From an all-time World U20 mark in the 4×800 relay at The Virginia Showcase to both making the podium for the U.S. in Colombia, the top two prep female 800 athletes in history have continued to elevate each other on and off the track
By Mary Albl of DyeStat
The first instinct for Juliette Whittaker was to walk over and give Roisin Willis a hug.
It was mere seconds after Whittaker, 18, crossed the finish line in third place Aug. 3 at the World Athletics U20 Championships in the women’s 800-meter final in Cali, Colombia.
Whittaker, the top seed entering the championship race, walked straight to one of her best friends. Willis had just won the race in a meet-record 1 minute, 59.14 seconds, also celebrating her 18th birthday by eclipsing the 2-minute barrier for the first time in her career.
“That was so cool to see that,” Whittaker said of Willis’ performance. “Honestly, it helped me because I was so disappointed after my race and to focus on her joys and her achievements because she’s been so close, she’s been inching closer and closer (to a sub-2 performance) and to finally get that on her last high school race is so amazing.”
It seems fitting that Whittaker and Willis’ prolific high school careers came to an end on the track together at Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium, embracing one another as teammates.
That moment was just a snapshot of the friendship the pair have formed during the past 19 months, as they’ve ascended to the top two all-time prep 800 runners in American history, and now prepare for their next chapter together this fall at Stanford University.
“It’s pretty incredible to see how far we’ve both come to be the fastest high schoolers in American history and to be in the same class,” Willis said. “I think it’s very special to do it alongside someone who is so hard-working and humble, and it’s just amazing.”
Their friendship and development are even more remarkable considering Whittaker, representing Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, Md., and Willis – from Stevens Point High in Wisconsin – only met one another for the first time in January 2021 at The Virginia Showcase.
That weekend, they raced each other in the 800 Invitational, where Whittaker ran a meet-record 2:02.07 to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Willis took third in 2:04.31.
The following day, they teamed up with Bailey Goggans of Marble Falls, Texas, and Sophia Gorriaran of Moses Brown High in Rhode Island, as “800 United”…
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