14 Questions with South Carolina’s Johnny Dutch

PRJ: How did you get started running?
JD: I started running when I was 10 years old. My sister ran on a summer track team at St. Augustine college in Raleigh called the Carolina Eagles. I used to watch her run every evening while I sat in the sand pit and made ant hills and holes.

Her coach would ask me “when you gonna run boi” and I’d be like “never.” Eventually, a few years later I watched her at hurdle practice. I saw what she was doing, so I grabbed a few hurdles and lined them up on the grass and started hurdling.

PRJ: Where did your love of running coming from?
Being around it majority of my life is what really developed my initial love for the sport. At first I hated it because I saw what it did to people at practices, but when I first set up those hurdles on the grass, I saw it was something I’d enjoy doing.

PRJ: Congratulations on winning your first NCAA title and South Carolina’s first 400-meter hurdle title in 48.75. The time was blazing. Did you feel confident after the first two hurdles that you could take home the gold?
JD: I said in a previous interview with our media relations guy, Miquel [Jacobs],that with the right time, circumstances and conditions anything is possible.

Unfortunately, on the backstretch it was extremely windy which caused me to exert more energy going over the first few hurdles than anticipated, but sometimes you have to stay focused and adjust to that circumstance or that condition. So that’s what I did. I wasn’t confident until the last part of the race when I knew I hadn’t yet won an NCAA title. That’s when I went into overdrive.

PRJ: In years past, you have been so close in the runner up position. How does it sound to say NCAA Champion after your name?
JD: It still feels surreal to me. I’ve always admired people who have been NCAA champions in the past because every year it’s just as competitive as the year before and I knew it took patience and hard work to have an NCAA title. I still can’t believe it.

PRJ: Did the win over Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson the two-time NCAA Champion add fuel add to the already budding rivalry?
JD: That’s exactly what it is, a “budding rivalry.” Again, that’s my homie, so I have always been supportive and excited about his NCAA wins in the past. I think it was more than just Jeshua’s NCAA titles that fired me up. It was probably more so of people doubting me and not believing I was capable of winning a title. I’ve even overheard people talk about me not being able to win. I’ve been truly the underdog for three years since I’ve been in college. But I kind of liked that because I knew what I was capable of achieving. It just took time and patience.

PRJ: What has your training consisted of after NCAA Outdoors and USA Outdoor Nationals?
JD: A lot of rest days. I back off more now so I can give my body time to recuperate. But I still have those hard practices a few days out of the week to keep my fitness level up.

PRJ: Speaking of U.S. Championships, you don’t mind going up against the top hurdles even to make a US team, do you?
JD: That’s exactly what I like. I feed off of the other runners presence and the intensity in the atmosphere.

PRJ: You said winning NCAAs that you didn’t run as fast as you wanted to run. How fast do you feel you are capable of running right now?
JD: Well, I just stepped on the scale a few days ago and I weigh the same, if not less, than I did in high school. Therefore, I feel like I can run anything I put my mind too, being I’m small enough to throw myself around the track.

PRJ: After competing the NCAA seasons how fresh do you feel to tackle Europe this summer?
JD: Being that I just finished a long college season, it’s going to be all about heart running over on the European circuit. My heart is what I run with 95% of the race, so regardless if someone thinks I’m too fatigued or still fresh, I know my heart says something else.

PRJ: You have the keen ability to run the 110s and 400 hurdles extremely well. Which race do you see being your bread and butter at the level?
JD: Growing up, coach Aaron McDougal, the man that engineered the beginning phases of my career, told me that the short hurdles were my bread and butter. I was always good in them growing up. When I got to college it took a minute to, again, adjust to another height. So once I fully adjust to the 110s again, no telling which one will be better. As of right now, the 400 hurdles are definitely it.

PRJ: What would you say is the most memorable moment in your career to date?
JD: Making the world championship team in 2009. I don’t think anything beats the opportunity of being able to represent your country and wear the U-S-A across your chest.

PRJ: In contrast, what has been the lowest moment in your career?
JD: I’ve had many. One that sticks out is sitting in the hotel my freshman year while the finals of the 400 meter hurdles went off at the 2008 NCAA championships in Des Moines, Iowa. I was so bitter about the situation, I couldn’t even go out to watch the race. But thank God for getting me through those times when I felt low.

PRJ: You have run on track and fields all over the world, which would you say is your favorite?
JD: It has to be between North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro and the Eugene, Oregon facilities. The reason why I say A&T is because all of my family and friends come out and support me. I feed off their energy and always put something fast down on that track. And I love the blue surface. It’s where I ran Nike high school nationals and all of my states meets.

Eugene is a place where track and field is appreciated and people respect what you do. The weather isn’t always great, but on your way walking to the track you see huge posters and billboards of Ashton Eaton or Andrew Wheating, athletes who run track and work hard. That’s something you don’t see anywhere else in America.

PRJ: Do you get prerace jitters?
JD: Yessir. Most definitely. I get them even before I arrive at the track facility the day of the meet. I’ll be laying in my bed running the race back and forth through my head until it feels right.

Who is the next Usain Bolt?

In 2004 there was concern. Handwringing. Consternation.

The worldwide screaming of BOLT! BOLT! BOLT! drowned out all of that. And thoughts of the greatness? Who cares about all that with the green and gold around?

The calendar flips one year and then ten years fly by and it’s 2012.

So who is the next Usain Bolt? It would make a great round table discussion at a nice restaurant. This is the stuff of internet chat board conversations that last for days.  But in actuality no one really knows.

That’s because there will never be another Usain Bolt.  How long did we wait for the next Jesse Owens? Usain Bolt’s feats do not to alter the accomplishments of the aforementioned except to distinguish the two as well before their time.  People weren’t ready for them.

Remember “the next” great was Carl Lewis whose nine Olympic gold medals and longevity make him royalty. Michael Johnson has left him stamp on track and field. And along the way there have been a number of phenoms who have had brushes with greatness.

The real question is who is the next phenom this time around.

If another athlete of Bolt’s caliber is coming up there is a distinct likely that he/she will not be an American, however there is a high likelihood that they will train the U.S. under some of the best coaches and facilities in the world.

There will be Tyson Gay who will more than likely accomplish enough to finish a legend.  There are shooting wonders like Johnny Dutch, Jeshua Anderson and the likes of Queen Harrison who are having outstanding careers.

There have been a share that have burned out before reaching their zenith and the of course the hazardous hamstring, knee and ankle injuries that make going through the motions of a full career nearly impossible.

Usain Bolt will probably be around in 2012 and and will probably take victory laps up to 2014. He is reportedly earning $250,000 a race and will have more than enough stacks to retire. 

It’s to be seen if Bolt has the business drive of Michael Johnson to become a CEO. Or the entertainment drive of Carl Lewis to take on Hollywood shine. And that is good because Bolt will be around to be the sport’s spokesperson. Which is when we may again be asking where is the next Usain Bolt.

Nearly a decade later - we may still may not have answer to the question.