Florida Gators

EUGENE, Ore. – Heading into the United States Track and Field Olympic Trials, Arman "Gino" Hall finally feels like himself again. It took nearly 18 months, but his humorous, uplifting personality and infectious smile are both back.

The Arman "Gino" Hall who graced the cover of Track & Field News as a high schooler? The one poised to become the next collegiate star following a world title with Team USA's 4x400 relay as a charismatic 19-year-old? The one who, as a sophomore in 2014, clocked a sub-44-second split when Florida logged the third-fastest 4x400 time in collegiate history?

Yes, that Arman "Gino" Hall has returned.

But he almost never made it back. He nearly quit running altogether.

Yep, the young man who became the ninth freshman quarter-miler in history to break 45.05 seconds in the NCAA Outdoor Championships final, who anchored the national championship-winning 4x400 relay to clinch a share of the team title for the Gators that same year, who posted top-four finishes in the 200 and 400 meters at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, he about hung up his spikes for good late in his junior year.

"Everything was going right. The magic was happening," longtime Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. "Then his body just acted up."

Nothing seemed to go right for Hall after he and the Gators came within 0.15 seconds of breaking the collegiate 4x400 record at the 2014 Pepsi Florida Relays.

Injuries unhinged him. None of them were serious, just enough to prevent Hall from training consistently. Sporadic training, especially in the fall, when a foundation for the entire season is built, trapped him in a constantly disgruntled frame of mind. All of it led to slower times.

Two years after Hall ran 44.82 to take third at the USATF Championships and qualify for the 2013 World Championships squad, he couldn't break 45.90. That time didn't even get him in the field for NCAA Outdoors.

"It was like, 'What's wrong with me?'" Hall said. "Then you start doubting yourself. I'd never felt pain like that before, just the depression of saying, 'I can't train. I can't run. I can't do anything. I can't get better.' It really messed me up."

As hard as it was on Hall, it was equally difficult for his mother, Edith.

"It was just heartbreaking to see him go through it," she said. "Many nights, I cried for him because I knew he was hurt physically, but I also knew he was broken mentally because he couldn't perform up to the standards he was accustomed to. He would go out there and keep trying. But every time he got on the track it just broke my heart, because I know that wasn't our Gino.

"It was just so tough because he felt like he was letting his team down. But he wasn't performing because he wasn't well."

Thus came Hall's meeting with Coach Holloway. Still undecided about his future after their conversation, Hall sought advice from his parents. His father, Bobby, lobbied for time away from track to get healthy—mentally and physically. His mother, always the one willing to hear him out, even when the times were toughest, gave him an ultimatum.

"She came up to me and said, 'Gino, either you're going to get over it and get better and do better, or you're just going to quit. And if you're going to quit, shut up and do it, because I'm not going to hear you complain about it anymore,'" Hall recalled. "It shocked me."

Hall went home to Pembroke Pines and withdrew from track. Completely.

He did absolutely zero running, not even for exercise. He didn't think about running. Hardly anyone saw or heard from him. He barely went outside.

He ran outside nearly all his life, for once Hall just wanted escape the brutally hot and humid Florida summer and enjoy video games, anime television shows, and the company of his two dogs, June and Nala, in the comfort of air conditioning.

Hall also took the time to truly reconnect with his family. Their relationship wasn't strained, but he'd hardly been able to spend worry-free time with them after his collegiate career began.

"It was like having my own child back," Edith said. "It was just a joy to have him home … and to see him relax."

When he returned to the track for fall training leading into his senior year, Hall fell in love with running all over again. His affable nature and vibrant smile were back, too.

Despite a couple of minor dings, Hall enjoyed a solid indoor season. However, one of those nicks came in the 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, when he pulled up roughly 50 meters before the finish line. This led to Holloway, as he referred to it, robbing the train for the outdoor season.

"(I told him) you can run some 4x4s, but we're not going to talk about the 400, we're not going to talk about the 200," Holloway said. "That was tough for him. He really wants to run 19 seconds one day, and I feel like if I'd let him run enough (200s) this year he might have, but he also might've been hurt again."

Hall didn't run an open 400 race until the end of April, posting a 45.17. Proving to Holloway he could remain healthy through daily training, Hall doubled in the 200 and 400 at the conference meet, breaking 20.35 seconds for the first time in his career.

Then came the ending his collegiate career deserved.

Hall won his first individual national title in the 400 meters, matching the personal record of 44.82 he set three years prior, and ran on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to help the Gators win their third outdoor national title in five years. It was a heartfelt moment for anyone who knew what Hall weathered along the way to his triumphant finish.

A new chapter begins for him this week at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Ranked second nationally in the 400 meters, Hall is a legitimate contender to make Team USA. And Holloway believes he's ready to run faster than he did three weeks ago at the NCAA Championships.

As for all the hype and hoopla that engulfed Hall coming out of high school and the early stages of his collegiate career? Holloway believes he's on pace to live up to all of it.

"I cautioned him and everybody else that it's about patience," Holloway said, going on to discuss Hall's lifelong goal to run a sub-20 200 and sub-44 400 like his idol, Michael Johnson, one of the greatest sprinters in history. "I share his passion. But people forget Michael Johnson wasn't Michael Johnson when he was 22. My thing with Gino is that we can get there, but we need to take the time. We can't skip over all these years when Michael was becoming Michael.

"I know people will say he's behind or not where he should be, but, in my opinion, after what he's been through … we're right where we want to be right now."

The facts back up Holloway's statements.

Johnson didn't win his first USATF Outdoor title until he was 22, the same age Hall is entering these Olympic Trials. Unlike Hall, Johnson didn't win his first world title until he was 23. And Johnson's first Olympic medal didn't come until he was 24, when he ran on the United States' world record-breaking 4x400 relay; his first individual Olympic medal came four years later.

From that perspective, Hall's pursuit of greatness is only beginning.

Hall is ready to show everyone who he is, and he's going to have a lot of fun doing it.

"I respect everybody (at Olympic Trials)," he said. "But they're my opponents now. I feel like I can run with them. I have more confidence in myself than I did the past three years.

"I want to show them me. Goofy, laughable, always dancing. Just Arman "Gino" Hall."