Quanera Hayes, who graduated from Gray’s Creek High School in Hope Mills, will compete with Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics after winning the women’s 400-meter run at the recent U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore.
Hayes, who will compete in the Olympics for the first time, will run in the 400-meter with two others from Team USA, Allyson Felix and Wadeline Jonathas July 23 to Aug. 8.
Hayes was born in South Carolina but moved to Fayetteville as a freshman at Gray’s Creek; she went on to compete at Livingstone College in Salisbury.
Hayes, who has earned gold medals for the United States in the 4×400 relay, also brought home medals from world championships and world relays in 2017. She also was the world indoor champion in 2016 and 2018.
Hayes will compete with her son Demetrius watching; she and Felix both gave birth to children in 2018.
"Coming back was very tough," Hayes said for CBS 17 in Raleigh. "I had to learn how to run all over again. I couldn't come out of blocks, my stride was different. I would do one run in practice and I would just stop because it would just hurt and I would get discouraged because I wasn't hitting my times."
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