Wiley prepares for Prefontaine Classic following Diamond League victory

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Former Huntington University and now professional runner Addy Wiley continues to leave her mark across the world.

For years, Wiley dreamt of winning a Diamond League race, and her training on the track reflected that. This June, her hard work paid off, and she grabbed her first win in the 800-meter race at the Diamond League meet in Doha.

She not only walked away from the meet with a victory, but she also ran a season-best time, 1:57.98.

It’s a race she had run hundreds of times, but the feeling on the track that day was different.

“I’ve seen so many different scenarios play out, and this one, I got it right,” Wiley said. “I covered the girl trying to pass me on the inside. I felt someone coming up on the outside, and I just stared at that finish line and said, ‘I want this so bad. I want to win.’”

Wiley said the moment didn’t click immediately for her. She stared at the scoreboard following the race and waited for her name to pop up. Once that happened, she realized she had accomplished something some people can only imagine.

“It was just a huge sense of relief and joy and excitement, and it felt right. It just felt exciting,” Wiley said.

Coming off of her first place finish, Wiley is now shifting her focus to training for another race: The Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Wiley is scheduled to run the 800-meter race at 2:11 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.

She said she expects it to be a competitive race, but it’s something she feels more than prepared for.

“It’s all about just putting myself in the position to compete, trusting all the work that I’ve done to get to this point and a lot of belief that, you know, I’m on the track because I belong,” Wiley said. “It’s anyone’s race on anyone’s day. As long as I show up, anything can happen. So, I’d like to believe I can cross the finish line in first, but we’ll see how the race plays out.”

Wiley said she also plans to continue training and represent Team USA in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.