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After becoming the American steeplechaser in history with her commanding victory at last month’s U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, it’s safe to say Val Constien isn’t approaching her second Olympic Games with a “happy to be here” mindset. She wants medals.

And she thinks she can get them.

“If I can run a few seconds faster, I mean, why can’t I medal at the Olympics, right?” she said during a July 15 appearance on the with Chris Chavez. “I’m not trying to be cocky, it’s just like, well, if there’s more in the tank, running 9-flat or sub-9, that means medals on the world stage.”

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The former Battle Mountain runner’s story —&²Ô²ú²õ±è;´Ú°ù´Ç³¾ being a surprise, unsponsored 2021 Olympian to coming back from an ACL tear in her Diamond League debut last May — has . For good reason, too.

After going under the knife for double-knee surgery at the Steadman Clinic in Vail on May 23, Constien’s 9:27.22 win in Los Angeles on May 11 was a worthy comeback in and of itself. When she took four seconds off her best at the Prefontaine Classic a couple weeks later, running 9:14.29, she entered the conversation as one of the favorites to secure a top-3 finish at the trials. But her performance at Hayward Field on June 27 — a new event record, 9:03.22 — came as a surprise to almost everyone. Except maybe Constien herself.

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She told Chavez that prior to the event, she was regularly conducting steeplechase intervals at 9:15 pace at altitude in Boulder.

“Because of how comfortable those workouts have felt and because (coaches) Mark (Wetmore) and Heather (Burroughs) have had me practice some speed workouts, too, over the barriers, I’ve always thought, OK this is reasonable,” she said before adding that she closed one 4×1-kilometer session in 2:58 before heading to Eugene.

“(That) gave me a lot of confidence that doing any number of K’s in a race sub-3 was realistic,” she continued. “So, the data was pointing in this direction, but I was thinking a 9:06 or 9:07, so I surprised myself with three bonus seconds.”

Constien told Chavez she plans to “copy and paste” her workouts from before the trials as she prepares to head to Paris. The only tweak of note? Heat preparation. She did her last hard workout in a long-sleeve and will progressively add a rain jacket and sweat pants in the ensuing weeks.

“There’s only one way to adapt to the heat and that is to suffer,” she said. “For Paris, we’re going to need all the heat adaptations we can get.”

In addition to being in the conversation for a medal, the other main difference between this Olympics and the last, where Constien placed 12th, is that the 28-year-old will get to enjoy a more typical Olympic experience.

“Tokyo was also kind of a weird pandemic, bubble Olympics. Even though it was really cool, there were a lot of Olympic experiences I didn’t get to do,” said Constien, whose parents and coaches had to watch from home three years ago.

“And that kind of obviously didn’t help with the imposter syndrome I was experiencing because everyone was like, ‘oh she was just lucky to make that team; she was just a flash in the pan.’ That was just tough,” she continued. “But going into Paris, I think it’s going to be a totally different experience.” 

The 2024 women’s steeplechase squad also includes 31-year-old Marisa Howard and former NCAA champion Courtney Wayment. The notable absences are 10-time U.S. champion and Crested Butte-native Emma Coburn (who also has two global medals on her resume) and American-record holder Courtney Frerichs. Neither athlete was healthy for this year’s trials. Even without the pair of legends, Constien said she thinks this team might be the strongest the Americans have ever assembled.

“For 15 years, (Emma’s) been the watermark, so what she did to pave the way for this sport obviously can’t be forgotten,” she said. “And obviously Courtney Frierichs has the American record … but I think to say this year was less competitive I think is just incredibly insulting to all the women who ran so insanely fast.”

After Wayment (9:06.50) and Howard (9:07.14) — who notched a 15-second personal best in the race — pre-race hopeful Gabbi Jennings (9:12.08), Kaylee Mitchell (9:14.05) and Olivia Markezich (9:14.87) came through in fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

“For a 9:14 to be fifth or sixth, that’s insane. This is the deepest it’s ever been,” Constien continued. “I think when those two do eventually come back, we’re going to see even more competition and it’s going to be even crazier.”

Constien said inching to within 0.87-seconds of Coburn on the all-time list was a ‘pinch-yourself-moment.’

“For my entire life, Emma and Courtney just seemed so untouchable,” she said. “Like, it always seemed like, ‘OK, we’re all just fighting for third because there’s no way I’m going to be running sub 9:10.'”

Constien’s seed-time is the this year (and ). Even with rising expectations, she plans to approach the like it’s just another race.

“I can’t put this race up on a pedestal,” she said. “I have to be very level-headed about it … I’m racing women who are really fast, but I’m really fast. It’s just another race. Get it done.”