Bulldogs Track and Field Head Coach Chris Woods Speaks Ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics

Woods was an assistant coach for Canada during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was a mentor for Mississippi State track and field standout Marco Arop during those games. The athlete-coach duo will join forces once again in Paris.

Mississippi State track and field head coach Chris Woods / Obtained from Mississippi State Track and Field's X/Twitter

After an extremely successful semester of sports, a school record eight Mississippi State Bulldog athletes are heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Additionally, track and field coach Chris Woods will be an assistant for Canada's team.

Woods was an assistant coach for Canada during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was a mentor for Mississippi State track and field standout Marco Arop during those games. The athlete-coach duo will join forces once again in Paris. Arop will begin the 800-meter on Aug. 7, but Woods will start coaching Canada's track and field team on Aug. 1 as that's when the competition kicks off.

Woods spoke during a recent press conference about Mississippi State, Team Canada, Arop and more. Here's the full transcript:

What’s it like getting to coach a guy that you were able to coach in Mississippi State and now getting to coach him in the Olympics?

You know, it’s a really exciting time, personally, to be able to see the athletes to go through Mississippi State and then also going to perform and compete at the absolute highest level of track and field. So for me, it’s just a huge blessing. I don’t want to take any other credit, because those are the guys that’s out there getting it done on the track.

Having run the 800m yourself and having once set the school record, what’s it like to see all the other guys, including Marco, just sort of build on your legacy there and then get to coach him in your event on this big world stage?

I just I just see myself as a stepping stone for those kids to kind of go from high school to college, and then from college to the professional ranks. I think it is a testament to all the hard work that goes into training an athlete and I can’t take all the credit for that. We have amazing facilities there. We have an amazing training staff, obviously, those guys had amazing training partners in their teammates while they were at Mississippi State, so I can’t take all the credit, I would never do that because it really is a team effort. It’s just really flattering to see all the hard work, not just from the individuals that made the games but also from the individuals that helped those guys make it to the Olympic Games.

Did you always know that like Marco would potentially be this special at track and field or did you just see see him kind of just grow and develop in his time at Mississippi State and just see it continue to grow once he decided to go professional?

I think it’s a little bit of both. Marco is one of those guys that when he walks into the room, you kind of know that whatever he does, he’s special at it. It could be playing tic-tac-toe. When he walks in the room, he just has an aura about him that you know he’s going to be one of the best guys. That’s something I picked up on in the recruiting process and then just to see his development over the over the course of time. For me, it’s just been really incredible because not everybody comes in with these kinds of dreams and these aspirations, but to see a kid follow through and then accomplish those dreams and aspirations is really, really special and. Really they truly are the once in a lifetime type of athletes and Marco is one of them.

What’s the training process really look like when you’re getting ready for such a big event like the Olympics? How do you get them ready, both physically and mentally, to run the race of their life there?

That’s a great question because there’s a lot that goes into preparing for the Olympic Games, and it goes so far beyond the physical preparation. The mental preparation is really key, because four years is a long time, right? Everybody kind of goes into the Olympic Games with this extra amount of pressure, because there is no next season, when you talk about the Olympic Games. It’s finite, it is it is it is final. The hard part about this level is not necessarily developing the talent, it’s making sure that as a coach that you are getting into the athletes psyche in a positive way, and you’re able to push them mentally. When you get to this level, everybody’s talented. The separation comes from the mental side of it, and Marco just has nerves of steel. I go back to our 2020 Olympic Games over in Tokyo, which due to the pandemic didn’t take place until 2021. Marco, unfortunately, did not make the finals of those Olympic Games. That was a really devastating blow for him as an athlete, that was a really devastating blow for me as a coach and us as a collective. That hurt us bad. The next day, after failing to qualify for the finals, me and Marco, we sat and had lunch together. We made some promises to each other about our preparation and things that we were both going to change as an athlete and what I was going to change as a coach, and you got to think that was back in July or August of 2021. Now, those same things, and those same discussions that we were having in 21, are now starting to come into fruition. That’s so much more than just physical preparation, that’s emotional preparation, that’s mental preparation, and spiritual preparation. Those are all things that we have to take into account when we train, not just the physical aspect.

University-wise, what’s it like getting to represent Mississippi State at the world level?

That’s really cool, man, because it’s so good for our brand and our sport. Whenever I have the opportunity to go to these kinds of high level competitions, I’m always wearing my Mississippi State stuff. You guys will be surprised that even on the other side of the world, people are are seeing our brand and recognizing it. Other countries are getting the opportunity to see it as well. It makes me really proud as an alumnus to be able to proudly put on a Mississippi State hat when I’m over at these high level competitions. That’s special for me personally, because I’m an alumnus of Mississippi State, obviously work in Mississippi State. To be at the highest level of track and field and be able to still wear your colors and represent from afar is really special to me.

I know you’ve got a record number of Olympians this year from MSU, representing a lot of different countries as well. What’s it been like to have that pipeline continue to grow in a lot of different events and athletes from all over the world who’ve donned the Maroon and White?

I think it goes to show all of the hard work that gets put into these athletes, from the coaches. the athletic trainers, the academic liaisons, to compliance, our sports information department, there’s a lot of hard work that goes in from all of these different departments into the student athletes. I think when you see the amount of athletes that Mississippi State’s been able to produce and now we’re we’re expanding into other sports beyond track and field. To be able to spread that out over multiple sports, having several old athletes and new athletes to go on and represent themselves in their countries at the Olympic Games, I think is a testament to Mississippi State’s athletic department and all of the resources that are provided to our student athletes so that they can not only obtain a high level degree, but they’ll also have the opportunity to go on to perform and compete at the highest level of the sport.