Although the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London have officially come to an end, the countless memories made by the athletes who participated in the world’s greatest sporting competition will likely be everlasting. This can certainly be said about Mississippi State’s Daundre Barnaby, an up-and-coming senior on MSU’s track and field team who acted as the Bulldogs’ only representative in the 2012 summer games.
Barnaby, a native of Hartford, Conn. and a member of Team Canada, participated in the 400-meter dash, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the second round of the competition. Barnaby and the Canadians finished 13th in overall competition with 18 total metals. While he might not have garnered the success he said he was hoping to attain, Barnaby said he still took a lot away from the rare experience of participating in the Olympics.
“It was amazing,” Barnaby said. “There is nothing like entering the stadium and seeing all of those people, and competing was crazy.”
Barnaby’s appearance in the 2012 summer games makes him the 15th MSU athlete to ever compete in the Olympics, and the Bulldog upperclassman said he will apply what he learned in London as he gears up for his senior season at State.
“I just have to enter every race hungrier and don’t hold anything back,” Barnaby said.
Steve Dudley, who just completed his 12th season as head coach of the MSU track and field team, said Barnaby’s representation of the Bulldogs in the Olympics is a tribute to the dedication and commitment the senior has displayed throughout his collegiate career.
“Anytime a university has a student-athlete qualify for international competitions, we are very proud of them and their hard work,” Dudley said. “Qualifying for the Olympics is extra special in that it only happens once every four years, so having Daundre part of an Olympic team was fantastic.”
With his final year at MSU rapidly approaching, Barnaby, who earned All-SEC and All-American honors in 2011 in the 4×400 meter relay, said he hopes he can take what he learned while in London and use it to further unite MSU’s track and field team.
“You just have to stay positive, no matter the outcome of the race,” Barnaby said. “We can’t point fingers at any one individual, because we are a team.”