It won’t be in 2004, but if Jordan Desilets has his way about it, you’ll see him running with the USA track team in the next summer Olympic Games.
Desilets, 23, got his start as a distance runner for the Lake Orion High School cross country team, and the LOHS graduate currently runs for the team at Eastern Michigan University. He ran in the Olympic time trials in Sacramento, California in July.
‘In the final, I finished sixth, and the top three go to the Olympic team,? he said. ‘I’ve had (the Olympics) on my goal sheet since I started running.?
Desilets first had his interest peaked in the sport by current LOHS boys cross country/track coach and physical education teacher Stan Ford.
‘In elementary school he was my gym teacher,? Desilets said. ‘He had us running the mile in fourth and fifth grade…I still hold the record for elementary school.?
Desilets said Ford saw potential in him, and with his encouragement Desilets joined the cross country team in high school.
‘I was hard to work with at first,? Desilets added. ‘I wasn’t that involved.?
Desilets said Ford never pressured him, and he went on to take first for the varsity cross country team.
‘It just kind of kept happening,? he said.
After high school, Desilets was recruited to EMU, where he is studying secondary education, with a focus on earth science and geography. He has about a year and a half left until graduation.
Desilets has always wanted to run in the Olympic time trials.
‘It was kind of like a dream,? he said of going to the Olympics. ‘Through college, it became more of a goal.?
Desilets plans to make the team in four years.
‘There is ‘A? standard and ‘B? standard times,? he said. ‘You have to finish in the top three and have the time to go. I just missed the time by .02 seconds.?
Desilets was supported in California by family and friends, his girlfriend Jamie, also a student at EMU, and his former coach Ford and wife Rosemary.
‘I wanted fifth place,? he said. ‘We ran for that time. We missed it by an eyelash.?
Desilets, son of Judy of Oxford and Henry Desilets of Algonac, ran twice a day to prepare for the time trials.
‘I also did some workouts…also a lot of sitting around. It gets to the point where you stop doing a lot of physical stuff (to save yourself for the race,? he said. ‘Your life kind of gets put on hold for this.?
Now back in Michigan, Desilets describes his experience in California as ‘all smiles.?
‘It was great,? he said. ‘It’s something you dream about forever. It’s huge.?
Desilets raced at the same stadium where the time trials were held for the NCAA Nationals, but this experience was completely different.
‘You get credentials…It’s just really neat. You get the royal treatment,? he said.
Desilets said he and his EMU coach didn’t expect so many other runners to be ahead of him.
‘In the next four years, I will train harder,? he added. ‘Every year, as your body matures, you get so many seconds faster per lap. Maybe the next year you can go one second faster.?
Also running at the time trials was a runner Desilets looks up to, Robert Gary.
‘He’s one of the oldest in the field (at 31 years old),? he said. ‘He runs for Adidas and he coaches at Ohio. He’s a real nice guy, he’s neat to watch. I want to be at his level when I’m his age.?
The event Desilets ran in at the time trials was the ‘steeple chase,? a two-mile hurdle race with a water hole.
‘They put four by four pieces of wood up, spanning three and a half lanes,? he explained. ‘If you hit it, it hurts and you’re pretty much out of the race. There are four per lap, and one with a water hole that is three- feet deep, 12-feet long, at a 45-degree angle.
‘The farther you jump, the shallower it gets,? said Desilets. ‘It’s not a big event in our state, but a lot of schools run it on the east coast.?
Desilets, who is now being sponsored by Reebok, plans to watch the summer Olympic Games and cheer on his friends on the track team.
‘I know a lot of the guys,? he said. ‘We don’t hate each other (competitively), it’s just fun.?
With his off time, Desilets plans to travel and ‘get fat.?
‘Everything is cool and good,? he said. ‘I plan to play some video games and hang out with friends.?