Work ethic gives sprinter Marvin Bracy a shot at London Olympics

Due to a powerful work ethic, Marvin Bracy believes that he can make the U.S. Track and Field National Team this summer and compete in the London Olympics.

"My ultimate goal is to win the (100-meter dash) Trials," the Boone (Orlando, Fla.) senior told MaxPreps. "I'm going to just stay focused, take training super serious and just execute."

The 5-foot-9, 175-pound speedster led the nation as a junior with a 10.28 clocking in the 100 meters. During this year's indoor season, he showed he is even stronger as a senior when he set a national high school record by running the 55 in 6.08 seconds in Gainesville, Fla.

"It feels great," Bracy said. "Actually, I put it on Twitter the day before that I would run anywhere in the 6.0s. I was happy I got it, but I was surprised. I improved my (best) time by two-tenths of a second. I just got stronger and my start got better."

His personal coach, Ricky Argro, conceded, "I was pretty amazed. He's improved so much in a short span. He definitely still has some kinks to work out. Even in the 55, he let up in the last five meters (Marvin does not agree). I need to get him to finish strong. It's scary (how good he can be)."

Argro, a former standout sprinter at Florida State University, is both a father figure and big brother to Bracy and fully supports his Olympic dreams.

"It's very important," he said. "It's something we set up last year when he ran 10.05 with wind in the Junior Nationals. You have to go into it with the mind frame that you're going to win the trials. I see how far he's come. The biggest thing that separates him from a lot of kids is his work ethic, which is second to none."

When Bracy first started to train with Argro as a sophomore, he would ride his bike one mile each way - even though the bike had just one pedal.

Argro first spotted Bracy as an eighth-grader, calling him "the fastest little kid I've ever seen. He always had bad running mechanics. I knew when he became good with mechanics, the sky was the limit. Every year has been different. The first year was more about running correctly. Last year we focused more on events. This year is about developing strength and power and preparing for the Olympics."

Bracy's national record also was music to the ears of his high school coach, Josh Shearouse, who said, "We're excited to see him run that time this early in the season. That proves how much stronger he's gotten. To see him put up that 6.08 - that's the fourth-fastest time ever in the world. His start is second to none now.

"I won't let him run the 100 until halfway through our season. The whole reason is that I've seen a lot of kids come out and run really fast times, but they don't progress. A lot of that is because they get tired physically. I want to try to keep him fresh in the 100. The 400 is going to build him up."

The Boone superstar also will run the 200 and some relays, but Shearouse said even though he is the team's best long jumper (better than 21 feet last year) he won't compete in that event to avoid shin splints.

Bracy actually will attend Florida State University in the fall on a combination track/football scholarship and he's just as serious about football. Last fall he made 31 catches for 630 yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran 41 times for 587 yards and six more touchdowns. He primarily was used as a slotback.

Coach Phil Zigler pointed out, "He was double-covered in every single game. Nobody would kick off or punt to him. He had five returns - two for touchdowns. He also returned a squib kick for a 73-yard touchdown. He played Wildcat quarterback near the end. We also used him on defense at cornerback toward the end of the season and he did a great job with man-on-man coverage.

"His work ethic is so unbelievable to me. I think the future is unlimited for him, because of his work ethic. He has the belief and goal. I haven't seen a young man work as hard and still he is a very humble young man."

Bracy realizes he has a gigantic task ahead of him. First the Olympic Trials, for which he already is qualified, then the challenge of dual sports in college.

"Yeah, it's going to be harder," he said. "There will be no break - year-round. We'll talk about that when the time comes."