The sun was setting, the lights were shining and the electrifying roars of the crowd were echoing through the stadium when Savannah Sutherland stepped onto the track for the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
With a whirlwind of emotions racing through her, she couldn’t help but take a few seconds to admire the scene around her.
“Being in the finals with women I grew up idolizing and knowing that I was racing them and deserved to be racing them was surreal,” Sutherland told The Michigan Daily. “I remember before getting in my blocks, I stopped and just took a deep breath and looked around me at the stadium because the energy in there was absolutely amazing, and the track and stadium were beautiful. It felt like straight out of a movie.”
But long before Sutherland traveled to Paris to make her Olympic debut, her journey began in the small village of Borden, Canada, with a population of roughly 300. Growing up, Sutherland played every sport in the book, dabbling in volleyball, soccer, softball and even figure skating. But it wasn’t until her older brother, Cole, started track that Savannah set her eyes on running.
However, Savannah’s introduction to track and field was anything but traditional.
“I’m from a very small town, so we don’t have a track or anything,” Savannah said. “We kind of just get out there and run on this little dirt circle and call that track.”
Once Savannah’s running journey took off, it didn’t take long for her natural talent and speed to turn heads — literally. At a district track meet, a coach from the neighboring town sought her out, complimenting her speed and suggesting that she look into track camp for the upcoming summer. Thinking that it could be a fun opportunity to learn the basics of track, Savannah decided to take him up on his offer and enroll.
At camp, Savannah immediately realized that she was in over her head. Unlike everyone else, she had no idea how to use blocks and didn’t know what spikes were. But she took the experience in stride, and little did she know, this summer camp would lead her straight into the provincial selection for Team Saskatchewan. One minute Savannah was learning how to use starting blocks at camp, and the next she was being selected to represent her province at U16 Nationals. From running around Borden’s dirt track to competing at U16 Nationals, Savannah was all of a sudden living a small-town girl’s dream — and she was only 13 years old.
At Nationals, Savannah finished seventh in both the 100-meter and 300-meter events. Once Nationals was over, she decided to officially join the Saskatoon Track and Field Club, which she’d be affiliated with for the rest of middle school and high school. Throughout high school, Savannah excelled. Not only was she ranked No. 24 at 400-meters, she was ranked No. 6 in the world among U20 athletes in the 400-meter hurdles for the 2021 outdoor season.
After placing third at World Juniors the summer before college, Savannah came to Michigan feeling confident — both in herself and her abilities. However, the transition from her 300-person town to college proved to be much more challenging than she had initially thought. After all, Savannah was moving to a new country, leaving her family and friends and entering a new chapter of her life with the lingering effects of COVID-19 still present.
“Every aspect of my life had changed,” Savannah said. “I was recruited during COVID, and the first time I stepped on campus was to move into my dorm. It was the first time that I had ever been in Michigan. It was definitely a jump, and I think that was reflected in my times freshman year.”
Although her times were still impressive, Savannah felt they didn’t truly reflect all that she was capable of. It was during this vulnerable time that she turned to the one constant in her life — her family. After several long phone calls, her parents reminded her not just of the athlete she is, but of the resilient person she is. And, as parents often are, they were right.
“My family has always supported me,” Savannah said. “I think the first meet they missed was World Juniors in 2021 when I was in Kenya, and that was only because they weren’t allowed to travel due to COVID. They have always been in my corner and been my number one fans forever.”
Thanks to her family’s revitalizing encouragement, Savannah leaped into sophomore year with a completely altered mindset. Despite her disappointment in her freshman year times, she knew that doing well on the track started with having a positive outlook. For Savannah, this meant having her family’s support and established friends at her side.
“I was ready to put freshman year behind me,” Savannah said. “It was a fresh start, and I really attacked fall training that year and ended up having some great results, even better than I could have expected.”
Savannah’s sophomore year can be summarized in just two words: shattering records. By the end of the year, Savannah ran several career-bests and broke just as many school records. At the Big Ten Indoor Championships, she ran a 51.41 in the 400-meter dash, earning second place. To this day, it’s one of Savannah’s best times. And at the NCAA Championships, she ran a career-best and school-record 54.45 in the 400-meter hurdles to win the title. But her individual accomplishments in her sophomore year are not what she finds most memorable. Instead, the highlight of her year was a 4×4 race with her teammates at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
“We had a great team that year, and we knew going in that we could win the title,” Savannah said. “We had enough points to secure the win before running the 4×4. But, we were pretty amped up, so we decided to run the 4×4 anyway. It was a pretty tight race between us and Ohio State, but we ended up winning at the line. I think it was one of my favorite memories, just winning with my girls.”
Even with the tournament already won, it was one of the most meaningful experiences she has ever been a part of, simply because she was with her friends.
“It was a great year, and it just continued to ascend from there,” Michigan coach Kevin Sullivan told The Daily. “It just goes back to her qualities as a person, not just as an athlete. She’s talented and she knows she’s accomplished a lot, but at the same time, she’s got really good values and characteristics that make her a strong person.”
After her sophomore year, Savannah only got better, with more career-bests and new school records. Although her list of accomplishments could go on and on, there is an entire other side to being a female student-athlete. While her work ethic, passion and confidence are undoubtedly evident on the track, these values all stem from her small-town upbringing. Instilled in her from a young age, Savannah has always strived to embody them in every aspect of her life, both on and off the track.
“I know she’s someone that’s very passionate about women’s rights, accessibility and representation,” Sullivan said. “I respect her so much for her values and studies, and I think it just comes back again to who she is naturally. She’s someone that leads by example, not in an outwardly way but as a friend, teammate and person.”
As a senior now, Savannah has learned what it means to stay true to herself and be confident in everything she pursues. She knows that she’s worked hard and earned her place on the track, and she has every intention of continuing to get better and better. And, at the heart of it all is her family, friends and the people who have supported her along the way.
“I have a lucky necklace that my mom gave me, and I wear it every single race,” Savannah said. “It’s kind of beat up a little bit and the clasp has fallen off multiple times. But, it’s my lucky necklace, and I am able to see it when I’m in the blocks and looking down. And so every time before a race, I look at my necklace and remind myself of why I’m doing this and who I’m doing it for.”
After almost every race, Savannah fondly remembers rushing over to her family, who are always cheering her on from the sidelines. Some of her most cherished race day memories are her family’s glowing smiles and the long embraces she shares with them over the railing. Even if they’re back home, she knows they’re watching and celebrating her from hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles away.
Savannah’s journey from Borden to the Paris Olympics was one marked by adversity, moments of self-doubt and times when her confidence wavered. Yet, it was also a journey that culminated toward breaking records, achieving personal bests and embodying perseverance. From not knowing how to use starting blocks to getting on her blocks on the Olympic stage, Savannah became the first Canadian to reach the event finals since 1996.
For Savannah, the cliche truly rings true: life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey — a journey defined by her small-town roots and endless family support.
