Paris 2024 Olympic Update #7: Eduardo Garcia

This is the 7th update from Eduardo Garcia regarding his participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

​Thursday 8/8
My alarm clock rang at 7:30am, I obeyed the signal and moved without hesitation. I opened my blinds and the sun illuminated my room. Not a harsh light, but kind as if it seemed to encourage me to make today a good one. My wife, baby, my parents, and in laws were coming to see me. I had a sense of purpose despite the recent news of my hamstring. My preparation would remain the same, but adjusted to ensure I would make it to the line. This was my dream and I was going to see it through. As planned Slyvia greeted me at 8:30 with good energy. She has taken care of me as if I were her son. Being from Spain, I believe that she took special interest in her augmented efforts to make me feel better. Although I’m not fluent in Spanish and could understand the language if spoken slowly, she was not judgmental. I felt comfortable practicing my bad Spanish with her. After a brief activation consisting of massage and a few isometric exercises, she led me to the Alter G  for my run. Mike gave me 45 minutes today and I did the run using 75 percent of my body weight. I was running a comfortable 7 minute mile pace. That didn’t seem to bother the hamstring, so that was positive. We finished with Tecar therapy and Game Ready compression boots. Silvia remained positive and I stayed in a good headspace. My phone illuminated with a notification from “my wifey.” It was my family and she was alerting me that they were on their way. I was over the moon. I couldn’t wait to play host and show them the village. It meant so much to me to have the chance to share this with them. I knew it was going to give me joy. My father in law was sending me updates on their arrival. They were being redirected as to where to go. Eventually after a long journey, they arrived and we locked eye contact!! We embraced and went about our day. The first priority was to make sure that wife and baby were good. I gave Sydney and everyone else water and we made a b-line to the restroom! I’m so proud of her and her determination. I believe she had already walked 10,000 steps. Thank you Fleet Feet NOBO (no boundaries) run/walk group for preparing Sydney! My family was curious about the “Olympic” chocolate muffin that has recently gone viral on social media platforms. I took them to a food stand and we ate lunch and the muffin was a hit! For the rest of the day we rode the public transport around the village. We visited all the amenities the village has to offer. Today gave me lots of moments of pause and appreciation for everything.

Friday 8/9
As I laid in bed Thursday night, my head was thumping, my body was producing uncontrollable amounts of sweat, my nose was feeling stuffy. My thoughts were that I was experiencing a minor cold that would pass when I woke up. I didn’t give this too much thought and silenced my calming alarm at 7:30am. When I wake up in the mornings, my preference is to have a soothing metronome. Thankfully I don’t require the nuclear alarm siren to start my day. Sylvia was anticipating my arrival at 8:30am. We exchanged small banter and were both comfortable with silence as we stayed focused on putting the final touches before tomorrow. Mike gave me 25 minutes easy run for my workout. We set the Alter G at 90 percent of my body weight to test the hamstring. It responded well and I left feeling confident for the race. The biggest highlight of today was seeing my cousins on my mother’s side that made the journey to see me. Joshua, Tyrone, and Felicia thank you for your love, comfort, time, and encouragement. We passed the time reminiscing, talking everything track and field, and catching up on life. My heart felt full having seen all of my family that could make it. Once our precious time came to an end, I returned to my room. I was still feeling a little under the weather and wanted to receive a Covid Test to make sure I was ok. Another obstacle was hurdled at me as my rapid test came back positive. I was feeling mortified. I not only exposed my family yesterday, but also my cousins today. Regret and shame filled my body and this was more that I had to process before tomorrow. Despite having Covid, there would be no preclusion to competing, so long as I felt able to perform. I broke the news to my wife, who informed the rest of my family. Everyone was extremely supportive and did not want me to feel bad although I felt horrible. I spoke to Mike, his sentiment was not to feel compelled to compete, to be careful, and he would support me with whatever I decided. He was looking out for my best interest at heart. My decision remained steadfast. My shoes would share the line with the best of the best tomorrow at 8am Central European time zone. ​​

Saturday 8/10
I was going to seize every moment of today. I was going to earn becoming an Olympian. My soothing alarm rang at 4:30am. Keith and I departed for breakfast before boarding our bus to the marathon course. Once the bus was at full capacity with the World’s best marathoners, we traversed to our destiny. It was there where we would etch our names in the history books. I sat near Rory Linkletter and Cam Levins both representing Canada. The mood was relaxed. They were talking with American Record Holder in the Men’s Marathon, Ryan Hall nearby. He is acting as a coach for his athlete from the country Jordan, who qualified from the Universality-rule, like myself. The bus dropped us off after a 30 minute or so bus ride to our waiting area. We descended down the stairs and our feet created crunching sounds from the loose stones beneath us. My world came into view with a series of white tents lined up to both my right and left side. Each country was assigned a tent with some tents being shared by more than one country. An official with a megaphone was greeting us with an uplifting energy. He congratulated us and reminded us to be ready to check into the call room at 7:20 for first call. Keith and I discovered our tent being shared with Guatemala’s Alberto Gonzales Mindez. My body and mind were in sync. Prepared to carry out the task at hand. For this moment I don’t remember having any pain or sickness. The men’s field were afforded a closed off portion of the road that was roughly 200 meters where our warm up jogs were to be completed. My legs trotted along for 15 minutes and then I reported to the call room area for check in. At this point I was feeling extremely excited! My heart desired for time to move slow, so I could soak in every minuscule detail possible. Sitting in the call room, I knew I belonged here. No negative thoughts or doubts crossed my mind about this. This was a moment of pride that I humbly accepted. The volunteers checked us in one by one with our bibs and led us to our seats. Once there, we all had personal bins where we would place our warmups to retrieve for after the race. About 10 minutes to go, we were led to our next checkpoint in a large circular courtyard type area surrounded by a gorgeous structure. All the runners performed their last minute drills and rituals. I saw Clayton Young from Team USA and he gave me a high five and exclaimed, “let’s do this!” His energy resonated with me and I shared his fiery confidence. It was infectious. Then the magic happened. We were escorted as a group through a tunnel with volunteers leading the brigade of warriors ready to go to war for the pride and glory of their Nations. We all knew this was bigger than us and we were vessels embodying the Olympic movement and what it’s all about. We were prepared to endure the physical, mental, and emotional demands of arguably one of the hardest events in track and field on what is considered one of the most challenging marathon courses in Modern Olympic history. We all shared this camaraderie together and understood each other and the different paths to getting here. 5 minutes out to the start a legend emerged in our midst. The “Emperor” Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia, who is considered one of the greatest distance runners of all time came out to strike the Earth with a branch like gavel. I was beyond myself and quickly reset my focus for the race at hand. The favorites including Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge were introduced prior to starting. I knew that something special was going to take place today with those two in the race. “Bang!” The gun went off and the pack galloped through the streets of Paris. I settled into the back of the pack and stayed connected. I was confident that I could hang through 5k with the best in the world despite injury and sickness. We were tightly packed. Running 5:00 minute per mile pace, which is well ahead of my pace required for a new National Record (sub 5:14). Despite this pace being honest, I knew that this field was capable of much more and more than half of the field have run faster than our current clip of 2:11:00 pace. This was just the warm up. That was the caliber of the competition and here I was sharing strides and bumping shoulders with them. I ran fearless. I was a warrior. These miles were magical. The streets were lined with hundreds of people for miles. It was a spectacle to witness. All the pain escaped my body for this part. I enjoyed every moment. Reality soon set in just before the end of the 5k as I could feel my stride becoming choppy due to my hamstring not being at 100 percent. I would compare it to being an airplane with one of the engines blown and the other working. The plane could theoretically still fly, but not at full capacity. It was dangerous and could not be sustained for a long period of time, like the airplane with the blown engine. I approached the 5k mark, I knew it was time to step off. This was tougher than I thought. So badly I wanted to press forward, but I gracefully retired from the competition. I put on my best smile that I could muster. I was feeling proud, disappointed, and happy at the same time. Definitely an interesting mix of emotions, but I embraced them. It was raw and authentic. My head and body stood tall. I waved at the applauding crowd. They encouraged me to keep going not knowing what I knew. The medical van picked me up and my race came to an end. My remaining time was spent riding the rest of the course in the van. Though I was not racing, I could still see the entire course. To my surprise 9 other men dropped out including Eluid Kipchoge, who would share a seat behind me in the van. Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola who was originally an alternate got his chance and shown on the global stage claiming the win and setting a new Olympic record in a time of 2:06:26! His performance defied the odds and was inspiring to many including myself. Overall the race did not disappoint and produced many fast times including a strong showing from Team USA. Connor Mantz finished 8th in 2:08:12 and Clayton Young was 9th in 2:08:44. My good friend Tebello of Lesotho finished 7th in a new National Record for his country in 2:07:58. Truly proud of him and his coach James McKirdy for this achievement. We made it to the finish line and were dropped off. I was able to communicate with loved ones during this time who provided me with support and comfort. I became an Olympian today. I left it all out there. It was time to start the process of making a full recovery both mentally and physically. 

Sunday 8/11
Closing ceremony day is upon us! To my surprise our Country’s chef de misión elected me to be our Nation’s flag bearer! I accepted and felt honored. Prior to the ceremony the day was spent packing and relaxing at the coffee shop in the village. I got a custom drink with the Virgin Islands flag printed on the foam. Kruz and I kept each other company until it was time to prepare for the closing ceremony. Our chef de misión Desiree issued my pass the tonight’s event. She also awarded me my Olympic participation pin for all athletes who competed at these Games. This was a nice momento to commemorate this experienced. My mind was in a state of positive reflection as I read the letter from the IOC president congratulating all of the Olympians that participated in Paris. Feeling excited to close this chapter with a bang, I met the rest of the delegation at the agreed upon time of 6:55pm. The ceremony was to start at 9pm and end at midnight. The mood was light and everyone were in good spirits. We were led by our volunteer to the transport mall, where we would be transferred to the Olympic Track and Field Stadium. Once there, all Nations conjugated around the practice track to wait further instruction. The volunteers began corralling all of the flag bearers including myself to our assigned area. Our volunteer yelled, “now the fun begins!” He chose a brisk tempo leading the flag bearers into a series of hallways with volunteers yelling at the top of their lungs. My heart beat was rising instinctively, preparing me for what was to come. As we continued, flags began to appear in the hallways with volunteers on stand by adjacent to them. I saw my flag and took my place in line. The volunteer went over the ceremony process and explained what I should expect. My world came into view with a packed stadium of over 80,000 spectators cheering. I held my Nation’s flag proudly amongst other flag bearers. The atmosphere was electric. My skin had goosebumps. I could feel the Earth rumble beneath my feet and the music echoing throughout my body. Paris certainly did not disappoint and I believe they wanted to make a final statement to the World. We witnessed what I interpreted to be an artistic representation of the first modern Olympics held in Athens, Greece in 1898. The audience watched in curiosity and we witnessed a masterpiece. There were musical performances and a teaser for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Tom Cruise landed on stage and retrieved the Olympic flag. He rode off with it on his motorcycle off stage. On the big screen, a short movie came up of him riding to LA with the flag. I can’t help but get excited for those Games.

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Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is in its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris, four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru, three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase and three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE also produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year. 

​The program is sponsored and supported by the 52-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, UCAN energy products, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.​