After starring for Duke track, Lauren Hoffman reps her mom’s Filipino heritage at Olympics
Lauren Hoffman has been running at the Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium for seven years. The track at Duke University has become her home away from her hometown of Haymarket, Virginia.
Hoffman competed for the Blue Devils for five years, earning All-American first team honors, collecting medals and breaking school records. Two years after graduating, Hoffman continues to call Durham her home, and Duke has become a home base for her Olympic training.
On Sunday, Hoffman made her Olympic debut as one of 22 athletes representing the Philippines at the 2024 games. Competing in the 400-meter hurdles, Hoffman ran 57.84 seconds in her qualifying heat and didn’t advance to the semifinals.
She’ll have another opportunity to make the semifinals in Monday’s repechage, or second chance, races in the event.
In May, Hoffman won gold in the event at the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship with a time of 55.92 seconds.
At Duke, Hoffman competed in numerous high-stakes meets and several ACC Championships.
“The NCAA is just so deep and competitive,” Hoffman said. “I feel like I’ve just been preparing myself for the Olympics because I’ve been on big stages before. It’s not quite the Olympics, but I’ve run against great competition before so it certainly prepared me.”
In her two years post-collegiate competition, Hoffman has continued to train at Duke with her former coach, Mark Mueller, and teammate, Maddy Price.
“I’ve just been on this track for such a long time,” Hoffman said. “I’ve grown so much as an athlete and as a person on that track. It’s kind of cool to have spent so much of my life Durham and at Duke.”
Since it will be her first Olympic games, Hoffman is doing her best to stay optimistic and lean on her training and support systems in Paris.
“The path to becoming an Olympian was not easy,” Hoffman said. “All I can do is keep trying to stay optimistic and positive and just keep believing in myself.”
For Hoffman, representing the Philippines also gives her a unique opportunity to showcase her mom’s Filipino heritage and a different side of herself.
Regardless of her placement at the games, Hoffman is grateful for the journey that brought her to Paris and for the support she’s received from Durham along the way.
“There are just a lot of people in North Carolina that helped get me here,” Hoffman said. “Whether it’s my coaches or just the support throughout Durham, it’s cool to see all those different people from different parts of my life come together and I’m just really grateful for everybody in Durham, North Carolina.”
Maya Waid is a student with UNC Media Hub, a program with the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, reporting from the Summer Olympics in Paris.