"For now I'll need some time off"- Former NCAA 400m hurdles champ Britton Wilson to miss US Olympic Track and Field Trials due to a lingering injury

Britton Wilson, the 23-year-old who finished second behind the 400m hurdles world record holder, Sydney McLaughlin, at the 2022 USATF Championships, will not compete at the US Olympic Trials due to a persistent injury.

Britton Wilson, 23, cemented her name in collegiate history by winning the 400m hurdles at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoors, representing Arkansas Razorbacks. She also won the 400m and 400m hurdles at the SEC Championships that year. Soon after, at the 2022 USATF Championships, Wilson finished second to McLaughlin by clocking 53.08s, her personal best time.

At the following 2022 World Championships, she finished fifth in the 400m hurdles. The 2023 NCCA Division I Indoors saw her set the American record by running the 400m in 48.48s.

The 23-year-old became the best-ever one-day double achiever at the collegiate level after she won the 400m and 400m hurdles at the 2023 SEC Championships. She then moved on to rule out NCAA eligibility and turn to elite track by signing with Adidas.

On her run for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Britton Wilson aimed to compete at the 400m and 400m hurdles (via Olympics.com). However, her dreams look far-fetched since a lingering injury ruled her out of the US Olympic Trials.

HSI International posted the official announcement of Wilson, which read:

"My long-term goals are big, and I know I will reach them once I am truly healed. I can't wait to be back on the track but for now I'll need some time off."

She conceded her statement by hinting at her Olympic return later in the years and not in Paris.

"I can't wait to be back on track but for now I'll need some time off. I know I'm protected by God and many many angels. This is not my Olympics, but my Olympics is coming. Love and light to all of my supporters."

"I was in pain" - Britton Wilson after her 2023 World Championships injury-marred stint

At the 2023 World Championships, the 23-year-old was taken off the track in a wheelchair after sustaining an injury in the first round of 400m hurdles. Having faced several injuries and mental setbacks, she couldn't motivate herself the same way she uplifted others in their difficult times.

Instead, she blamed herself and failed to recognize the hard work she put in.

"I often see other athletes getting injured and feel so sad for them and pray for them and wish them the best,” she continued, “but when it was myself, all I did was blame myself and be angry and undermine how much pain I was in. “I was in pain. I never gave myself grace or applauded myself for how hard I was still working even when things got hard."

Britton Wilson was initially a University of Tennessee student but shifted to the University of Arkansas in the wake of mental health issues.