VIDEO: Clips of our interview with Clemons, discussing her excitement to compete

WALDORF, Md. —  Waldorf-native Christina Clemons, 31, will represent Team USA in the “2020 Olympics” after a recent third-place time of 12.53 seconds in the 100-meter hurdle in Oregon. Clemons did not only grab attention for making the Olympics which is a major accomplishment in itself, but for the Cool Ranch Doritos earrings, she wore during the trials.  The combination of success qualifying for the Olympics and the spontaneity of the earrings propelled Clemons into a viral sensation.

The Westlake High alumna talked to TheBayNet.com about the experience.

“It really is a joy. That is the best word I can use to describe how it felt to cross that line and going to the Olympics,” Clemons said. “The whole viral thing… That was crazy. I was not expecting that whatsoever, so that’s new.”

The day before the trials took place in Eugene, Oregon, she went into a local Hot Topic looking for earrings and found several she liked. It just so happened that ones with little blue bags of Doritos were one of them. 

“I picked up lollipop earrings, some candy earrings that said ‘sour’ on it, some cellphone earrings that I wore to the preliminaries,” Clemons reflected. “And then I saw the Doritos earrings and thought, ‘oh my gosh, these match my uniform. I’m going to wear these because they’re perfect.’”

“Anyone who knows me as an athlete knows every time I run, I have on something. The commentators always talk about how they know when I come up, I bring something fun, and it’s just me.” Clemons said. “If I’m out on a daily basis, I like to wear cute things or whatever the case may be. It doesn’t really change when it gets to the track.”


USATF 2018 Outdoor Championship. Christina is sporting wavy earrings.

As fun as the social media surge has been, Christina has kept her eyes on the prize. Representing the United States in Tokyo at the Olympics this summer is something that means a lot to her.

“Every time I think about it. It’s like a dream because it’s been a dream stored in my heart for so long. Knowing it’s actually happening and I’m going to the Olympics is…I just can’t wait. I’m so excited,” Clemons said. She added about her preparation for Tokyo that “going into Tokyo, we just gotta go harder.”

Clemons graduated from Ohio State University in 2012. She is a two-time NCAA Champion, 10-time Big Ten Champion, and an 11-time All-American. She fell short of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 she ruptured her Achilles tendon during practice which set her back years.

However, she still managed to bounce back from an almost career-ending injury. She won her way through events such as the 2017 Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix and the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. In 2019, Clemons had the best season of her career, finishing top 3 in every competition she competed in.

Despite the setbacks, she still had her eyes on the 2020 Olympics. Her confidence was high because she has been going in the right direction. She had been doing great in the competition after competition. She remarked to TheBayNet.com, “I went into 2020 in a very good position. I had won the indoor world tour for the IAAF and then I was going into outdoor and training with some of my best times, but then we were told the season was canceled.  There’s two ways I could’ve gone about it. I could have been upset, I could’ve cried about it. Instead, I used that time… I said I am going to that time to get faster, to get stronger.”

Clemons also said, “I’m already waiting for nine years and then COVID, and it’s like okay, what’s one more year compared to nine? But you know, waiting with COVID. It helped me mentally. I was already mentally tough but it helped me reset. We had to reset that entire year and be ready.”

Not only was her wait to prove herself again postponed, but the way she trained was different. She had to find new and unique ways to train around COVID guidelines.

“It was weird. We got shut down completely,” Clemons said. “I was in Alabama. We couldn’t use the track, and we couldn’t use the gym anymore. We would have to try to sneak on tracks where police would be guarding the tracks… so we would have to find places to train. We were training in graveyards.”

She also had her husband, Kyle Clemons, who won a gold medal in the 4×400 meter relay in the 2016 Rio Olympics to support her the whole way. He has been supportive of her training throughout and even started a side business as a result, “ My husband actually built me a gym rack. It actually turned into a little business for a while. We were selling gym racks because the gyms were closed.”

When asked what her favorite kind of Doritos was Christina was all smiles.

“The sweet chili. That is my favorite. I need to find earrings like that.”

Frito-Lays, who owns Doritos, did reach out to her after her qualifying race. On June 26, Clemons shared a photo of her holding a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos that includes a picture of her wearing the viral earrings.

On the back, the caption read, “For those who keep it cool even when running for their dreams.”

The company later announced that they have partnered with Clemons posting the following picture on social media:

 

 

The 100-meter hurdles competition for the 2020 Olympics is scheduled to begin on July 31. The qualifying round and the semifinals will be on Aug. 1, and the final on Aug. 2.

Contact Brooke and the rest of our news desk at news@thebaynet.com