UNIVERSITY of Kentucky sprinter Abby Steiner is back on the track after suffering an injury and sitting out for the 2021 outdoor season.
Steiner, 22, is one of the top track and field sprinters in the United States and is seen as a potential future Olympic medallist.
Steiner's times in 2022 have turned the heads of track and field fans everywhere, after setting an NCAA indoor 200-metre record of 22.37sec at the NCAA D1 Championships in Birmingham, AL.
And she has impressed during the outdoor season, with an early personal record of 10.92sec in the 100m.
Who is Abby Steiner?
Abby Steiner is a collegiate track and field sprinter at the University of Kentucky and previously attended Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio.
From the beginning, she was a natural at the sport, according to Kathryn Slaven, Steiner's previous track coach.
"Abby came out for track during her 8th-grade year, and we knew immediately that she was a unique talent. I’ll never forget the first time I watched her run a 100 at practice, faster than almost all of the boys," Slaven told The Perspective.
Steiner's first year in college was spent playing for the school's soccer team, running track and field, and focusing on her studies.
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She spent the majority of her time, about 40 hours every week, focusing on becoming a better athlete, and Slaven said she was always striving to achieve more.
“Besides being the fastest runner I will likely ever coach in my lifetime, Abby stood out from other athletes in terms of her focus and drive to be the best,” Slaven said.
“She watched countless films to see the tiniest little things that she could improve and practiced until it was perfect. She didn’t just rely on her natural talent, she was always looking for ways to get better.”
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Where is Abby Steiner from?
While in high school, Steiner became a 16-time state champion and broke the record for both indoor and outdoor 60-meter, 200-meter, and 100-meter runs.
The 22-year-old is now studying human health sciences as a pre-physical therapy major in college while breaking all-time records in collegiate sprinting competitions.
She broke her personal best record at Florida relays for the 2021-2022 outdoor season, becoming the fourth-fastest in the University of Kentucky Track and Field history.
Following her overwhelming achievement, Steiner became the fifth-fastest woman to run the 100-meter dash in collegiate history on April 9, 2022.
The new record placed her time at 10.92 seconds, following which she ran the fastest 200-meter in collegiate history at the Joe May Invitational at Louisiana State University.
When did Abby Steiner injure herself?
Steiner was on track to join the Olympic trials after she claimed the NCAA title in March 2021, but an injury shortly after the race left her unable to compete for the 2021 outdoor season.
But when she suffered from Achilles tendinitis, she was reduced to committing to physical therapy to get back on the field.
“It was pretty tough,” she told Track and Field News. “We had been trying to get healthy for a while, but unfortunately just ended up having to shut it down and take the summer to get some needed rest and rehab. So it was pretty difficult, but you just have to keep in mind that being sad doesn’t really change anything.
“I allowed myself a couple of days to be sad about it, but in my experience with injuries, that’s all the time you get and then you just have to keep pushing forward and addressing what needs to be done and setting new goals for yourself.”
She and her physical therapist slowly rebuilt the strength in her left Achilles and gauged her progress day by day.
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Although she has returned to the track, Steiner said she continues to monitor her Achilles and make sure she doesn't overdo it.
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“We’re focusing on all that I need to do to manage this injury and make it to outdoor season and see where it goes from there," Steiner said.
"The motto is just focus on the details, take it one week at a time.”
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