Most Idaho student athletes go on to careers in fields other than athletics. That wasn’t the case for 2003 Idaho graduate Angela Whyte.
Whyte has been competing as a professional sprinter and hurdler for the past 10 years while also training here in Moscow. She is also volunteering as a track coach for Idaho Director of Track & Field Wayne Phipps, who is her coach. Most recently, Whyte competed in Moscow, Russia at the International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships on August 17.
Whyte competed for Canada, her home country, in the 100-meter hurdles finishing in sixth place at 12.78 seconds.
“It was a rough year of training and a lot was going on in my life,” Whyte said. “I wasn’t even too sure whether or not I’d be able to be back into a major world event final. “I think Wayne and I, we knew it was possible but you never know until you get there.”
Phipps was happy to have his athlete back among the best in the world.
“From my standpoint, it’s an amazing opportunity for me to work with such an elite athlete and have just a small part of contributing to her success,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited.”
Whyte is no stranger to world-class success on the track. She also finished sixth at the 2004 Olympic Games and eighth at the 2007 World Championships.
In 2008, Whyte had knee surgery and struggled to get back into same high level of running that she enjoyed in her first five years after college.
“I haven’t made a couple teams because we’ve got a phenomenal crew of hurdlers in Canada,” Whyte said. “So being able to make the team and be in the finals is a huge thing for me.”
In addition to her post-collegiate success, Whyte enjoyed immense success as a Vandal hurdler. Some of her collegiate accolades include four-time NCAA All-American and five-time Big West champion. She also earned Big West Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2001 and Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year honors in 2003. In 2010, she was inducted into the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame.
While Whyte has enjoyed success as a hurdler, she would rather be remembered as someone that proved anything is possible.
“They like knowing that their coach has accomplished quite a bit in her career on the world stage but I think more important than that is for them to know what’s possible,” Whyte said of the Vandal athletes she coaches. “I wasn’t this amazing high school hurdler … I wasn’t heavily recruited. It was my sacrifice, and my determination and a love for what I do that has really propelled me to that level.”
Although she’s getting older for a sprinter, Whyte’s 2013 success on the world stage show that she still has something left in the tank. She said she takes everything year-by-year but would like to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics if possible. It would be her third Olympic games.
Whenever Whyte does stop competing, there is no doubt she will be missed by many.
Phipps said Whyte was not only named captain of the Canadian team during the championship in Moscow, but he also got to see how much respect other world class athletes and coaches have for her.
“People really have this admiration and respect for her, I was almost as proud of that as her performance.” Phipps said. “It’s not surprising but when you see it firsthand– it’s a really neat thing.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]