Olympic Dreams Come True for Utah’s Small-Town Star
The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us right now in Paris, France! If you're anything like me, you LOVE the Olympic games! 22 years ago, the Winter Games were here in Utah and in under 10 years, the games will be returning to Salt Lake City! Well, this year 16 Utahns are in Paris competing on the world stage. One of these athletes has become a small-town hero!
WHITTNI ORTON MORGAN:
Representing the small-town of Panguitch, Utah, as well as Brigham Young University, Whittni Orton Morgan will be running the 5000M in Paris for team USA! Coming from Panguitch with under 2,000 people in this small-town, Whittni married Mason Morgan of Circleville, Utah. Circleville has under 500 people in their town! This is truly a small-town hero story!
WHEN DOES WHITTNI RACE?
Whittni will compete for the 5000M race on August 2nd.
UNLIKELY TURN OF EVENTS:
In a truly unlikely turn of events, Whittni finds herself competing at the Paris Olympics. When Whittni competed in the 5000M run at the Olympic trials, she came in 5th place. Now, only the top 3 qualify for the Olympic games, but then a miracle happened. Elle St. Pierre took first-place in the 5000M and third place in the 1500M. St. Pierre decided to drop out of the 5000M race in Paris and focus on the 1500M. Then, Parker Valby was next in line, and she decided to focus on the 10,0000M race, sending Whittni to Paris!
A TRUE SMALL-TOWN STAR!
At Panguitch High School, Whittni won 16 individual State Championships! SIXTEEN! All four years of high school, she won the 800M, 1600M, 3200M, and Cross Country. She also won three team State Championships in Basketball and two in Volleyball. Whittni was first-team All State all four years in Basketball, Volleyball three times. She was also voted the 1A Baksetball Defensive MVP in 2014, and 1A Basketball MVP in 2015! This girl has an incredible amount of awards, and we're all hoping an Olympic Medal will be next on August 2nd!
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