On Tuesday, three days after finding out her Olympic dream was coming true, Whittni Morgan shared a message rooted in faith, showing her gratitude for the moment.
The runner from Panguitch, Utah, and a former BYU track and cross country star, began an Instagram post with a simple statement: "I AM AN OLYMPIAN. 🇺🇸 & God is a God of miracles."
Morgan then went on to share some of the challenges she faced in making it to the Olympic trials, as well as her belief in how God played a role in things working out.
Morgan was informed Saturday that she will compete for the United States in the 5,000-meter race in this summer's Paris Olympic Games.
Two weeks ago, she placed fifth in the 5,000-meter at the U.S. Olympic trials.
So, how did Morgan end up getting the Olympic spot?
Elle St. Pierre, who qualified for the Olympics in both the 1,500 and 5,000 at the trials, opted to focus on the 1,500 and won't race in the 5,000.
Then Parker Valby, the fourth-place finisher in the 5,000-meter at the trials, was tabbed to replace St. Pierre in the race. Valby, the second-place finisher in the 10,000, chose to focus on the 10,000 and dropped out of the 5,000.
That paved the way for Morgan to fill that final spot on the 5,000-meter team for Team USA, news that was delivered to her by her former coach at BYU, Diljeet Taylor.
Morgan, who's dealt with a variety of injuries in her career, suffered another injury — this one to her knee — last fall and underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in November.
That made her journey to an Olympic berth even more remarkable.
Her Instagram post described the struggles she faced in the lead-up to the Olympic trials, which included making the difficult decision to opt for surgery during an Olympic year and how Morgan believes that God played a central role in her qualification for the Olympics.
Here's what she said, in full, on the social media post:
"I AM AN OLYMPIAN. 🇺🇸 & God is a God of miracles.
"In the fall, I had the decision to try and push through with a very banged up knee, or have surgery. I was so torn because I knew this was an Olympic year, and that is the main goal and biggest focus in the running world. It was such a hard decision because I haven't ever made a team before, so I knew it would take me at my absolute best I've ever been to even have a chance at a team. But I believed I had a chance if I could train at 100% health without interruption. My knee was no where near 100%, and I knew I needed it to be to even have a shot against the incredible field of US women.
"That left us with the decision to do surgery. Obviously not ideal with the Olympics coming up, and would only give me 4 months at most on the ground running as well as rebuilding my knee & quad. But I've always been able to come back well from injury so we decided it was the best option for long term health and hopefully painless training.
"We questioned whether we would even try for the team and just take the season to heal and recover or to use the time we have to get as fit as possible with the hope to have a shot on the starting line at the Olympic Trials.
"With Coach T, she always pushes me to choose the harder right. I knew it would not be an easy road and we had no idea what it would look like, but when making the decision to get surgery, there was one thing that was obvious in my mind.
"If I make a team, it will not be because I am the fittest or fastest. If I make the Olympic team it will be because God propelled me forward.
"There were so many other details, comforts, and reassurances from God that I felt throughout the process, but in the end I do know that my desire to practice unwavering faith despite the outcome, and trusting God and his will is what has brought me these insane blessings 🙏🏽
"I didn't become an Olympian the traditional way, but God paved a way for me to be an Olympian today. I am humbled that God would give me this opportunity, & he sees that I can do something with this gift he has given me to represent him as well as team USA 🇺🇸
" #AdidasRunning #OLYMPIAN ."
