Well, everyone in Eugene the past few days has been talking about Alysia Montano…for a lot of reasons. Sure, she is the top qualifier among the 16 women in the field (she ran a 2:00.25 on Saturday). And yes, she has an impressive resume, which includes a fourth-place finish at the World Championships last summer and three national championships.
But what has the crowd buzzing is the flower tucked behind Montano's right ear whenever she races. Sometimes the artificial bloom is white, sometimes it’s yellow. Always it’s there.
A good luck charm? Maybe something to freshen up the scent around the starting line?
Nah, says the 26-year-old Cal-Berkeley grad. “My flower started when I was a young girl,” she admitted after her heat on Saturday. “I grew up with a bunch of boys and [the flower] gave me my own sense of empowerment, being feminine yet strong. Feminine doesn’t mean I have to wear pink and prance around. It just means strength.”
The women's 800-meter final is scheduled for 9:50 pm East Coast Time tonight. Come to our site for live coverage.
