LSU's Damion Thomas Has Found His Stride At The Perfect Time

College athletics is the constant chase of consistency and improvement.

With only four or five years to reach elite potential, the road to success is different for everyone. 

But for Louisiana State University's Damion Thomas, who won his first NCAA title this past indoor season, his journey has been particularly winding. 

The last four years has seen him struggle with season-ending injuries, endure career lows, and, like everyone else, survive a pandemic. But by not letting these experiences define him, the 2017 Oakland Park Northeast (FL) High School graduate has been able to succeed when it matters most. 

Now, he's on the path to making his first Jamaican Olympic team. 

Having not competed on the national stage for more than a year, Thomas has returned and is ready to finish his college career in record-breaking fashion. 

"I think it's a testament to God showing me my purpose," he said. "One of the things my mom has always told me was [that] I need to be patient and don't falter. Usually when she sends me Bible verses every week, it's always that same message of staying patient, trusting his timing and you'll get there."

This journey has led Thomas to new heights in his career and on the world stage.

At the Texas Relays in April, the LSU senior became the fastest short hurdler in program history, running a world leading, and wind-legal time of 13.22.

"Realistically going in, the plan was to have a clean race, execute and the time will come," he said. "I was looking to probably come away from the meet with a 13.5 to start the season off but I want to say when I ran 13.5 in the prelim and it was pretty smooth, I was like yeah, it may be something hot in that final."

But Thomas' performance in Austin was just piggybacking off his career-defining moment just a week prior.

In a photo finish, he concluded a near perfect indoor season by winning his first 60-meter hurdle national championship in 7.51. Edging out Iowa's Jamal Britt and Florida State's Trey Cunningham by hundredths-of-a-second, Thomas captured the long-awaited title, broke the school record and became the fifth-fastest hurdler in NCAA history.

"If you ask me to take you through that indoor race, I couldn't even tell you because it's one of those things that's in the moment and I wasn't really thinking about anything," he recalled. "I just remember hurdling and feeling Jamal on my left, Trey on my right and thinking this is going to be closer than I thought. I just need to dip at the line and see where it takes me. Coach Shaver always says dip with the shoulder and that's what I did, and I was able to pull away."

For Thomas, his success shared parallels with his debut season as a Tiger.

While it was surreal to compete at indoor nationals as a freshman after watching the meet for years as a young child, he wasn't happy with his eighth-place finish. But instead of carrying that energy into the outdoor season, he used it as fuel to improve on his efforts.

He did just that.

Placing third at the SEC Outdoor Championships and second in the East Preliminary led him to Eugene -- and the NCAA Track and Field Championships -- as an underdog.

"I really didn't feel any pressure, it was one of those things like okay, I made the final and now just try to do my best there," Thomas said. "So, I just ran the best I could and shoot I almost came out with the victory, I got third, but it was tight, I had to make Grant work for it. But it should be that way."

As the top freshman in the country, many believed that his 13.45 effort was going to be his ceiling that year.

Then at the 2018 Jamaican Junior Championships, Thomas tied the U20 world record in the 110-meter hurdles, running 12.99 over the 39-inch height. He followed up the record-breaking moment by winning gold at the World U20 Championships.

"Even though I got third at nationals, I would say getting the U20 world record at trials and winning World Juniors was probably the biggest accomplishment of that year," Thomas said. "Just going off the history of I made the World Junior team in 2016 and going out in the semifinals by falling over the first hurdle. World Juniors 2018 was like redemption for me. There was a driving hunger for me to secure what I wasn't able to get in years prior."

But of course, adversity came. Thomas' sophomore season was riddled with injury and would keep him from his true form.

Injuring his quad at the Tyson Invitational, he tried to persevere to continue his championship streak -- which he did -- but he was unable to make the 2019 indoor final. 

As he entered the outdoor season and was still battling to get healthy, Thomas had some shaky races. He even fell at one of his home meets. Then, when he believed his health was almost in the clear, he hurt his hamstring and was forced to miss the outdoor championships. 

"After how good that freshman year was, putting a lot of effort into fall training as a sophomore, it turned into, I'm going to try and win a championship this time," he said. "It was definitely frustrating, a lot of mental warfare at the time."

Thomas spent the whole summer in physical therapy to prepare for his return to the national stage. When he was finally healthy, LSU added a new piece of the puzzle: Oregon transfer Eric Edwards Jr.

But Thomas welcomed that fusion of new blood, and the pair began to form a bond. 

"I'm not going to lie, Eric coming to LSU my junior year was kind of a blessing," Thomas said. "It really truly gave me a really really good training partner. The thing about Eric is, Eric's a very very phenomenal starter. He's a good reactor, his first three hurdlers are so fast... So, him coming in, it was like okay, now I have somebody that I know if I can start with them and get on their pace the first three hurdles, it's going to make me better overall."

As Thomas' junior season got underway, he began to feel like himself again. Everything was going well until he got to Albuquerque for indoor nationals.

Thomas remembered being in his warmups, getting ready to leave for the track when Dennis Shaver, LSU's head coach, called the team into a meeting to announce the season's end. When he confirmed the meet's cancellation, Thomas' heart sank. 

"I'd say last year's coronavirus [pandemic] shutting down the season was probably more heartbreaking than my sophomore year and the injuries," he said. "I felt healthy, training was going so well into the meet and then they shut it down for everybody. Right after that meeting, I remember all of us just going to one room and we literally were staring out the window. 'Like dang this is crazy.'"

While the world was shut down, Thomas struggled without the sport.

"That whole span from March to August, where there was so much uncertainty and nothing to really do, track was shut down, they shut down all the facilities, it was a huge mental block," the hurdler said. "There were even times during March and April where I wouldn't say it was depression, but there were some depressive moments. Like man, they really took my love away from me."

And yet, when Thomas realized that he could use quarantine to his advantage, he got to work. In his new free time, he was able to master seven steps to the first hurdle, leaving the traditional eight steps behind.

In some ways, then, Thomas thanks the pandemic for being a "blessing in disguise."

With a national championship, to go along with a collegiate and world lead on his resume, Thomas is not only a favorite for the outdoor title, but he's also in line to make Jamaica's Olympic team.

"It feels good to know that I'm on the right path," Thomas said. "I think the big thing now is ... not to be complacent and continue to look at the flaws in my race to see where I can get better. I want to stay hungry and continue to feel like an underdog. Even though I'm world leading, that doesn't mean anything going forward."

As he quickly approaches what could be his life's biggest moments, he credits perseverance and faith for his current position in the sport.

"I just want to be a testament to God's glory, staying patient and remembering purposes is really the key," he said. "I go back to high school; I go back to 2015 when I injured myself at World Youth Trials. I was the No. 1 youth hurdler going into that year, even 2016 falling at World Juniors. I've been through a lot as far as injuries and just faulting, and I stay grounded in my faith and stay grounded in my purpose."

"My mom always said when she used to take me as a baby to churches, the pastors would call me up and say this kid has a calling in his life. And I really believe that. So, I'm just showing up for his glory."

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Denise Spann, a Michigan State University graduate and former Spartan track and field athlete, is currently a Digital Media Fellow at The Players' Tribune. You can contact her @itsdspann.