ENMU sprinter eyes Olympic dream

Eastern New Mexico University sprinter Timothy Frederick gazed up at Greyhound Stadium, a place that helped resuscitate his career.  

"My home," said Frederick, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a few weeks before competing in a trial that could send him to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. 

Back in 2018, Frederick was considered a lock to make the Olympics. Then came multiple quad tears and snatched opportunities. In 2020 he was cut from the University of Alabama track team, which left him wanting to give up. "I was like 'I'm done,'" Frederick said. 

But after arriving in Portales in 2022, Frederick rediscovered his confidence, broke school records and is on the cusp of becoming the first Greyhound sprinter to appear in the Olympics.  

"It's a feeling I can't describe," Frederick said, his Trinidadian accent cutting through High Plains wind gusts.  

Six roster open on T&T team 

Frederick clinching one of six roster spots for Trinidad and Tobago's Olympic sprint team hinges upon his performance at the NGC/NAAATT National Junior and Senior/Open Championships this weekend.  

Frederick said he'll need to notch a 20.1-second mark in the 200-meter and finish top-two in a pool of 24. Then, for the 400-meter, Frederick will have to finish top-six in a pool of 30-plus competitors.  

An Olympic appearance will put Frederick on a path to continue his track career after he graduates from ENMU in 2025 and possibly accrue lucrative sponsorship opportunities.  

What's more, an Olympic appearance could benefit ENMU. Other highly touted recruits – potentially those from the Caribbean – may see Frederick's success and see ENMU as a place of opportunity and not just another small Division II school.  

More importantly, it'll remind Frederick why he didn't quit after a slew of setbacks.  

"After what I've been through, I really thought I would've given up," Frederick said.  

Injuries, COVID slow potential 

Several years ago, Frederick appeared Olympic bound.  

In 2018, he recorded a 20.8-second 200-meter – a mark good enough to get him full-rides from elite NCAA programs like Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama. But that same year he tore his quad before competing in the Junior Olympics. 

Though Frederick still committed to Alabama his senior year – on a full scholarship – he wasn't the same athlete.  

In 2020, his freshman year at Alabama, Frederick struggled because he wasn't fully recovered from his quad injury. He also experienced the difficulties that come with transitioning from Trinidad to Tuscaloosa. He felt like an outsider and missed the spicy chicken his mom cooked back home. 

And after COVID-19 shuttered the season, Frederick received a call from a coach at Alabama: The school was revoking his scholarship. He was off the team.  

"That was the roughest period. I was alone," said Frederick, who couldn't nab a scholarship from other Division I schools, which had previously offered. 

Welcome to New Mexico 

So, Frederick transferred to New Mexico Junior College on a scholarship. An opportunity that came to be thanks to Trinidadians on the roster.  

While thankful, Frederick remembered thinking, "Who wants to go from a Division I to junior college?"  

No more access to world-class facilities. No more pride of being a Division I athlete.  

Following a disappointing 2021, Frederick's self-confidence remained low. The frustration of getting cut from Alabama was now exacerbated by wondering if he'd peaked in high school.  

"A lot of living in the past," he said.  

But in 2022, thanks to NMJC head coach Tabarie Henry and staying injury free, Frederick began notching personal bests in the 60-meter (6.93 seconds) and 100-meter (10.52 seconds). 

As a result, Frederick said he received a full-ride offer from the University of New Mexico ... which was soon revoked after he tore his other quad. This opened the door for ENMU and then first-year head coach Josh Harden.   

"I didn't want to go if I'm being honest," Frederick conceded. "I'm like, 'This place, it doesn't really have much to do.' And then I'm like 'Tim you just got to refocus.'" 

Frederick stopped "worrying about" returning to the Division I level. ENMU had the facilities and he believed in Harden. Finding success hinged upon Frederick maximizing his opportunity.  

"When recruiting him and seeing his background. You know, it's like, 'OK, this is a kid that if we can get him back to or even better to what he's done in the past, he's a guy that could potentially get on that (Olympic) stage," Harden said.  

When Frederick arrived at ENMU, he said there was an instantaneously strong bond with Harden. He appreciated Harden's ability to communicate and trusted tweaks he made on his body positioning.  

Clearly, it worked.  

In Frederick's first race of the season, he set an ENMU school record for the 400-meter indoor with a time of 48.6 seconds and became a second-team all-American (indoor) after registering a 21.54-second 200-meter. 

The following season, Frederick became a two-time first team all-American (indoor) after registering a 47.66-second 400-meter and 21.46-second 200-meter. 

Frederick currently owns the fastest outdoor 200-meter time (20.72 seconds) in ENMU history for internationals and the fastest outdoor 400-meter time (46.94 seconds) among all Greyhounds. In May, he represented Trinidad and Tobago at the World Relays.  

And maybe it's perfect that the trial that'll decide Frederick's Olympic fate is in Trinidad and Tobago.  

It was here where Frederick built his reputation as a future Olympian through grueling beach workouts and sprints up a steep hill near his home.  

And it was here where Frederick pinned up posters of Usain Bolt in his bedroom. 

Brother: ENMU a 'blessing' 

"It's a real blessing," Frederick's brother Trevis said of witnessing Timothy's comeback, "because it's like you can have everything in the palm of your hands and it can just be taken away." 

This is why Timothy Frederick "thanks God" for his positive experience at ENMU. That said, Frederick said some aspects of being a Trinidadian in a rural, agricultural-based town in eastern New Mexico are difficult.  

Frederick wishes he can use Trinidadian slang like "what's the scene?" without having to explain that it means "what's up?"  

Local grocery stores don't offer his beloved curry powder. When asked what the specific curry powder was, Frederick thumbed through his phone before landing on it – Betapac. 

"I order the curry from Amazon," he said. "We use this in the Caribbean, you know?" 

But, as Frederick has a chance to realize his lifelong dream, what Portales has lacked in curry, it's made up for in opportunity.  

"This was destiny for me," he said.