EUGENE, Ore. — A former Jones County track and field athlete has taken another step towards his dream of making the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Shareez Hamm, a Division II national champion in the 400 meter hurdles, qualified for the semi-finals of the Olympic qualifiers in track and field.
The former Academy of Art sprinter finished 22nd out of 32 competitors with a time of 50.92 seconds.
He’s been running track and field since he was 9 years old in Gray, Georgia. He joined a youth track and field team. While he was a primarily distance runner, when he arrived at Jones County, his hurdling coach convinced him that he should go for hurdles.
“I would say around those years, the high school years, is when I was like, ‘Yeah this is what I really, really like,'” Hamm said. “‘I can see myself going to college for it.”
While Thomas eventually left for IMG Academy in Florida his senior year, Hamm continued training and working at the 300 meter hurdles — the 400 meter hurdles competition is not available at the high school level — and growing from what his coach taught him.
Hamm’s journey hit a few road bumps from there. He initially walked-on to the Highland football team, but was cut a year later. He then walked-on to the track team, and despite not running track for a year, broke Highland’s 400 meter record.
Hamm couldn't get to the track right away, though. He had one battle to get through first. Hamm had an abscess on his neck, which burst and got into his bloodstream. He was in a hospital for a few months and was even transported to Topeka, Kansas for treatment.
“Before I could even start running at Highland, I was in the hospital fighting for my life,” Hamm said. "I didn’t even know that it was as bad as it was until I was out of the hospital. So, just to be able to look and see how God has brought me so far from that moment to now, it’s just so surreal.”
After a season of breaking records with Highland, he transferred to Academy of Art in San Francisco for the remainder of his collegiate career. While he was impressed by the track program, he was also excited by the school's photography program — which became his major.
Now, all these years later, Hamm needs to place in the top nine to reach the finals, which will be run on Sunday. While the gap between him and the Division I athletes, Hamm plans on treating the Olympic qualifiers like any other race.
He competed on Friday at 6:21 Pacific Standard Time, which is 9:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. While he has a few more races to go before he has a chance to be Olympic bound, the opportunity would mean the world for the Central Georgia native.
“That’s something I dreamed of, so to have it happen, I know that it was meant to be,” Hamm said. “I just see myself with the U.S. on my chest, running with my flag with an Olympic medal. It’s something that I dreamed of as a kid and I think if it were to happen, if it’s in God’s will for it to happen, then that’s something I’ll forever be grateful for.”