Getting to know Britton Wilson - The star lighting up collegiate track athletics: 'I want to be the best'

Rarely does collegiate track and field athletics feature on SportsCenter's Top 10 in the U.S., widely seen as the biggest plays of the day from across the sporting world.

But there was Britton Wilson leading off the TV countdown on Sunday (14 May), after the University of Arkansas star athlete broke the NCAA record in the women’s 400m with a 49.13.

The scary thing about the 22-year-old’s North American collegiate record-shattering win at the SEC Championships? The 400m is not even her marquee event: That would be the 400m hurdles, where Wilson was fifth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

Is the Virginia native one to watch away from the college ranks? Her times speak for themselves. Her 400m run placed her 17^th on the list of all-time bests (and fourth among U.S. women), while that 49.13 and her 53.23 in the 400m hurdles are both world-leading times this season.

“I always knew that I wanted to make it to this point,” Wilson told the Arkansas athletics podcast about her rise to the world level. “I knew that I could be one of the best [in college]... but I want to make a career out of this. And I not only want to be pro, I want to be the best. I feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Get to know Wilson as she continues that rise up the ranks – and before she becomes (as she puts it) – one of the best in the world.

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Britton Wilson: Collecting accolades – and a World title

The accolades are already countless for Wilson at the high school and collegiate level (SEC and NCAA champion), but, as the American said, she has higher goals. The Richmond, Virgina-born runner got her first true taste of that at the World Championships last August, where she not only made the aforementioned 400m hurdles final, but also became a gold medallist.

Wilson ran the third leg of the 4x400m relay for Team USA, handing the baton off to 400m hurdles Olympic and world champion Sydney McLaughlin to seal their championship win in Oregon.

It was her debut at Worlds, the American running in front of the home crowd in a pressure-packed team event against strong opposition from Jamaica and Canada, who finished second and third respectively. Her 49.39 split was the second fastest of 32 runners, behind only that of McLaughlin (47.91).

But the lower-level experience paid off: Wilson had not only captured SEC and NCAA titles, but was also the SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year in 2022, off of both 400m and 400m hurdles titles, having set numerous records along the way.

Facing adversity: From Tennessee to Arkansas

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Wilson, who spent her first two years at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and struggled to translate her CV, with 10 Virginia state titles and two USATF Junior national victories, into immediate success.

“I was in a pretty low spot when I was at Tennessee,” Wilson said. “I knew that something needed to change... It hit me hard when things [weren’t working] and I wasn’t happy. Everything fell apart when I knew I was giving 100 percent in practice, but the results weren’t there.”

Wilson describes herself as being “on top of the world” coming out of high school, but that the program wasn’t the right fit for her in Tennessee.

“I felt defeated.”

Wilson would transfer the next season (2021-22) to Arkansas.

Getting to know Britton: Ariana Grande in her headphones

While Wilson carves out a legacy-in-the-making of her own, she looks up to compatriot McLaughlin as one of her inspirations, pointing out that Sydney and her are close in age and that she’s inspired by the Olympic champion’s drive.

While her Arkansas teammates call her Brit, Britton is known as “Rose” in her family – her middle name – and comes from athletic roots, her father having played college and professional basketball.

And what’s playing in her headphones on meet day? That would be Ariana Grande, she said, who helps her “manifest good vibes” before she competes.

Dreaming of Paris 2024

While the 2023 World Athletics Championships loom this 19-27 August in Budapest, Wilson isn’t shying away from bigger hopes and dreams – ones that she would like to turn into concrete plans: “I’m supposed to be a world-record holder,” she said.

But the Olympic Summer Games Paris 2024 are the ultimate goal for now, too.

“Definitely, I definitely want to be an Olympian,” she said on The Hog Pod. “There’s another World Championships [this season], so hopefully I get to go to those and then go to the Olympics, [too].”

“That’s definitely my goal.”