ASHLAND — Before they put on the Red, White and Blue, Katie Moon and Trevor Bassitt proudly wore Ashland University’s Purple and Gold.
Both Moon and Bassitt are in Paris preparing for the start of the upcoming Summer Olympics. The Opening Ceremony, a first-of-its-kind boat procession on the Seine, is set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. to be broadcast on NBC.
A 2013 AU grad and two-time NCAA Division II national champ, Moon is the defending Olympic champion in the women’s pole vault. She struck gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but struggled through the 2022 season.
“I had what they have deemed ‘post-Olympic blues’ or ‘post-Olympic depression.’ I just really crashed in every sense of the word,” Moon said in an interview with NBC Olympics.
“I was so stressed all year long, and I had a terrible season.”
She rebounded in 2023, winning U.S. indoor and outdoor championships and sharing the world title with Nina Kennedy of Australia. Moon carried that 2023 momentum into the Olympic year and took silver at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon earlier this summer with a vault of 4.73 meters (15 feet, 6.25 inches).
“It’s so exciting. It’s what you work pretty much your whole life for,” Moon said in an interview with NBC Sports. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure but it’s what we want as athletes.”
The 26-year-old Bassitt, a 2022 Ashland product and 10-time Division II national champ, punched his ticket to Paris with a third-place finish in the 400 hurdles. Seeded eighth, he finished in a season-best 47.82 seconds — more than a full second faster than his previous season best — to cap an unlikely turnaround.
“This has been one of the hardest seasons of my life,” Bassitt said at the time. “A month ago here at the Prefontaine (Classic) I ran the slowest race of my professional career.
“I didn’t want to run another meet. I just wanted to train and get my mind right.”
The brief respite served Bassitt well.
“I’ve always been able to be at my best when it mattered most,” Bassitt said. “An underdog is a hungry dog and hungry dogs run faster.”
Moon and Bassitt and the rest of the U.S. track and field contingent won’t be in action until the second week of the Olympics.
Moon competes in the qualifying round on Aug. 5. The finals are Aug. 7. Bassitt competes in the 400 hurdles prelims on Aug. 5. The semifinals are Aug. 7 and the finals are Aug. 9.