Check out the full feature on former New York State Champ Deajah Stevens, who has been having a break out year after making the Olympics last June.
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By Scott McDonald
At this time last year, Oregon sprinter Deajah Stevens didn't think she had a statistical chance at making the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.
"My plan was to make it to Tokyo in 2020," she said. "Going into NCAA nationals, I didn't think my time was fast enough to even make it to the trials."
Stevens indeed made the U.S. team for Rio, ultimately reaching the 200-meter final, where she finished seventh. In doing so, Stevens became the latest in a long line of Oregon track and field athletes to compete in the Games.
The road from her native New York City to Eugene, Oregon, and finally to Rio wasn't a straight, clear-cut path.