McKenzie Long, inspired by mom, earns spot in 200 for Paris

EUGENE, Ore. — In the past few months, McKenzie Long has experienced pure elation and complete heartbreak. 

Saturday at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, she felt both. 

Long, the 100 and 200 NCAA champion earlier this month, finished third in the 200 final here, qualifying for the Paris Olympics in her best event. She crossed the line in 21.91, behind winner Gabby Thomas (21.81) and Brittany Brown (21.90). That was the elation.

The heartbreak came when she remembered her mom isn't here to witness it.

Jones, a star at Ole Miss, is running in memory of her mother, Tara Jones, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack at just 45 right before the season started. 

"Crossing that line, knowing that I’m an Olympian now, it’s so surreal," Long said afterward, on the verge of tears. "And I know my mom is smiling from cheek to cheek, I know she’s proud of me. That’s all I could ever want."

At the NCAA championships, where she won the 100 and 200, an emotional Long told reporters she talks to her mom every day, and when she got in the blocks for her final race, “I told her, ‘Mom this is my last race, push me through’ — and she did.” 

She did the same Saturday at the trials.

"I could hear her voice even before I was going out there on the line," Long said. "I was just talking to her, 'Let’s do this mom,' and I’d come back with, 'you got this baby girl.'

"I could feel her in that moment and it got me through this race."

Long told reporters Friday after her first heat that she and her mom had dreamed together of attending the Olympics — with Long on the track, and Jones in the stands cheering her on. And even after not making the 100 final at trials last week, she felt her mom's encouragement.

"Of course not making the (100) final I was upset, but I didn’t let that faze me at all," she said. "I knew the 200 is really where I conquer."

Asked what her mom would have said to hype her up before the race, Long laughed.

"She would probably be like, 'You’re McKenzie Long, they should be afraid of you!' She’d probably be like, 'You got this baby girl!'

Long said therapy has been key in navigating heartache while trying to dominate the track. Her therapist encouraged her to "not separate" her mom from anything. So Long didn't.

She talks to Jones out loud every day. She listens to a workout playlist Jones created. Her lockscreen is a photo of Jones. Every time Long grabs her phone, she gives it a kiss.

Long's story has made the rounds this week and inspired other runners. 

"She has something really special," Thomas said. "I'm so touched her season and how hard she’s working and what she’s overcome. I’m so proud of her." 

After the crossed the line, Thomas told Long she'd had a dream about her Friday night. In the dream, Long made the Olympic team with Thomas.

"I was like, you didn’t want to tell me this before we got out here on this line?" Long said, laughing, adding that Thomas inspires her on the daily. "I tell her all the time, I want to be you. That’s my goal, I wanna be like Gabby Thomas."

As of Saturday, she is like Thomas. Because now they're both part of Team USA.

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell