TU Track Star Overcomes Past, Becomes One Of The Fastest In World

Only 12 men have run a 100-meter dash under ten seconds this year and Edmond native and Tulsa sprinter Bryce Robinson is one of them.

"It's a pretty surreal moment for me, when it first happened, I was kind of in shock," he said.

Robinson ran a 9.99 at the American Conference meet, but that seemed impossible in his past when he was running away from a tough situation.

That was until he got his life out of the blocks and on track.

Before his junior year, he was kicked out of the house by his biological mother. He explained that the situation was too volatile to return to, so he turned to his at the time girlfriend's parents for help.

“They definitely put structure in my life. They helped me reach my talent. If it wasn't for them I would be nowhere," said Robinson.

The Billeter family, now his legal guardians, welcomed him in on one condition. That condition was that he stopped dating their daughter. "It was definitely difficult leaving my biological mother, but I put all that stuff behind me,” stated Robinson. “It was a situation that I shouldn't have been a part of."

With the help of a new family and the help of current OSU sprinter John Teeters, Robinson went full-time into track with a lot to learn. "He never lifted weights. He'd never done any speed development work. It's been a process to getting him to that level training wise," said Tulsa track and field coach Clif Mitchell.

Fortunately, his form and speed quickly developed. "I've learned that running relaxed is the big deal," said Robinson.

He's shaved a half second off his 100-meter time in a couple years. The junior started to develop during the indoor season, placing in meets and onto competing for conference and national championships. “Once I ran that nine, that was eye opening because I have that belief. But, the confidence level is not always there at times. It's just been a crazy experience since then."

His coach believes he'll gain even more speed next year. "He really has had only half the races he should have had at this point in his career. If he stays without injuries, I can still see him progressing to a 9.8 type guy next year,” said Mitchell. "He does everything on and off the track the right way and I'm thrilled to have him."

As for now, national qualifiers for the worlds are in store for him in Eugene, Oregon, this summer.

Robinson's troubled past has turned into a bright future.