Dylan Beard has won $65,000 over two weekends at the Grand Slam Track, but
as the American tells Defiance, it hasn’t been all fame and riches for the athlete.

It’s 4 p.m. in Georgia, America, and professional track and field athlete Dylan Beard
is on route to work. The irony is not lost on him, but he doesn’t have a shift today,
and he’s just dropping off some paperwork on the way to his track event.

He laughs the situation off but admits that in the past, he’d seen his job at Walmart
as a real obstacle in the way of achieving his sporting goals.

“Working was very difficult,” says Beard. “At first, it was hard to get Walmart on board
and explain to them that I’m an athlete and I’m working to put money towards
training and competing.

“Travelling for a track meet was my downtime. The longer the flight, the better. I was
racing competitors whose sole job was to train for track and field, and they didn’t
have any job or side job. They have a physical edge over me.”

Beard often competes against Olympic athletes, but he’s not the same as them.
Without the Nike shoe sponsor and the big brand deals, Beard works three days a
week at a Walmart deli to make ends meet and ensure he can afford to travel across
the country to showcase his talents.

“I often get off at 11, so trying to get enough sleep to wake up the next day, work and
train was hard,” Beard says. “There was no time to rest, and that took a great toll on
my body mentally and physically. It was nonstop.”

Beard still works at Walmart, but he explains how he uses the past tense because
his mentality has switched. He hasn’t had a straightforward path to where he is now,
but it comes across as though he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I didn’t expect this. My mindset while working at the Walmart deli had me thinking
that it would take at least two or three years to see the progress I’ve made now,” the
26-year-old says.

“Working takes a toll on the body, especially when you’re trying to compete, travel
and train, so I kind of picked up the mentality that I have to keep working on the little
things, and then when I get to the point where I can leave, I’ll make my breakthrough
in the sport.
 
“Recently I’ve started having the mindset of I have the opportunity no matter what, so I may as well make the most of it. It probably helped a little bit knowing I had to be on form if there was prize money on the table or if I had to hit a time to qualify. I used to find it stressful, and it felt like a disadvantage, but looking at it now, I think it gave me an edge.”

Beard’s positive outlook and unwavering optimism are clear to see, and he’s quick to
name-drop his mom when asked why he’s never given up on his dreams despite the
double shifts and the draining training sessions on minimal sleep.

“My mom has been so supportive. She’s the one that recommended track in high
school. She tells me to take every opportunity, and she supports me greatly. She
took the flight to Japan to watch me race recently, even though she isn’t a fan of
flying. She’s been a big help, and I appreciate her taking the time to support me. It
helps with my drive and keeps me going.”

And Beard’s persistence has more than paid off. He admits that when the Grand
Slam Track was first announced, he assumed it would be yet another track meet
which is impossible to get an invite for, but he quickly came to see the new
competition as a win for all its stakeholders, especially those like himself who are
punching above their weight.

“If you’re able to deal with the big dogs in the sport who have the sponsors and the
shoe brands, then it’s a two-for-one opportunity. You have the chance to leave with
money no matter what, and then you can show that you can compete and beat these
people, so it will be good moving forward for athletes working part-time jobs.

“At the most recent Slam, you can see athletes without the Nike or Adidas fits. Some
are in their own brand, and some are in plain black, and that’s something you notice.
It’s a win for us that aren’t sponsored; it’s a win for the ones who do have sponsors
because it’s more money for them, and it’s a win for Grand Slam, who are putting on
a show for the world.”

It was certainly a win for Beard in the first-ever Grand Slam Track weekend. The
Saturday race winners in Kingston, Jamaica, included some of the biggest sports
stars on the planet, including Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Gabby Thomas, Sydney
McLaughlin-Levrone and Kenny Bednarek. Among these was an outlier. 110-metre
hurdles winner, Dylan Beard.

“I had never beaten any of those guys before, so to come out with the win against
Olympic champions, medallists and Olympians, period, was amazing. I had
competed with people on the big stage and got a win out of it.”

Despite Beard’s unlikely success and the $50,000 earned in the process, he admits
that he was disappointed to only come third in the 100-metre hurdle race the
following day, leaving him agonisingly close to the $100,000 prize jackpot.
He saw the funny side, though, laughing about the fact that the excitement from
Saturday’s shock win had him going into the biggest race of his life the following day
on little sleep.

“I was so excited that I probably didn’t get the best sleep, which probably meant that
I didn’t run as well as I could have the next day, but $50,000 is something nobody
else is dropping on the table, so I am appreciative of that.

“It was disheartening not to win on the Sunday. It’s not just about the money, but I
was definitely disappointed because nobody else is dropping $100,000 like that.
Considering I technically lost $50,000, it was kind of disheartening.”

Whether you want to call it a great success story or a heartbreaking near miss, Dylan
Beard has showcased how the Grand Slam Track could be the competition that
paves the way for more even distribution of race opportunity and pay for track and
field athletes.

Many will be hoping that Beard is simply the first to reap the benefits of the new Grand Slam Track
competition, and although he insists that he remains an underdog for now, Beard
thinks that his recent performances, along with the opportunity to showcase his
talent, mean that he shouldn’t be the outsider for much longer.

“I’m still in my underdog stage. I feel like it will be like that until I make a big impact or
a big breakthrough. At this point, being an underdog helps me, as there’s less
pressure and less people expect things from you. I will consider myself an underdog but not for long.”

Dylan Beard winning in the 110-meter hurdles, Courtesy of Grand Slam Track