Press-Citizen's People to Watch: Hawkeye decathlete and Iowa City native Austin West strives for Olympic glory
Editor’s Note: This is the first profile in the Press-Citizen’s People to Watch for 2024. Find them all at press-citizen.com.
Moments before the starting gun blows, Austin West can feel his heart pumping out of his chest.
It’s the 2023 USATF Championships, and he’s gearing up for the 1500-meter race, the decathlon's final event.
Stepping onto the track before the race started brought West a sense of nervousness.
Not fear, but excitement.
“I’ve always loved competition and I think it brings out the best of me,” West said. “When I get on the line, no one can do anything to help me, and no one can do anything to stop me from what I’m going to do.”
It all clicked for West, a two-time All-American decathlete at the University of Iowa, who earned third place at the USATF Championships in July. He finished with a 4:20.98 PR in the 1500 and set a school record of 8,331 points for the event.
His third-place finish inched him a step closer to his dream: competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I think it’s the pinnacle of track and field,” West said. “It’s something that everyone dreams of and having a chance to do that (in 2024) is something I don’t take lightly.”
That's why West is an Iowa City Press-Citizen Person to Watch, with a unique chance at competing on the world's biggest stage.
A lifelong athlete
Before breaking records at Iowa, West was fine-tuning his passion for sports, dabbling in a variety of activities.
"He played baseball from the time he was probably nine and he did tiny-tot soccer from three to five years old," said Michele West, Austin's mom. "He just liked anything that kept him moving."
Austin West shined as an athlete at Iowa City West High School, where he initially used track to build speed on the football field. But as he excelled on the oval as a sophomore, the fire stuck.
He started as a sprinter, running 200 and 400-meter races. Then, he learned how to hurdle his junior year and was long jumping by his senior year. That's when he really blossomed by capturing two state titles − winning the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles in his final year as a Trojan.
That success led him to a collegiate career in his hometown. West took four official college visits, but it his decision a no-brainer.
“Iowa was home, so it was going to be tough to beat them out," West said. "It was like a made-it moment which was a full-circle thing from growing up here to then being able to sign here."
After graduating high school in 2018, West began his Hawkeye career competing in the decathlon, a competition that ues 10 different events to determine a champion. It includes the 100-meter run, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter run, 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500-meter run.
The two-day combined event demands a combination of speed, power and endurance.
West has fully embraced the challenge, becoming a two-time first-team All-American. He is also a two-time second-team All-American in the heptathlon and has earned a Big Ten title in the 400-meter hurdles.
West can qualify for the Olympics in two ways: meeting performance standards during the qualification and ranking periods which end on June 30, 2024.
The entry standard for the men's decathlon is 8,460 points with only 24 spots available.
As of Dec. 13, West was the fourth-ranked decathlete in the United States and No. 25 globally in the World Athletics ranking system with a 1,201 score.
A student of the sport
Greatness demands relentless dedication and pursuit of improvement and for West, it all starts with the group he’s surrounded with.
He thrives in an environment filled with competition at Iowa in a track program led by director Joey Woody.
From working with the throwers, jumpers, sprinters and hurdlers, West takes pieces from each specialized group and tries to make them his own.
"Everyone in those groups are pushing me and a lot of times they’re beating me cause they’re specialists and that’s what they do," West said. "It makes me better and I get to learn from them so it’s really like a whole program effort.”
West admits his training regimen isn't much different than previous years. His philosophy is to continue what's already worked.
"We vary things year to year, just based on what we thought went well or went poorly, but we're not training much harder or much more intensely than years past," West said. "I think our thought process is 'If I've gotten better every year, why change something?'"
His commitment runs even deeper than physical preparation, dedicating time to watching world-renowned Olympic decathletes like Daley Thompson, Pierce LePage, Damian Warner and Kevin Mayer.
“He’s kind of a real student of the game and he knows a lot of the history and a lot of the former decathletes that have done it,” said Doug West, Austin's dad. “I think he really treasures when he can talk and learn from other people that have done it before him.”
A mentor to others
It’s no secret that West's dream is to secure a spot on the Olympic team. But he also wants to be a coach. It's his way to give back to the sport that’s had such a positive impact on his life.
Grant Conway, a teammate and hurdler, said West welcomed him as a roommate during his freshman year. He called West a great teammate "that likes to interact with all the different groups".
West often takes underclassmen under his wing, guiding them on the track to navigating the college experience.
“The way he’s been a great mentor to me and many others, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be a great coach one day because he’s already starting to develop those characteristics now,” Conway said.
When he’s not training or mentoring at Iowa, West spends time at his old high school, teaching the fundamentals. He finds the same level of satisfaction in coaching others as he does with his success.
"I've always found a fulfillment through coaching and kind of giving back with some of the stuff I've learned," West said. "Maybe I can solve a problem for a kid, and I can connect it back to my training as well, so I think it's helping me as much as it helps them."
West's willingness to support others is a testament to his character.
Kindhearted and determined.
"I'll never forget that somebody told me, 'Everybody needs an Austin'," Michele West said. "Rooting for everybody, knowing when people may need a little boost if something didn't go right, but also celebrating with joy when it does go right."
Fully aware of his blessings, Austin West said he constantly puts in the work, understanding that countless people would love to be in his position.
He's living the dream, competing as a Hawkeye decathlete, which he says is the best part of his day. West has a legitmate shot to compete on the global stage against the best decathletes the world has to offer.
"Going to the meet that is the pinnacle of the sport would be something I never thought would happen at all when I came here, and to have a chance at that now is just special and something I really want to achieve."
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Austin West's Olympic bid: From Iowa state champ to global contender
