“I didn’t think track would get me anywhere,” Peabody said.
Peabody was offered to play football at several Division I and Division II colleges before sustaining an injury. The injury prevented him from fully participating in half of his senior year football season.
“[The injury] diminished my football career, and so I decided to stick with track,” Peabody said.
During his senior season of track, Peabody said he got much better and so he received other offers for track.
“Once I started receiving all of the offers, I started taking [track] more seriously,” Peabody said.
Peabody currently runs the 100m, 200m and the 4x400m relay for the Bisons track and field team. On Saturday, Jan. 19, Peabody defeated Olympian Manteo Mitchell in the 200m. Peabody finished with a time of 21.36 seconds while Mitchell finished with a time of 21.37 seconds.
“People seem to think it’s a big deal,” Peabody said when asked about his victory.
Whether racing an Olympian or another college athlete, Peabody gets nervous just like anyone else.
“Nerves kick in before every race, whether there is very little competition or I am racing an Olympian,” Peabody said. “The nerves are always there.”
Peabody and Mitchell have raced several times before, and Peabody has a competitive relationship with Mitchell. He said that when the two raced in a preliminary race on Friday, Jan. 18, Mitchell “pulled up” a little at the end of the race.
“Saturday was a different story,” Peabody said. “It was very competitive. He didn’t let up and I didn’t let up, and it was a photo finish.”
While Mitchell is the first professional that Peabody has beaten, he said he has raced many others.
“I see it as good competition and a way for me to get faster,” Peabody said.
Peabody said he thinks about going to the Olympics every day. It is a goal that he firmly wants to reach. By the time he graduates, Peabody said he wants to have some sort of professional contract.
Becoming a professional runner would be the ideal job for Peabody. He loves running and it’s his dream.
But, he does have a fallback.
“I have a pretty good fallback in going to medical school,” Peabody said. “If I can get in.”