FAYETTEVILLE – Chris Bailey said he also talked during the 400-meter dash at the Edwin Moses Classic Legends meet at Morehouse College in Atlanta on May 31.
Not that Bailey wasted any words.
The former University of Arkansas All-American said he had a conversation in his mind.
“I was literally talking to myself in my head the entire race,” Bailey said. “In the first 200 meters I said to myself, ‘You’re in a good position, but you can’t fall asleep.'”
“I was on the home stretch and I said, ‘OK, you invited too many people here to watch you not win or run slow. So you have to finish strong.'”
The personal approach worked.
Bailey ran in his hometown of Atlanta for the first time in six years and won the race with a personal best time of 44.42 seconds.
Bailey’s time is the third fastest among Americans this year and makes him one of the favorites in the 400-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic qualifying heats that begin Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The top three finishers in each discipline make up the US team for the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Friday’s events include the first of three rounds of the men’s 400-meter race.
“The 400 is always highly competitive here in the U.S.,” Bailey said. “It’s also very open.”
The best US time this year is held by Michael Norman with 44.21. Bryce Deadmon is second with 41.41, Bailey and Rai Benjamin share third place.
“So far, no one has come well under 44 seconds,” said Bailey. “But I expect that to happen at the trials.”
“It will be a challenge. Nothing is ever easy.”
Bailey, who trains in Fayetteville with Razorbacks assistant coach Doug Case, is in his first professional season and is pursuing a master’s degree in operations management at Arkansas. He also works as a graduate assistant at the UA and receives financial support from USA Track and Field.
After graduating from Tennessee with a degree in kinesiology in 2022, Bailey transferred to Arkansas for his final year of college. At the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, he ran on the Razorbacks’ first-place 1,600-meter relay team and placed fifth in the 400-meter dash, helping Arkansas to the team title.
“Chris has come a long way since arriving from Tennessee,” Arkansas coach Chris Bucknam said. “Coach Case has done a phenomenal job with him.”
“The thing about Chris is that from the first day he got here, he was fully involved in our program and scored a lot of points for us at the NCAA meet.
“He just blossomed under Coach Case and our training and the atmosphere here. It was fun to see someone who wasn’t wanted there (in Tennessee) be so successful with us.”
Bailey’s best time in the 400 meters is down significantly from the 46.02 he ran in Tennessee in 2022. Last year he ran 44.84.
“Chris has been getting better and better,” Case said. “I think he’s become more and more accustomed to the training we do here and he’s now confident in his abilities.”
“That confidence really shows on the track because he was able to run the front of the 400 faster. That’s what improved his time.”
“He is really strong and you have to run three laps in the trials. You have to be good every time. If you want to progress, you can’t let up.
“When you reach the final, you have done something really good and he did that last year and made the World Cup team.”
Last year, Bailey placed seventh in the 400m at the U.S. Championships with a throw of 45.25m and was part of the winning 1600m relay team at the World Championships. He also won a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships, placing third on the 1600m relay team.
“To compete in these big competitions and perform, to win medals like Chris has, what could be more pressure?” Case said. “I think this experience is really great for him and will pay off this year.”
Bailey, who turned 24 on May 29, said his confidence and fitness were at an all-time high.
“I can’t complain about not being able to get through the Olympic qualifiers physically,” Bailey said. “At this point, it’s more of a mental thing, and I’m prepared for it.”
Lance Lang, an All-American senior from Arkansas who will compete in the 200-meter dash at the Olympic qualifiers, said he was not surprised by Bailey’s progress this year.
“It’s a blessing to see Chris succeed in the sport,” Lang said. “His work ethic is incredible and technically, with his form, he’s a very good runner.”
“Mentally he is strong. He will achieve anything he sets his mind to. He is not afraid of any challenge.”
Case said he saw Bailey gain the confidence to become an Olympian.
“I don’t think he was sure about it until late last year,” Case said. “But we talked about it: ‘You have to come back next year and make the Olympic team.'”
“I saw him understand that and feel, ‘Yes, I want to do that now.’ Once he understood that, I saw him get to work and do the things he needed to do.
“He’s fun to train. He does what he’s told. He doesn’t ask, ‘Why do I have to do this?’ He thinks more like, ‘OK, if you say I have to do this, then I’ll do it.'”
“Doing the training sessions the way he does, as hard as they are, is something you really appreciate as a coach.”
