Olympic journey is "not for the faint of heart"

By Benji Bergstrand

When Trevor Bassitt crossed the finish line at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon and became Bluffton’s first ever Olympian, people all over town celebrated. Congratulations poured in and excited comments abounded on social media–but for the Bassitt family it all hit a little deeper.

“The emotion was overwhelming, “ Trevor’s sister Lindsey Dulle said. “Tears of joy, pride and relief all at once. Knowing that all his hard work and dedication had paid off, and that he was heading to Paris was a feeling I’ll never forget.” For Trevor’s other sister, Kendra, the pressure built throughout the season as Trevor chased his dream. “As Trevor’s races became more elite, they also became more intense and the stakes got higher,” Kendra said. “The last 150 meters of his trials race was emotional for me and when he crossed the finish line, I felt mostly relief. I can’t imagine the mental fortitude it takes knowing you’re about to race for a trip to the biggest and most historic show of athleticism our world knows. I adore this sport, but it’s not for the faint of heart!”

Parents Mindy and Tom were able to join Trevor in Eugene to see him knock more than a second off of his 400-meter hurdle season best time and punch his ticket to the Olympic games. “As parents it is very stressful,” Mindy said. “We see how hard he works and the time and dedication. There were so many emotions when he crossed that line. We are so proud and blessed that we are able to join him on his Olympic journey!”

Trevor’s journey began when he was born into a family with great track history. Mindy was an accomplished sprinter at Bluffton High School holding a 4x100 record that stood until it was broken by a relay team that included both her daughters, Kendra and Lindsey. Lindsey went on to run at Heidelberg University and Trevor’s brother Kyle was a Northwest Conference high jump champion for Bluffton High School.  And while Trevor is the first Olympian in Bluffton’s history, when he became an All-American at Ashland University he wasn’t even the first person in his own house to do that. His sister Kendra was a two-time All-American at Ashland in the heptathlon and pentathlon.

Despite the impressive track pedigree, success wasn’t necessarily guaranteed for young Trevor. He would fall asleep occasionally at his sister’s track meets, even sleeping through the sound of the starter’s pistol, and his early athletic endeavors seemed to be pointed in a slightly different direction than track. “At some point he thought he could be a ninja,” Mindy said. “He would go out to the playset in the backyard and run through the courses he made.” 

Looking back, Kendra can see hints of the athlete Trevor would become even in those early adventures. “Trevor was always a hilariously active child,” she said. “I remember him doing chin-up holds on monkey bars and rings on swing sets and I would count for him to see how long he could hold it or time him on my watch. We were just playing around at the time but now that I look back I’ve realized that he has always loved to push his own limits, even as a 7-year-old trying to better his time and see how long he could hold or how fast he could climb.” 

Trevor’s first years in track weren’t marked by the great successes he would experience later in his career. “He wanted to try running in junior high probably because his older siblings were in track,” Mindy said. “He was not good at it! We saw a lot of growth in high school and college is when things really started to come together.” But signs of his resilience and work ethic were there even in the early struggles. “He wasn’t easily embarrassed by lost races, falling or silly mistakes early on as a junior high track kid,” Kendra said. “He put in the time outside of regular practice and season to be the athlete he wanted to be.”  

That sentiment is echoed by Trevor’s high school coaches. Ryan Dunlap was head track coach at BHS for Trevor’s freshman and sophomore years. “In high school Trevor was always the first to be on the track and the last to leave,” Dunlap said.  “He was routinely asking his hurdle coach, Drew Luginbuhl, for more sets of hurdles than what was allotted for the practice. Sometimes Drew felt like his job was making sure Trevor didn’t overdo practice and mess up a meet.”

Trevor’s hard work and dedication took him to Ashland University where his accomplishments were nothing short of spectacular. He was a 10-time National Champion and 21-time All-American. Even then Trevor wasn’t done testing limits. His sights were set on running professionally and representing his country in the Olympic games.

“When Trevor came back from his first Olympic trials and stopped by the house, he told me then he was going to have to change the way he prepared mentally,” Coach Dunlap said. “I know he’s worked hard on his visualization since that point and staying focused.” 

All of that hard work and focus paid off as Trevor qualified for the Olympics by running his season-best time of 47.82 seconds in the 400m hurdles. Trevor’s time has him ranked 11th in the world in his event. 

Now his family is looking forward to another roller coaster of emotions as Trevor’s first race looms on Monday morning at 4:00 a.m. EST. “We are so blessed to be on this journey with him,” Mindy said. “His hard work, faith, determination and grit have gotten him where he is today. Adversity never stopped him from his goal of becoming an Olympian!”