Jumping for joy: Hurdler Parker Bowden of Spokane takes one last run at his Olympic dream

There is a story to the scar – a tale that continues to evolve for Parker Bowden.

It could be the story of a craving to achieve a childhood dream. Or it could be the immense desire to realize unfinished business. Or it could be the story of trying to chase down the best during a record-breaking race.

The story involves all those things, but Parker Bowden has the same attitude now as he had before the nasty tumble he took in the 60-meter hurdles at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships in February that left his leg bloodied and swollen.

“You only have a certain amount of time in life to do something like this,” said the former Central Valley High School, Community Colleges of Spokane and Eastern Washington University standout. “At some point I won’t be able to do it, and I want to look back – regardless of the outcome – that I tried.”

On Monday, he takes part in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, running the 110-meter hurdles after earning the spot with a 13.6-second time during a June 2 meet.

It’s his fourth-straight appearance at the trials.

“Whatever I accomplish I hope is a small open door for the next generation,” says Bowden. “If there is another local athlete who sees what I am able to do, they will know they can take it one step further.”

He’s the son of a Hall of Fame high school track and field coach (Chuck) and a mother (Theresa) who has competed in Ironman triathlons. At some point, “PJ” as he is known by many, had the childhood dream of competing in the Olympics.

With his father’s coaching help, Bowden earned first-team All-Greater Spokane League honors three times before he graduated in 2015. From there, it was on to CCS, where he won the NWAC title in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.39.

He thrived at EWU from the moment he arrived in 2018. He broke through in 2021 with a Big Sky Conference title in the 110 hurdles in 13.58, a personal best and school record that ranks second all-time in league history.

In his first Olympic trials, Bowden struggled and finished 28th out of 29 runners.

“I was burned out,” he admitted. “I had a tough regional and didn’t make it to the NCAA Championships, and the trials didn’t go very well. I remember there was a long rest period where I thought I might just move on with life, but I felt called to keep doing this. And I knew if I was going to commit to it, I was going to commit all the way to ’24.”

In the three years since he first competed in the Olympic trials, Bowden has honed his training, including developing consistent and rigid strength, conditioning and diet regimens. He also has enlisted the help of former Eastern coach Stan Kerr and the current head coach at EWU, Erin Tucker.

In early February at the Podium in Spokane, he equaled his career best of 7.79 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. With his training right on schedule, he then headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the national championships on Feb. 16.

He was assigned randomly to lane 6 for his preliminary heat, and right next to him in lane 7 was an imposing figure – three-time world champion Grant Holloway. Directly to his left was another of America’s top hurdlers, Daniel Roberts.

“Those are two of the fastest guys through the first hurdle,” says Bowden, who turns 28 next month. “Their starts set them up to do well in the race. I knew going in that I can’t focus on them, because if I do it’s all going to go bad.

“I was in a good position over the first hurdle,” he said, “but then I think I opened up my stride too much between hurdles because I was trying to race.”

With his steps slightly out of sync, he sensed the need to slow down – even thinking he needed to stop at the fifth and final hurdle. But it was too late.

“I kicked right underneath and drug the hurdle with me. I hit my toe first, then my shin. I rolled all the way from hurdle 5 to the finish line.”

Meanwhile, there was bedlam just ahead of him as Holloway broke the world record with a 7.27 time and Bowden crossed the line in 8.62 seconds. He first noticed a blood mark on his new white spikes, but didn’t even notice his skinned shin because officials were rushing athletes off the track.

“Then I looked down and there is just blood gushing down my leg,” he said.

There wasn’t enough skin to pull together for medical personnel to apply stitches, so he had to deal with the bleeding and pain.

“That race, via photo and video, went all over the place because of the world record,” he says. “Me falling was a part of that. The joke is that someday I’ll have Grant sign a photo and put it in my office.

“I kept watching the fall and it was embarrassing and it was hard to deal with,” he said. “But I can laugh about it – and I was laughing about it then – because it could have been worse.”

He explains it all so eloquently on “The Joyride” – his track-and-field-inspired podcast that features 22 episodes of him chronicling life as an aspiring world-class hurdler. He posts episodes regularly on Instagram through his profile, “PJFunnyBunny.”

“They say a loss can make or break an athlete. I’ve been knocked down numerous times before, but this was the first time I’ve fallen in my career. I’ve felt disappointment and embarrassment before, but this was on a level I’ve never experienced.

“I cut my shin to the bone and tried to remain positive through it all. To have this result knowing I’m in my best physical shape, it felt like hitting rock bottom. But the thing about rock bottom is that the only way is up. When we fall in life it’s only an opportunity for us to rise.”

His next opportunity comes Monday in Eugene, and Bowden believes he’s in a healthy place, regardless of how it turns out.

“Anything worth doing is going to feel like a joyride,” he said.