Graham Blanks, 2024 Paris Olympian and Harvard University distance runner, stands outside of the James M. Crawford arena at Clarke Central High School on Aug. 22. Blanks, who grew up running in Athens, recently returned from competing in the 5000-meter race in the 2024 Paris Olympics for the United States Olympic team. “It (was) amazing to get to train in such a professional environment, and be treated as a professional, which is sometimes rare as an elite runner, just because it’s not a super big sport compared to other ball sports in the U.S. Honestly, the best part was just competing. It was amazing,” Blanks said. Photo by Wyatt Meyer
Harvard University distance runner, New Balance athlete and Athenian Graham Blanks shares his journey as an athlete and his experience running at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
ODYSSEY Media Group Managing Editor Janie Ripps: Starting from the beginning, how did you get into running?
2024 Paris Olympian, distance runner and Athenian Graham Blanks: I got into running in a very American fashion, which was just doing Turkey trots. I always wanted to be a soccer player, but I wasn’t super competitive just because of how small I was. Eventually, (when) I did these Turkey trots I was able to actually compete with people and do well regardless of my size. I was able to win my age group sometimes, so I started to enjoy doing those because they were just fun and I could win. From there, I went to middle school and high school at Athens Academy and we had programs which helped me keep running on bigger levels.
JR: What was it like running in Athens?
GB: It’s tough. There’s not a whole lot of distance runners that come out of Athens because we’re usually swinging in the bigger sports like football, baseball (and) basketball. When I was running even just six years ago, the running infrastructure just wasn’t as good. Now, we have a lot of great places to run like the Firefly Trail (and) North Oconee Greenway. The Intramural Fields have always been there, but now that we (are) developing more and more safe pedestrian infrastructure, and rebuilding our tracks, I think we’re gonna have a lot more people come out of Athens that are really good at running, just because our town is such an athletic-focused town.
JR: What would you say was the most transformative moment for you from the beginning of your running career to the end of high school?
raham Blanks, Harvard University distance runner and Athens resident, runs along the Billy Henderson Stadium track on Aug. 22. Blanks, who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 5000-meter Track and Field event, will be continuing his career as a senior at Harvard University with hopes of eventually competing at a professional level. “I would run professionally, definitely, until the next Olympics, try to make that Olympic team and try to medal in Los Angeles,” Blanks said. “I plan to continue running as long as I can keep competing at this stage” Photo by Wyatt Meyer
GB: I’d say a pivotal moment was after sophomore year cross country. I started getting decent at running when I had a good placement (and) finished in the top 10 at state, (and) I was like, “Wow, maybe I should start focusing on this because I can get into a really good school and take advantage of this opportunity.” I figured I could only be good at one (sport) and I’d have to focus on one sport, so that sophomore year is when I ditched soccer and I went all in on running, and very quickly after I started to see a lot of improvement. Originally, I wasn’t planning on being this good at running, I just wanted to get into a good school.
JR: So what narrowed down Harvard University for you and helped you realize this was your path?
GB: When I was a junior, that was when recruiting (started). My junior year, I won the state championship in cross country for my division, which is 1-A private. It started there, and I sent out a bunch of emails after that introducing myself to coaches. I sent it out to maybe 20 to 30 schools, just threw a wide net, and the first school to respond was Harvard (University). I kind of sent it almost like a joke, because at that point, Harvard (did not seem like) a real place. I went through my junior year and my senior year, and I got a lot better at running. By my senior year, I had narrowed it down between Harvard, Columbia (University) and Georgetown (University)
. I took my official visits, and I ended up just liking (Harvard) more. It was just the team and the team culture that brought me there, and that’s something that I still look forward to every year, coming back. That was ultimately what made me decide Harvard.
JR: How has Harvard shaped you as an athlete?
GB: The training was way harder than when I was in high school. When I switched to my college coach, I was running two to three times as many miles per week as I was in (high school). I was running them all a lot faster, too. Immediately, I got injured for a while, got back on my feet, and then ran really fast. (I) got injured again, got back up on my feet, (then) ran even faster. That’s just what running is like, just trying to continuously push, push, push, see how far you can take your body. Even this year, I had an injury but ended up making the Olympic Team after it. It’s just a part of running. My coach at Harvard, and running with guys that are better than me has really pushed me to find my potential. I do think Harvard has shaped me as an athlete, and (has) definitely pushed me to be my best.
“There’s not a whole lot of distance runners that come out of Athens because we’re usually swinging in the bigger sports like football, baseball (and) basketball. ”
— Graham Blanks,
2024 Paris Olympian, distance runner and Athenian
JR: Moving to the Olympics, you had quite an Olympic Trials run. What did that experience mean to you?
GB: It was a unique situation. (Having an opportunity to go to Olympic Trials) was good for me, because, for example, in other countries like Great Britain, Kenya or Ethiopia, there’s a board that chooses who they think the best runners are and who’s going to do the best at the Olympics. No shot I would have ever been chosen to run at the Olympics. I’d been injured for two months, and I got my doors blown off at the NCAA (Track and Field championships) only a month before the trial. (The trials) helped me out, because it gave me a chance to try to finish top three. I ended up fourth. The person that finished in front of me, Parker Wolfe from (the University of North Carolina), would have been next in line to go to the Olympics, but he wasn’t qualified for the Olympics by running the standard underneath 13:05 in the (5000-meter) nor had the world ranking. However, we had to wait a week to figure out what his world ranking was. We had to wait for a week to see if we made the Olympic team. That (was) a very emotional time, because making an Olympic team is for an American distance runner it’s as good as it gets outside of winning a medal. I found out after running (and) I was just like, “Wow, okay. What’s next?” So then we flew out to Europe, but I was very grateful for the opportunity.
On Aug. 10, the 2024 Paris Olympics hosted the final in the 5000-meter men’s track and field event. Graham Blanks, Harvard University distance runner and Athens resident, got ninth place. “You would think it (was) a holiday the way everyone’s showing up to watch (us run) and it was so loud, the way they would cheer for their French runners,” Blanks said. “It was one of those things (that is) so amazing that when it’s over, it’s painful to walk away.” Video by NBC sports
JR: So then coming to Paris after that, what was that whole experience like?
GB: (Paris) was just so busy. There’s so many people, but they did a great job setting it up. Team USA rented out a facility nearby the Olympic Village, where they had facilities just for Americans, which is such a privilege. It’s amazing to get the train there in such a professional environment and be treated as a professional, which is sometimes rare as an elite runner, just because (running is) not a super big sport compared to other ball sports in the U.S. Honestly, the best part was just competing. The stadium was huge, and there’s 80,000 people there and you would think it’s a holiday the way everyone’s showing up to watch. This (was) one of those things (that was) so amazing that when it’s over, it’s painful to walk away from because I want to live in that moment forever. I’m going to be chasing to be at that level again very soon. Hopefully every year I’m chasing to be in those environments to race.
JR: Looking ahead, you’re going into your senior year, what are your plans following college? Do you think you’re going to try to aim for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic team?
GB: Once I graduate, I’ll probably sign a professional deal with some company. Right now I’m with New Balance and would love to stay with them if things work out. From there, I would run professionally, definitely, until the next Olympics, try to make that Olympic team and try to medal in Los Angeles. But it’s a long time, there’s a lot of other stuff that happens in between. We have World Championships, which are just equally as competitive. So, I plan to continue running as long as I can keep competing at this stage we’re talking about.
