Before former Brigham Young star Whittni Morgan left her Paris hotel to compete in the 5,000-meter Olympic prelim Friday, she read a handwritten card from her college coach, Diljeet Taylor.
It's a tradition for the head cross country coach at Brigham Young to deliver cards to all her runners before every race, a tradition that for Morgan has spanned eight years since she started at the university in 2017.
"She always writes the cards. She's known for her cards. When I was reading that one this time, I definitely got chills all over my body. It was so good, so powerful," said Morgan, still coached by Taylor. "She said, 'I'm so proud of who you have become in the sport. Run for that and run with humility, run for God.' She helps me with her pep talks. If you know her, you know she's very passionate about inspiration."
Morgan ran inspired in front of an electric crowd of 70,000-plus, placing sixth to advance to Monday's Olympic final.
"Whittni ran a perfectly executed race, and I am beyond proud," Taylor, in Paris for the race, said. "Faith and hope were the keys today, and wow, I am speechless."
Morgan's performance marked another significant step in an improbable Olympic journey.
The 2021 NCAA cross country champion, Morgan had knee surgery in November, used crutches for a month and didn't resume running until February. Her first race of 2024 was in April.
Since then, she has been catching up, but she still finished fifth in the Olympic Trials, trailing Elle St. Pierre, Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer and Parker Valby. Although only the top three qualify for the Olympic Games, St. Pierre and Valby chose to concentrate on the 1,500 and 10,000 meters, respectively, which opened a spot for Morgan.
"From the very beginning we knew there was a sliver of a chance because we heard some rumors about the other two — Parker and Elle, who were doubling — that they were going to do one or the other," Morgan said. "So we kind of were manifesting it straight from the beginning. Whenever somebody would ask about it, I'd be like, 'There's still a sliver of hope. We're keeping our hopes alive.' We had that from the beginning, so it really turned out to be true."
Morgan previewed her capabilities a week before the Olympics began when she won a 1,500-meter race in Los Angeles, beating U.S. Olympic teammates Karissa Schweizer and Nikki Hiltz with a blistering time of 4:02.59. Still, she entered Paris and her first Olympics with a chip on her shoulder — so much so that she turned down the opening ceremony to train and stay focused on the task at hand.
"I really wanted to perform well, especially the way I was selected for the Olympics," she said. "I wanted to kind of prove that I belonged here."
Growing up in a small town in Utah, Morgan brought the same mentality to Brigham Young. As a Cougar, Morgan (formerly Orton) became the first woman in program history to win an NCAA cross country championship. During the 2019-20 indoor track season, Morgan broke the school record in the 5,000 by 29 seconds, the record in the mile by six seconds and the 3,000-meter record by 11 seconds. In 2021, Morgan won the NCAA cross country championships with the second-fastest time in the history of the event at the time.
As much as Morgan left an imprint on the Cougar running world, she said the experience continues to live in her as she's navigated her professional journey.
"I feel like I've carried along so many things. I feel like I could go on forever about that. It was really such a blessing," she said of her time at Brigham Young. "All around, I just kind of changed as a human going there. Coach Taylor was amazing. She teaches us not just about running, but about life. And she helped me grow as a woman. I feel like I'm a better human for going there, and I'm really proud of it."
The biggest lesson Morgan's taken from Taylor?
"I think gratitude, just always having gratitude in your heart," Morgan said. "I think it can change people when you just look at the world through a lens of gratitude."
It's what she'll bring to the 5,000-meter final at 3:15 p.m. Eastern time Monday. That and a bit of handwritten motivation from her coach.
