A Long & “Windy” Road to the Olympics

Although it has been almost ten years since his graduation from Flagler Palm Coast High School, he is still affectionately remembered as “Sammy.” To put that in perspective, consider just how many great runners have run on the same tracks, perhaps won more races, and maybe even captured more FHSAA titles than he has, and yet a surname would be required for the proper identification of any one of them.  Sure, he was a four time State Champion (winning both the 800 and 1600 in 2002 and 2003), and still reigns as the fastest Floridian in the mile (4:03.87—which he ran in winning the June 13, 2003 Adidas Outdoor Championships—and compares to a 4:02.64 1600), but the Sam Vazquez that we hold up to legendary status was also a kind of underdog, a master of second chances, and a symbol of what can come of hard work, good coaching, and—not the least of all—fate.

Sam began his prep career at Pine Ridge High School in 1999, but realizing his future lay elsewhere, transferred to Flagler-Palm Coast and subsequently reached his full potential under Coach Peter Hopfe. Next came the University of Arkansas (2003-4), a national track powerhouse, where expectations might have been Sam’s undoing. Sammy, was—and is—defined not so much by raw talent as by inner strength, perseverance, and humility. For him, less always seems to add up to more. After a year at UA, he left their program and drifted for three years, until he was—for a lack of a better term—rescued by Coach Hopfe and found a new “home, closer to home” at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Along with ERAU also came another standout distance runner, Evans Kirwa, who became his perfect training partner. Three years removed from that relationship, Evans still looks back on that relationship with fondness.

“I joined the Embry Riddle team in 2009. Sam became a close friend, and eventually turned out to be my favorite training partner. It was, and still is an honor to have known him, especially in the field of running. He is an athlete of great discipline, hard work, and determination. Sam always showed up to practice ready to do work. He always pushed beyond the pain. I believe he managed to do so because of his passion for running. I enjoyed taking turns in laps during repeats; it made them easy… or at least bearable. I sure miss training with him.

“I will always admire how ambitious he is. There's an article in Coach Hopfe's office that caught my eye the first time I walked in. It had Sam's picture, and read "Making it to the Olympics is the ultimate goal". There was no doubt about his capabilities to achieve that.  It is inspiring to realize that Sam can now look back at his goal and put a check-mark besides it.

“I am so eager to see what the future has in store for this Olympian. I sincerely hope to join him after graduation.”

Running with “Eagle’s wings,” Sam Vazquez earned four indoor NAIA All-American awards: in the mile in 2009 and 2010; as part of the Riddle DMR team in 2009; and in the 1000 in 2010. In his last NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championship—March 3, 2010--he won the 1000 meter national title with a time of 2:24.61.

Upon graduation in 2010, he and Flo—his wife, whom he met at FPC, and along with Sam also graduated from Embry Riddle in 2010—followed a job offer to Chicago, where his main training partner was the city’s legendary wind. There, he has had to run in the most un-Florida like weather you could imagine. Fortunately, Hopfe’s protégé did not wander beyond the accumulated knowledge of his tutelage, and with former team mate and spouse to support him, he continued to train and improve. The story, at this point is taken up by Sam himself, whom I recently interviewed.



“My wife was hired by United, which is headquartered in downtown Chicago—she works at the Sears Tower, and we live a few blocks from there--so we made the move to Illinois. We didn’t know anyone, and it was really rough, but “the goal” was everything, so we kept training. This was a team effort. I trained on my own, but Flo helped me. We had been with Hopfe, since forever, so we knew what to do. She gave me workouts, and helped me financially--and emotionally, because I couldn’t find a job for a whole year.

“My training for the Olympics began seriously in the spring of 2012; that’s when the racing season started. It’s windy all of the time. In winters, it’s cold all of the time. But we got a break; at least it didn’t snow much.  

“That Spring, I didn’t race very often because I couldn’t get into many of the races. I wasn’t affiliated with a team or a school, so it can be tough for a semi-pro athlete.

“You start to meet people—which I did—and those who I met were people who wanted to help. I was able to get into five 1500 meter races. Two were in California (the Stanford University Invitational—3:48.25 on April 7, 2012--and the Mt. Sacs Meet), one in the Cayman Islands (first in 3:44.34 on May 5, 2012), and the American Miler Series in Indianapolis, where I raced twice in two weeks.”—Sam ran the first on June sixth, finishing third in a US B standard 3:40.2.

“In that second one—on June 16th—that was the race where I qualified. I was lucky that the top professional athletes were there. They set a great pace, and I was at the back of the lead pack; I was able to stay with them. They pulled me through the 1500 qualifying time. I think I finished fifth in 3:37.6. That would be a 3:55 mile. I set a personal record there—at the time it had been 3:42—and I knew then that I could do it. I had beaten my own record at Arkansas by half a second. That was from eight years ago.

“My whole family is Puerto Rican. My parents were the first born in the US. The rules are that you go back as far as your grandparents. Although I wasn’t born in Puerto Rico, I’ve always wanted to represent the country.

 “There was a lot of paperwork involved.  I was hoping to get sponsorship, but I wasn’t able to. Basically, I was told that if I had been representing the U.S. at the same time, I would have gotten it. But I was running as an international athlete, plus I got the ‘B Standard.’  The companies wanted to see the ‘Olympic A Standard (3:35.5).’ I was a second and a half off that.

“The plan was to go to Puerto Rico and fly (to London) from there, but it didn’t work out, so I flew straight from Chicago.

“Because Flo works for United, I fly free domestic, and pay a small fee for international flights. On the plane they announced my name and said that I was an Olympian. That felt really good. You wear your uniform there, and as I got out of customs, everyone started to notice. They caught on quick, and took lots of pictures.

“I didn’t know the exact date of my race, but I landed two weeks before. I created my own practice schedule, as far as what I wanted to do, but there was a practice trail outside the stadium where you could basically do what you wanted to do. It was for Olympians only, so you didn’t have to worry about the public.

“Walking into the stadium was probably the most hair-raising moment of my life. I didn’t see individual people—just one giant screaming monster. It was unbelievable. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous at all. Actually, it was in that race that I was least nervous in my whole career.

 “Before the race, I was dealing with a lot of things around the park. I was walking a lot, and I had tired legs before I even started the race. People just saw me run the race. They didn’t know how tired I was. I ran poorly…finished last in my heat. All things considered, I wasn’t upset; another lesson learned.

“Afterwards, I was excited. I had learned what I needed to learn. I decided that I wanted to make the next Olympics; continue running, make the World Cup team, and represent Puerto Rico. I want to stay with Puerto Rico. Now that I’ve proven I’m a quality runner, I know that I can get faster and I want to do it.

“For this coming year—2013—(I’m setting my sights on) the IAAF World Championships (August 10-18, 2013) in (Moscow) Russia. I want to make that. After that, what happens, happens. Then in 2016, I want to make the Olympic team and compete in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, August 5-21).

“Flo is moving up the ranks fairly fast. She’s been promoted once in six months already. She wants to be there for me. My career will last another five or six years, but hers will last a lot longer. We’re kind of stuck in the middle. But I know I can continue to be successful by training on my own. And I can fly to the meets.

“I might go back to a Riddle meet, UF, or FSU.  I’m fairly confident I can get into one of those last two meets, but I haven’t planned anything yet. I think I’ll stick to the same schedule as last year, but add a couple of meets. I’m the kind of guy who keeps everything the same.

“I want to thank my family and friends, in Palm Coast and Daytona, for their support, especially in this past year…and Coach Hopfe, without whose help I wouldn’t have gotten here. He’s what started my career, and brought me to such a high level.

One reason why Sam Vazquez will never be without his support base of “family and friends” is that no matter where the road next leads, he will always remember to stop and acknowledge their importance in his life, sometimes at great expense. One of those, his coach/friend Peter Hopfe puts it all into perspective:

“Sam’s qualifying and competing in the 2012 Olympics, is a testimony to his dedication and ability to persevere. There have been many days in Sam’s long career that didn't go exactly his way, yet he still came to practice and gave his best. I believe his greatest strength comes from his ability to dream, along with the desire to fulfill those dreams”.

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