For sophomore distance runner Silje Fjørtoft, every month seems to bring with it a new set of awards or accolades.
In February, the Ortsa, Norway, native led the Mustang track and field team at the Conference USA Indoor Championships in Houston, breaking the SMU record for the one-mile run with a time of 4:50.73. This was one day after setting a new conference meet record in the 5,000-meter run (16:19.42).
Fjørtoft was named Performer of the Meet.
In March, she bettered her own 5K time at the NCAA Indoor Nationals in College Station with a time of 16:18.80 (behind only Katie Swords’ 1996 time of 16:15.56 for second-fastest in SMU history).
And just last weekend, Fjørtoft ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Palo Alto, Calif., in a blistering 9:56.73. Not only did she dominate the field to win the event, but her time is the fastest run in the steeplechase by a woman in the world so far this year.
For her efforts, Fjørtoft has been named conference Co-Athlete of the Week.
“She’s just a highly intense person who stands out in everything she does,” said head coach Dave Wollman. “She is an athlete 24-7.”
Fjørtoft’s modestly competitive nature is captured in her own assessment of the 3K steeplechase win.
“I didn’t really expect to win, so that was a nice surprise,” she said. “There are still things I can improve, so I’m excited to see how fast I can run in the steeple this year.”
If recent history is any indicator, Fjørtoft is set to sizzle as the calendar yields to warmer months.
Last year, Fjørtoft was named conference Athlete of the Week for the first week of April. After winning both the 3K steeplechase and 5,000-meter events at the Outdoor Track and Field Championship in mid-May, she was honored as the conference Freshman of the Year.
The warm Texas weather has played a role in recruiting some of the top athletes from across the globe, Wollman said.
“One of the reasons we go overseas to recruit is because they make their decisions from a perspective of what they want in life,” he said. “They want to be in warmer weather to train – that’s Dallas. They want to be part of somebody who understands excellence, and that’s what you sell.”
Wollman visited the small Norwegian town of Ortsa multiple times to sell SMU to Fjørtoft and her family, something she said helped her decision to become a Mustang.
“That coach Wollman came all the way to Norway to meet recruit me was really exciting,” she said. “It showed how much he wanted me to be a part of the team and also that I would be taken care of when I came, which was very important to my parents.”
As Wollman explained, “Whatever I have to do for a kid next door, I have to do for a kid in Europe.”
When asked where he sees the Mustang track and field program in five years, he said, “The answer to that question is right there,” pointing to a table filled entirely with championship trophies of various sizes.
“We did that from ’95 to ’05,” he said.
During that time, in addition to being a member of the Western Athletic Conference, SMU also had both a men’s and women’s track and field team. But the dynamics of the program changed when the men’s team was dropped from competition in 2004.
“When that happened, it made us have to rebuild the women’s program, too, because it’s not anything you can go through without having effects,” Wollman said. “So this group of girls on my team now never even experienced men’s track at SMU, and they were recruited with the idea that we’re going to be great, and we are.”
Leading the charge back to prominence is Fjørtoft, who has excelled both in the classroom and on the track. She, along with teammate Jessica Simmons, was named to the conference Cross Country All-Academic Team in December.
“Although I love track and if possible I would run for a living,” she said, “I know I need an education too … I’m also a bit of a perfectionist and never do anything halfhearted.”
At times, Wollman said, Fjørtoft will listen to lectures she records in class while on the practice field, illustrating her dedication to all-around excellence.
“Silje is not trying to find a normal four-year college education where she parties on Friday and Saturday nights and tries to catch up on studying on Monday and Tuesday,” he said. “She’s not going to do that and be able to do what she’s accomplishing.
“She chooses to stand out, and those are the kind of kids you want on your team.”
The sophomore already has bold plans once she receives her diploma.
“After graduation I really want to continue running,” she said. “My goal is to compete in the 2012 Olympics.”
In the eyes of her coach, this comes as no surprise.
“She’s an Olympian, without a doubt,” Wollman said, “and she’ll probably be an Olympian several times over before she’s done … I think her best days are ahead of her.”
