Matt Wilkinson’s jaw dropped when he finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in late June. He raised his arms and smiled from ear to ear as he earned a spot on the Team USA roster.
Not far from the finish line, Wilkinson’s brother, girlfriend and former Division III coach from Carleton College sat teary-eyed.
“I knew I could do it,” Wilkinson said. “It was pure elation.”
Wilkinson was one of three runners competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase who punched their tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics in Eugene, Oregon. But it was not until Wilkinson placed sixth at the 2023 USA Track & Field Championships that he considered competing for his country.
“I realized I really should try to do this full time and really take a shot at making the Olympics,” Wilkinson said.
The self-proclaimed “late-bloomer” improved every year. Rising University of Minnesota junior Leo Goodman spent two years with Wilkinson and saw the linear progression that earned Wilkinson the chance to make his Olympic debut.
“In college, he just got better and better,” Goodman said. “Then he makes it pro and he just gets better and better.”
Gopher’s Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Brad Wick saw Wilkinson’s hustle over the last year.
“There’s only a couple Americans that had a resume better than Matt’s this season,” Wick said. “I knew it, all his close friends knew it, like Matt could do this.”
Goodman watched the trials on his phone at work because he did not want to miss the moment.
“I think I just started yelling,” Goodman said. “We all knew it was possible. Not shock, but amazement.”
Goodman and Wick said Wilkinson’s Olympic appearance does wonders for the Gophers program.
In Goodman’s case, it fuels his aspiration of making it as an Olympian.
“He’s really good at not taking things too seriously, he knows how to have fun with it,” Goodman said.
For Wick, Wilkinson’s name will be coming up in recruiting.
“We absolutely bring it up,” Wick said. “Everything that comes across on social media, I repost it just to let everyone know we have a Gopher that is doing big, big things.”
Wilkinson jump-started his transition to being a professional runner with Wick after using all of his NCAA cross country eligibility. They used the fall to intensify training and participate in professional races.
Wilkinson spent the past year as a professional with the Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky.
In Wilkinson’s final season with the Gophers, he posted a 3,000-meter steeplechase time of 8:26. During his first professional season he cut off 10 seconds, finishing with a lifetime best of 8:16.
Wilkinson now has three weeks until the Paris Olympics. His current training location is in Switzerland with the rest of the U.S. Track and Field team where the high altitude will be an adjustment.