By Davis Ramage
“That one thing” is what Long Beach State’s track and field head coach LaTanya Sheffield said she learned that separates the Olympic athletes from all other athletes. In the case of Olympians, that one thing is their craft, the sport they compete in.
She said that Olympians put a larger percentage of effort into that one thing than the average athlete does. Sleeping, dieting and training are just some of the facets of their lives that all revolve around that one thing.
Sheffield was given the honor of being the USA women’s track & field head coach at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“It’s the ultimate respect from your peers, and that I do not take lightly at all. I’m so humbled by that,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield, who doubles as a motivational speaker, set the tone for the Games with a powerful speech to the entire USA track & field team where she delivered the simple message of “it’s personal.”
“I wanna say it’s personal, oh it’s definitely personal. You are an Olympian. You are that impossible, that invincible, you are the victor, so stand on that podium just as proud and just as loud as possible,” Sheffield said.
She and her highly driven women’s track & field team returned from the 2024 Paris Olympics with seven gold, five silver and five bronze medals, contributing to the USA’s total medal count, which surpassed that of all other nations.
In an interview with the Long Beach Current (formerly Daily Forty-Niner) in March 2024 before the Olympics, Sheffield said “We can’t fail.”
After returning from Paris, Sheffield said there are always things that can be improved upon and that nothing is perfect, but overall the Games were a success.
She competed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics placing eighth in the 400m hurdles and said the main difference from those Games is the attire.
“These current Olympians have swag like no other,” Sheffield said providing an unexpected answer which speaks to the kind of person she is, someone who can motivate an entire barrage of Olympic athletes but can also joke around and appreciate the finer details.
As much as those athletes are focused on honing in all their energy to have the best performance possible, after spending time with them in Paris, Sheffield said that they are just “your average folk” with some boasting large personalities and others being more reserved.
Sheffield was an assistant coach in charge of the sprint and hurdle teams in the 2020 Tokoyo Olympics where there were no fans in the stands and said the difference was “night and day” compared to the Paris Games.
One of those athletes who elated the crowd on multiple occasions and took Paris by storm after winning two gold medals was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who Sheffield described as a “gazelle” who looks like she “does it effortlessly.”
Sheffield joked and said “How dare you,” when asked if she had time to go shopping in Paris because she would rather eat and rejuvenate with the time she had to stay focused on “that one thing.”
On the Sept. 4 episode of Long Beach Current’s sports podcast, “Teed Up,” Sheffield said one of the best pieces of advice she’s been given was to “Make ’em say your name.”
“The women’s track & field, we dominated, we dominated… make ’em say your name, yeah we did [make ’em say our name,]” Sheffield said.
