Derrick Olsen pursues surprise dream at Olympic Trials

That’s because Olsen, a Helena High graduate and Montana State alum, always thought of himself as a football player. He was an all-state wide receiver for the Bengals and started his collegiate career on the gridiron at Rocky Mountain College.

But years after making the switch to track and field, and transferring to Montana State, Olsen will compete with best the United States has to offer in the 110-meter hurdles on Monday night in Eugene, Oregon. 

“I don’t think I ever would have imagined it,” Olsen said. “10 years ago I would have thought I was still playing football. Every little kid’s dream is to go to the league (NFL) but we switched it up and it ended up working out better.”

After Olsen qualified for the Olympic Trails with a time of 13.60 seconds, it’s hard to disagree. 

“It’s huge,” Olsen said. “This is the first time I have gotten to go in my second year as a professional. It’s the biggest meet that I’ve ever had.”

Olsen qualified for the Olympic trials after a personal-best time. Yet, getting to the Olympic trials and and being a professional runner is far from glamorous.

“Honestly, it’s really tough,” Olsen said. “A lot of it is funded by ourselves out of our pocket. We have coaching fees and running fees and travel fees that we have to fork out up front. A lot of us do pool together. We travel to the same meets and rent the same Air BNB. If you’re not signed by a shoe company or a different brand, it comes out of your own pocket.”

With the demands of practice every day, it’s not easy to have a regular job either.

“We practice from 9 (a.m.) to 12 pretty much every,” he said. “So that takes out of the day that you can go out and work. It’s a grind. A lot of my jobs I’m picking up are just part time so I’m trying to make it and survive on that.”

Olsen was a Class AA state champion for Helena High in the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles, setting school records in both events. He also set the Montana State school record in the 110 hurdles.

Making a career out of track and field will require getting invited to bigger meets, which is why the Olympic trials are so important, even if Olsen is a long shot to qualify for the Olympics in Paris this summer.

“A lot of the meets I have run in haven’t had prize money,” he said. “So you’re just running to try and secure a spot and improve. You want to work toward that next level of (Olympic Trials) or Diamond League or American Track League. It’s all about getting fast enough for people to start inviting you to these bigger meets where there is more compensation at the end.

“It’s not like your rookie (NFL) season and you get ($100,000) out of the gate. You have to fund it a lot yourself, especially if you’re not as fast as the top guys.”

Olsen has been working on that though, running with a professional team in Arizona 

“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be fast enough to run after college,” he said. “But now, every practice is like an Olympic trial. All of the guys are faster than me but I’m just trying to be a sponge and soak it all up.”

Eventually, the work started to pay off. Olsen qualified for the U.S. Indoor championships, and now he’ll compete in one of the biggest meets in the country with Olympic spots going to the top three finishers. 

“I didn’t see it coming this far,” he said. “If I didn’t end up coming down to Arizona, my career was on its way out.”

Instead of a track and field career ending for Olsen, it could be just the beginning, especially if he can perform well Monday night (6:05 p.m. Pacific). 

“The top three guys are so fast, so I’m not looking to do anything in particular,” he said. “It’s more just have fun, enjoy the experience and if we can wreak some havoc on the way, that’s the whole goal.”