Taylor Ewert, a freshman at Arkansas and the reigning Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss her preparation for competing June 26 in the 20-kilometer racewalk at the United States Olympic Team Trials in Springfield, Ore. Ewert, a seven-time national high school and American Under-20 record holder at various distances in the racewalk, will be competing in the 20-kilometer distance for the third time in her career, seeking the Olympic standard 1:31:00, which is faster than the Trials record of 1:32:39 achieved in 2000 by Michelle Rohl. Ewert, who decided to redshirt her first outdoor season for the Razorbacks in order to prepare for the Trials, shares what it has meant to train with such an elite group of athletes at Arkansas, and how she hopes her improved cross country strength and track speed will contribute to better racewalk performances. She explains the approach to training for the 20-kilometer event back home in Beavercreek, Ohio, with her mother Teri, and how beneficial film study has been by watching replays of previous World Championship competitions. Ewert, 19, explains the improvements in her stride and form, along with the biomechanics connected with it, in an effort to gain any advantage possible for the Trials. She analyzes the benefits of competing twice against American veterans Miranda Melville, Maria Michta-Coffey and Robyn Stevens, once in a 20-kilometer road racewalk and another in a 10,000-meter track event, during the spring in order to better understand her competition at the Trials. Ewert emphasizes how much she benefited from the extra year of training following the postponement of the Trials as a result of the pandemic, and how meaningful it was to be able to compete for Arkansas during the fall cross country season and earning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year honors after placing 10th at the conference final.