USC's Isaiah Jewett Talks Journey to Olympics and Viral 10-Page Paper Moment

All Trojans sat down with Jewett to discuss his viral moment, that was picked up by publications like Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

Claudette Montana Pattison | Jun 25, 2021

Isaiah Jewett was all smiles after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics on Monday night.

The USC track star competed in the Olympic Trails [Eugene Or.] and finished second in the men's 800-meter run, which solidified a spot on Team USA this summer. After qualifying, Jewett sat down with reporters for a post-race press conference, and revealed that although he was excited, there was one big thing on his mind, a 10-page paper with a looming deadline.

“My legs feel really good. Mentally I’m tired. I need to sleep. I have a 10-page essay due tonight," Jewett said Monday night. "I’m mentally trying to re-focus and get that done because it’s due tonight and my teacher didn’t give me an extension. So I'm about to be grinding, [but] I'm just happy to be here. I'm just trying to get my homework done at the same time."

Still smiling, Jewett made his case for an extension, and called out his professor on camera.

"I told her to watch," Jewett said. "So hopefully she knows. Hopefully if you're watching this, hello professor, please give me an extension."

[To Watch: Isaiah Jewett's Post-Race Interview Click Here]

All Trojans sat down with Jewett to discuss his viral moment, that was picked up by publications like Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

After USC's Isaiah Jewett qualified for the Olympics in the 800M he had to re-focus his energy for a 10-page paper that was due at midnight 😅 @Isaiahjewett @USC_Athletics pic.twitter.com/VoOJBs3vBu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 22, 2021

“I did not get the [10-page paper] extension. In her [Jewett’s professor] defense it was out of her hands, because it's the program that gives the extension," Jewett told All Trojans. “You know that night that I made it to the Olympics, I was grinding until 11:50 p.m. to turn in that paper."

Jewett's struggle of balancing academics and athletics is a true testament of being a student-athlete. Although Jewett was competing for one of the biggest races of his career, his school work still remained a top priority.

Looking ahead, the USC star is excited to continue his training, get to Tokyo, and represent Team USA.

“The biggest thing is to not differentiate from what we have been doing," Jewett said of his training. "Of course we want to take a couple days to process everything that has being going on, but we want to slowly get back into the regular pattern of what we were doing [before].”

“[Representing Team USA] means the world to me. It is truly a blessing, it’s one of the dreams I’ve had since I was a child. The fact is, I just want to show people that I am here. I am a person that is going to fight until the end, I’m not a person that is going to give up. If I do make mistakes, which I do all the time, I’m going to get back up and I’m going to fight again because that is who Isaiah Jewett is.”

[TO WATCH: Isaiah Jewett's Full Interview Click The Video Above]

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