Abby Steiner shares a major update months after heartbreaking exit at the US Olympic trials

Abby Steiner marked her return to the gym, running on the treadmill, months after placing sixth in the 200m at the 2024 US Olympic trials. She underwent foot surgery in 2023 and returned to the track but an Achilles tendon tear forced her to undergo another surgery after the trials.

Steiner, the US indoor record holder in the 200m and 300m, competed for the University of Kentucky when she clinched the 200m titles at the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. She also won the 60m silver and bronze in the 4x400m relay. At the Outdoor edition in 2022, she bagged the 100m bronze and gold in the 200m and 4x400m relay.

Steiner was part of the gold-winning 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams at the 2022 World Championships. Though she aimed to compete at the 2024 Olympics, her sixth finish in the 200m at the trials ended her dreams.

In an Instagram post from two months ago, Abby Steiner talked about the double Haglund surgery she underwent the past year and how an issue showed up in the left foot and continued to hamper her practice in the Olympic year.

“After running rounds at trials, I returned home and wasn’t able to properly walk around my house for about 2 weeks. I got my third MRI of the season which showed us that there was more bone spur and a partial tear of my Achilles tendon, which meant it was time to shut it down (again) and get surgery (again),” she narrated her post-Olympic trials story.

On 21 October 2024, the 200m NCAA record holder shared a story featuring her on a treadmill, marking her return to running.

“I’m a runner again. Baby steps in the right direction,” the caption read.

Steiner stands with a personal best time of 21.77s in the 200m and 10.90s in the 100m.

Abby Steiner expressed her wish to fight and get back on the track in the following season

Steiner’s surgery and the time she spent limping around with her foot made her realize the taxing nature of her sport. Despite that, she sported a strong mindset and planned her return to the track in the next season.

“This sport can be really, really hard sometimes. But I also have dealt with enough adversity to know that greatness is usually on the other side of these mountains. Most of all I really love running pain free and I can’t wait to get back to that,” she said.

Abby Steiner also thanked her team members for their unending support during her difficult time.