When Octavious Freeman began running track at age 11, her coaches at the Greater Winter Haven (Fla.) Track Club put her in the 400- and 800-meter races.
"I figured it was probably too long, but I ran it," she told MaxPreps. "I always wanted to run events (the sprints) that everyone comes out to see."
Meanwhile – even though she never finished worse than third - she continually petitioned her father, Stanley Smith, an assistant coach at
Lake Wales (Fla.), to let her switch to the shorter races.
"She was a long strider (early in her career). One of the coaches told her she'd never be a runner," Smith recalled. "She asked if she could run the 100 and 200. I said 'when you beat me.'"
Octavious Freeman.
Photo courtesy of Ericka Smith
As a seventh grader she finally out-ran her father in a 100-meter race. He was 42 years old at the time. Her wish was granted and her climb has been stratospheric, to say the least.
"Since she's been running the 100, she might have been beaten three or four times," Smith said proudly.
Now a senior at Lake Wales, the 5-foot-6 Freeman appears ready for a banner spring and summer. Track & Field News girls editor Mike Kennedy calls Freeman the "preseason favorite for Women's Athlete of the Year. She needs to get on the big stage. The USATF Juniors would be a good place to start."
Freeman will be chasing the national record in the 100, which is 11.11 seconds by Angela Williams of Chino, Calif., in 1998. She actually did run that time as a junior, but it was wind-aided. Her best non-wind clocking is 11.16, which is No. 5 all-time.
She turned in the 11.16 while defeating seven professionals during the National Training Center Sprint Stars meet in Clermont, Fla.
"She thought she was going to be last," Smith said of her first crack at much older, seasoned runners. "That took her over the top. If she gets out of the blocks, she can beat anybody in the world."
She has run the 200 in a best of 23.19. The national record is 22.11.
Even the 200 record is not completely out of her reach because she always is cautious getting out of the blocks and once she gets the lead she somewhat coasts to victory.
"I need to run the 200 full speed," she conceded. "I've never been pushed after coming off the curve."
Her father added, "I usually slow her down after she gets out front early, because I don't want her to get hurt."
Freeman began establishing her greatness as a freshman when she won the 100 and the 200 during Florida's Class 2A state finals. She also displayed great versatility by placing eighth in the long jump.
"I thought she was going to win the state, but not until her junior year," Smith said. "I was real surprised. I was really proud, basically in tears."
Continue reading
