Senior Heroes Ebun Opata, Saint Andrews

Name: Ebunoluwa Opata

School: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School

Q: What does your training look like right now given the current situation?

A: To be honest there is not much that I have been doing to workout except going on runs. It's a little bit hard finding enough motivation to move about, but I am working on it.

Q: What are you doing to stay busy other than run right now?

A: Practice the piano and guitar more and read my Bible a lot more.

Q: What was your most memorable race/moment?

A: During the State Championships in May 2019 I had to run my 100m hurdle race while I was in the middle of doing triple jump. I ended up making it to line up just before the races started. Even though I was already out of breath at the starting line, I still managed to get a PR and place first in the race.

Q: What was the funniest thing that happened during your running career?

A:  One of my friends was signed up in the 100m hurdle race and she had never run the race before. So, after she jumped over the final hurdle she stopped racing because she thought that was where the race ended. I had to yell to her from outside of the track to continue running and I think she may have still gotten first in her heat.

Q: Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?

A: Over the past four years, my competition has varied but last year my competition was Tyra Weathersby.

Q: What was your greatest accomplishment?

A: My greatest accomplishment is committing to a college for track and field because I never thought that I was capable of doing that.

Q: If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?

A: There is not much that I would change other than probably working out more in my off-season and pushing myself to work harder in training.

Q: What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

A: Self-doubt was an obstacle that I had to overcome. I would constantly  get discouraged and doubt myself about the fact that I hadn't gotten a new PR in triple jump for a while, even though I was able to in my other events.

Q: What will you miss the most?

A: I will miss my team and team dinners and my coaches a lot. In particular, I will miss staying until the end of track meets to cheer on the 4x400 races because they were always my favorite ones to watch.

Q: What advice would you give to younger athletes?

A: I guess I would advise younger athletes to just live in the moment and enjoy participating in high school track. Even when you're in the middle of a hard workout and are contemplating quitting, later on when it's all about to be over you may be wishing you could do it all over again.

Q: What kind of an impact has your coach had on you and your team?

A: My first Varsity Track Coach, Coach Chadwick, has helped me build up my confidence and my passion for track.

Q: What are your college plans?

A: I am going to be doing track and field at Washington University in St. Louis next year.

Q: Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?

A: I would like to thank my teammates for always making track season fun and exciting and for being so supportive. I would like to thank all of the Coaches that have coached me in high school and middle school for pushing me. I am also grateful for my family and friends for always being so motivating and encouraging. I want to thank God for giving me the ability to participate in Track and FIeld and for giving me the opportunity to continue it in college.

Q: Favorite Meal?

A: BBQ Ribs and fries.

High School