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Mansfield cross-country and track and field student-athlete Angie Colon knows how to move fast, even while just walking. A junior music education major from Farmingville, New York, Colon competed in June at the Olympic Trials in the 20K racewalk for Team USA track and field. One of the youngest in the competition, Colon finished 14th with a time of 2:00:01.

Racewalking differs from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. It’s a discipline that Colon has competed in since high school.

"My high school is nicknamed ‘racewalk university.’ Our coaches are very knowledgeable and the wife of one of my coaches is a two-time Olympian in the race walk. I’ve racewalked since I was a freshman in high school. When I started, I was not good but I kept pushing and pushing and then I made Nationals my sophomore year of the indoor season and then I kept making Nationals from then and then COVID happened my junior year," says Colon. "That’s when I realized I still wanted to racewalk in college so I found Mansfield."

Colon’s experience in racewalking outside of university has given her an opportunity to bond with seasoned athletes in the sport.

"I go to bigger meets and I’m the youngest one there and there’s not many college athletes there. It’s all professional athletes and people who I’ve looked up to," says Colon. “I think that has forced me to kind of grow up in the sport faster and take my sport really seriously."

"The Olympic trials were very intense," adds Colon. "You could feel the tension of all the people who wanted to make the Olympics. Thankfully the racewalk is such a small community. I know all the competitors, I’ve raced against them before, so even on the line, we were all chitchatting and the older women were telling me how proud they were that I’m here."

Preparing for Olympics trials is as mentally challenging as it is physically.

"I’m very comfortable in mile 3K, 5K, and 10K because I’ve been doing them for so long. But 20K and 35K, those are pretty rough. Including the Olympic trials, I have raced three 20Ks this year and I also raced a 35K. Training is intense. My long walks are 18 to 22 miles," Colon says. Mentally, most athletes don’t race for two hours and it is hard to stay in race mode that long, which is not even including the time before the race,” she adds. “I’m in race mode for three to five hours and it's very mentally draining."

But at the Olympic trials, "when I got on the line, as soon as the gun went off, I was so nervous but I was just smiling," Colon says "It was such a good experience."