‘I deserve to be there with them’: Former Pac-12 champion with WSU, CJ Allen aims to make Olympic team in competitive field of 400-meter hurdles

Maybe it’s not Arnie-Jack-Gary territory, or Djokovic-Federer-Nadal. Hurdling – even in an Olympic year – just doesn’t generate that kind of heat.

But CJ Allen knows this much: He’s doing what he does at a time when it’s never been done so well.

“I’m in an event that’s at its historic high,” said the Washington State University graduate. “It’s the greatest time for the 400 hurdles in history, and I’m a part of that.”

More so, perhaps, than anyone could have imagined.

Now staying a part of it is the trick.

That task begins Thursday in Eugene with the running of the heats of the intermediate hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Allen, coming off a 2023 season when he made the American team to the world championships and ranked fifth in the world, has to be considered among the favorites to finish among the top three and earn a trip to Paris for the 2024 Games, but that distinction is being sliced pretty thin.

He enters the competition with the year’s No. 4 time among Americans, but three rounds of racing increase the all-or-nothing high wire viewers have already seen tip a defending Olympic gold medalist and two world champions off the U.S. team.

“Rounds always suck, and sometimes the semis are spicier than the finals because everybody’s trying to give themselves a shot,” he said. “It’s a mind game – knowing you have to race, but also trying to modulate your energy level.”

But the racing mind games and managing expectations have become second nature to Allen, now a pro’s pro of 29 who has made the climb to world class in track while launching another professional life.

Meet Craig Allen, doctor of chiropractic.

He finished up that degree and a masters in sports science at Life University in Atlanta last September – and is in the process of launching his practice with a partner – after two breakthrough years on the track.

“I’ve had to become a lot more intentional with my time,” he acknowledged.

In 2022, he broke into Track and Field News’ world rankings at No. 9, followed by a 2023 that included becoming just the 14th American in history to run under 47.60 seconds in the 400 hurdles and reach the world championship semis.

But maybe “breakthrough” isn’t the right term.

Allen is one of those rare track athletes whose progress has been decidedly linear: he’s lowered his best time every year since his freshman spring back in 2010 at North Mason High School in Belfair, Washington. That includes all four years at WSU, where he was twice Pac-12 champion, and every summer since – right down to his 47.58 clocking at the Bislett Games last June in Oslo.

“He’s defied even himself, I think, in what he’s been able to do,” said WSU coach Wayne Phipps, who still consults on Allen’s workouts and approach. “He was a solid high school hurdler, but not to where you looked at him and said, ‘This guy is a guaranteed Pac-12 champ.’ It’s the same thing when he went pro. You probably didn’t think ‘national team’ right off the bat, but he’s made himself better every year with his work and understanding.

“I think his story is amazing.”

Allen himself prefers “inevitable.”

“It’s everything I’ve worked for,” he said. “It’s not one of those huge, shocking things. I think it’s something that was inevitable as long as I stuck with it.”

But that’s the hang-up – how to stick with it. Allen didn’t break 50 seconds until April of his senior year at WSU. He made one national championship final in five tries until 2022. He finally connected with a shoe sponsor – Asics – last year and became a regular on the Diamond League circuit. If he’s not the fastest around the track, he may lead the world in want-to.

“For me, it’s never been about the money and travel,” Allen said. “I do it because I love it and it challenges me. I’ve had this conversation with other athletes all the time. The hardest part is consistency. If you can survive paying out of pocket and not making any financial dividends – and that can be tough and daunting – and stay consistent, that’s the key. For me, to be committed to that cause without monetary reward affirms I’ve done it for the right reasons.”

And it can still be humbling.

The event at the moment is ruled by the three fastest men in history: Norway’s Karsten Warholm, the only hurdler to break 46 seconds and the defending Olympic champion, plus Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and Allen’s old Pac-12 rival, Rai Benjamin. They have the 14 fastest times in history, and only two others have ever dipped under 47 seconds.

In chasing them, Allen insisted, he’s “been elevated by them.

“I’m not doing it by myself. Being a part of something like that is incredibly motivating. You saw it when Usain Bolt was running – guys were pushed because there was no other choice. I’m elevated by them. I’d like to say I’m doing it all myself, but I’m being pushed by peers and the people I compete against.

“I deserve to be there with them. But I still have to earn every bit of it.”