Over the course of multiple weeks this summer, Academy of Art track & field Urban Knights displayed their talents globally, competing in their respective country's National Championships on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

First on the track for ART U was Juvonna Cornette in the Guyanese National Championships where she qualified out of the 100m dash prelims on the fourth-fastest time at 11.75. Thereafter, the Interior Architecture & Design major not only bested her position with a runner-up finish to the National Champion, but did so by breaking her own Academy of Art program record with a wind-legal 11.33 across the finish line.

One week later at the Barbados National Championships, Ajani Ince qualified for the event final in both the 100m and 200m dashes, doing so first with steadily faster progressions in the 100m. He started third out of his initial heat (sixth overall) with a 10.67 then went 10.58 to place second in his semifinal heat (third overall) before claiming third overall in the final with a 10.44 mark. That performance was followed up by his more than one full second improvement from the prelims to the final where he turned in a new wind-legal personal record 20.51 (second in ART U history) to end just 0.08 seconds from the National Champion.

Shareez Hamm, who came off a championship performance in the 400m hurdles at Outdoor Nationals, stepped up to challenge the best hurdlers in the United States at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the latter part of June. He would qualify on time out of the preliminary round at 50.92, just under a second from the mark that earned him the NCAA Division II crown, then moved up to 17th overall in the semifinals (sixth in his heat) with a 51.02 time.

Returning to the Jamaican National Championships where he set the ART U record in the 400m hurdles one year ago, Robin Black was also in action in the 400m hurdles, taking seventh of 14 competitors in the prelims with a 50.45 effort ahead of his 51.10 in the final that put him eighth overall. Additionally, the Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media major was 21st overall out of the prelims on a 21.48 then 19th in the semifinals with a time of 21.63 to the finish.

Just five years removed from completing his collegiate career as a 10-time National Champion, 20-time All-American, and 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Mobolade Ajomale was once again busy at the Canada Bell Track & Field Trials, contesting the 100m and 200m dash finals versus his fellow Olympians. He was second out of his 100m heat at 10.15, blazing into the final where he placed eighth overall with a 10.48 mark. Ajomale completed the weekend's events two days later, reaching the final on a 20.75 time that had him fourth overall before holding that position at 20.74 against the nation's best.

The French National Championships featured multiple Knights in action, beginning with Marie-Jeanne Ourega in the long jump. Ahead of five others after completing her second attempt, Ourega's 20-4.5 (6.21m) mark put her seventh overall and she would remain in that spot through the final round of jumps. Yacouba Gnacko was on the runway for the triple jump not long after and his opening 49-3.5 (15.02m) mark had him seventh to start, but he would miss the final by less than two inches (0.60m), taking 11th overall in the competition. Academy of Art alumni and former NCAA DII 3000m Steeplechase National Champion Gatien Airiau closed out the day's action with a 12th place finish in the 3000m steeplechase, going 8:39.08 to post a faster time than his own ART U record which came back on May 3, 2018.

Lina Hanich rode the momentum of achieving both the indoor and outdoor 800m program records at Academy of Art this past season and a PacWest Championship in the event into the German National Championships and German U23 Championships. Challenging other 800m Olympic hopefuls in the National Championships initially, the Advertising major went 2:09.82 to place 18th overall in the semifinals, ending a little over three seconds from advancement. One week later at the U23 Championships, Hanich finished less than a second from making the final on time, turning in a 2:12.20 to place third in her heat and ninth overall.

In her final competition prior to the closure of the Olympic Games qualifying window, Katharina Goetschl contested the 3000m steeplechase at Track Night Vienna in Austria. The result was a fifth new Academy of Art record and new U23 Austria record for Goetschl in the event this season as the Industrial Design major crossed the finish line at 10:11.13 while placing 12th overall. Two weeks later, Goetschl could be found running alongside her fellow countrywomen in the Austrian U23 Championships, delivering a new personal record 4:28.53 in the 1500m and a 16:57.69 in the 5000m while placing second overall in both events.

Many of these Urban Knights are set to return to action for Academy of Art during the upcoming 2024-25 cross country and track & field seasons.