Kendall Ellis was locked in a porta-potty with less than an hour before the most important race of her life at the United States Track and Field Trials on Saturday. She qualified for the Olympics one day later!
It was a wild saga that could not have concluded with a better result.
Ellis, 28, won a gold medal for Team USA in Tokyo as a member of the 4x400m relay team and a bronze medal as a member of the 4x400m mixed relay team. The former USC Trojan never qualified as an individual and was mainly considered to be a relay specialist.
Not anymore! Ellis ran two personal bests over the weekend in Eugene, Oregon.
Her performance at the U.S. Trials guaranteed her a spot on Team USA. And it came with extenuating circumstances. A lot of unexpected stress was added to her psyche by a rogue bathroom.
Ellis was completely trapped as her semifinal run ticked closer. Panic struck. All she could do was bang on the door and hope that someone would let her out. Fortunately, somebody did!
If the stress of getting locked in a porta-potty wasn’t stressful enough, Ellis was called to the line for the semifinal heat. She proceeded to run a personal best of 49.81. It was her first PR in six years and her first time running sub-50 since her senior year of college.
The frightening pre-race incident might have actually helped to release some of the pressure!
Crazy things happen right before something great is about to occur, so maybe I needed that to get all the nerves and adrenaline out.
— Kendall Ellis
By winning the semifinal heat on Saturday, Ellis qualified for the final… after being locked inside of an 11.7-square-foot bathroom. And then she turned it up another notch on Sunday.
Kendall Ellis made Team USA!
Ellis smashed her personal best by .35 to qualify for the Paris Olympics with a blazing fast 49.46.
To make Ellis’ story even more remarkable, she almost retired from the sport in 2022. An anxiety attack before the World Championships left her “paralyzed in bed.” It made her contemplate her future in track.
Ellis ultimately chose to continue with Paris as the ultimate goal. She reached that goal on Sunday!
Kendall Ellis took down a loaded field of 400-meter runners to qualify for the Olympics after almost missing her semifinal race because she was locked in a porta-potty. Wild!