, and then mastering it. I would definitely say I am a gutsy 400 meter runner. I like to put it out in front. I trust my speed and I trust my strength, I feel like that there is a very different energy system at the front of the race that I’m never going to get back. So rather than let it go to waste, I’d rather use it up front and trust my training, my strength, and my speed to come home. A part of me wants to say no. But then the realistic part of me says, ‘Absolutely! I’m a firm believer in not changing the game plan when you get to the big stage. It was good enough to get you there. I think many mistakes people make in the championships derive from thinking they need to try something different. And I don’t think that’s the case, But what I do think is that you have to manage the adrenalin, the rounds, those types of things. But I don’t think you necessarily have to change your style or your form of execution. From a very early age, my mom made it clear that academics was going to be important, that I can’t run for the rest of my life, I do plan to move on and do something else [after track & field]. When I went to South Carolina, I had hopes of going on to become a chiropractor. I am still toying with the idea of going back in order to become a chiropractor. The scholar athlete recognition, along with being a member of the honor society and graduating with a 3.6 GPA, are accomplishments to celebrate and be proud of. Keeping everyone happy is kind of an impossible thing. It is a tough job for the coach. The decisions are definitely hard ones – not easy by any means. There are relationships that are built on these teams. Having to make the call can sometimes be very hard and often political. For me that is neither a good nor a bad thing. I have been in the system for so long that I kind of understand that this is a call that has to be made and will be made – so just be prepared for it. In most circumstances, you kind of know what kind of call will be made. Sometimes, it may be more political than based on performance or vice versa. But sometimes you get a sense of what the call is going to be. And when you’re not one of the final four, it’s a tough one – I’m not going to lie. The thing about Rio was it was my second Olympics, but in a lot of ways it was my first: my first individual appearance; my first time running 400m prelims and then the final. In 2008, I only ran the relay prelim and this year I only ran the final. I remember what it is like in ’08 to face the final, to want to be out there so badly, and I wasn’t. I know it sounds cliché, and as hard as it was then, I am grateful for those moments. Now that I have the opportunity to be on the other side, I am so much more grateful and appreciative of where I am, because I can truly say that I feel like I’ve paid my dues and I’m worth my weight where I am. I think so. 4 years ago when I didn’t make the team, I contemplated quitting, going back to school to enter the chiropractic field, to get a regular job. And then slowly but surely every year, I’ve just worked myself closer and closer and closer. And I made the team [in ’16]. This year to make the team I was so close to my PR. I honestly feel that I am getting into the best shape of my life – not only physically, but mentally. People ask me what the difference is between now and 4 years ago [when I didn’t make the team]. And honestly, I think a big part of it is my mental training and the experience I have gained over the years. I think about going through the rounds at the Trials for the hardest team in the world to make. Going through the rounds at the Olympics, and now the world championships, there is an experience earned over the years that is just invaluable. I really treasure that. And I feel like next year is going to be a big year. I hope that the next 4 years are going to be great and successful for me. By no means am I hanging up my shoes. I am just coming into my own. The Olympics were definitely a bittersweet moment for me – more sweet, than bitter. It was definitely eye-opening. It is one thing to go into something believing that you can do something and then come either really close to achieving it or have it actually happen. It kind of opens your eyes to what the possibilities are, I remember running that 49.84 nine years ago and what that felt like. And then I go back to what that 49.90 [in the Rio semis] felt like. And I just keep reminding myself: if the 49.90 was that easy, then there is way more in the tank. I just remember walking off the track after my semi-final race. It was the biggest confidence booster. Looking forward to 2017, I am excited. My training has gotten me off to a great start. I’m really looking forward to this season. I want to be remembered as the girl who never gave up. At times, there were certainly a lot of people who counted me out, including myself. I counted myself out. But I kept my faith. I kept my head down. And I just kept working at it. After the final of the individual 400m, I remember walking off the track feeling absolutely gutted. There are no other words for it. I felt shallow. I felt empty. I thought, ‘How could this be happening? “I woke the next morning. I opened my phone and I expected my Instagram to show nothing but negative comments. But the outpouring of love from people was amazing: they could relate to my story; they watched my journey; some felt they were on my journey with me. Sure, I was disappointed that I don’t have the hardware that I went there hoping for. And I came so close. But to know that so many people are inspired by my story is uplifting. I remember that it was 20 years ago when I was watching the Olympic Games saying ‘One day I want to be an Olympian.’ And now I see little girls brightly saying the same thing. Natasha Hastings: Ready to Step Up. Multi-Time Relay Gold Medalist senses she’s poised for Individual Glory, April 01 2022 Because I’m a quarter-miler most people think I do 500s and 600s and over distance (training), I train like a short sprinter. I do a lot of 150s, 200s, 250s. The 250s are my sweet spot, I love 250s. I’m a 400 runner, but when coach says I have something over 300, I am like, Oh my God, Why? I fall into the everything in moderation. I do take my diet very serious, In the season I’m very mindful of the things I eat, but when I am to hard or too strict, I am setting up for failure. If I want a scoop of ice cream at the end of the week and I feel I had a good week of training, then I’m going to have a scoop. But not 10 scoops. Everything has to be done in moderation and you have to know your body. Everyone travels different and if it is a long travel, I am one of those people who swells on flights, If I have to train that day, it would have to be something very light to get that fluid out of my legs. It does throw a monkey wrench into training. Every four-year occasion it may or may not be an appearance or berth at the Olympics, It is stressful, but these are the moments we live for and strive for. It is a serious time. The older we get the smarter we have to be, By no means am I old, but the same things I could do or have to do at 22 I don’t necessarily have to do. I think as we get older in sports, learning your body and learning the things your body responds well to or doesn’t respond well to is important. If preparing for a meet, I have to adjust the days to give myself enough time between the workout and competition to reap the benefit from the workout but not hinder me, It is important to learn those things and how to train optimally without hurting myself. One of the things I’ve learned in getting older is to be in the moment, I focus on the process and the end result will take care of itself. Relaxing and taking some time (is part of that) and when it comes time to focus on a workout, I focus on a workout that day. When it comes to the Olympic trials, I stay in that moment. It is stressful and I think about it every day and am hungry and want it, but it is more enjoyable to focus on the thing I have to get done right now. Hastings preps for Olympics with sprint endurance training, October 02 2015 External links Category:1986 births Category:Track and field athletes Category:Living people Category:Olympic gold medalists Category:Sportspeople from the United States Category:Women in sports Category:Women from the United States Category:African Americans Category:Women born in the 1980s