Olympic Dreams: Dana Klein ’14 and CJ Licata ’18 Compete for a Spot in Paris 2024 

With 8.1 billion people in the world, the likelihood that an individual athlete will reach the level of an Olympian is nearly impossible. This year, only 10,500 athletes competed in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games—which translates to one in 770,000 people or .0000013% of the population.  

At Gill St. Bernard’s, however, the nearly impossible can become possible, and we are beyond proud to share that not one, but two, of our graduates were selected to compete in the Olympic Trials in June: Dana Klein ’14 raced in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase and CJ Licata ’18 threw in the shot put.  

Both Olympic Trials were held at the historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, and while neither athlete advanced to the final stage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, they both proved that hard work and a lifetime of dedication can pay off. GSB had the opportunity to connect with Dana and CJ after the event, and they shared an up-close and personal view of the experience. 

Congratulations to both, and we can’t wait to see what you accomplish next! 

Dana Klein ’14 

What was the Olympic Trial experience like? 

This was my second time racing at the Olympic Trials (I also competed in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase in the 2021 Olympic Trial); however, this time felt different.  

In 2021, the stadium had capacity restrictions due to Covid, and it was half full. This time, there wasn't an empty seat! The stadium was electric, filled with screaming fans.  

The atmosphere actually had me the most nervous. I've only competed in environments like that a handful of times, and I was worried it might feel overwhelming. Standing on the starting line, I tried to channel the excitement positively. When they announced my name and I saw my face on the jumbotron, I imagined waving directly to my family, friends, teammates, and coach, who were watching in the stadium or on TV, rather than thinking about the 12,000 screaming fans. Eugene, Oregon, known as "Tracktown, USA," certainly showed up for the occasion! 

Were there any obstacles you had to overcome to arrive at the Olympic level? 

Definitely. My Olympic dreams started while at GSB. In my senior year, I won the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in the 3200-meter, and my performance ranked me 13th in the country for high school girls. That was an eye-opening moment. I still have the letter that Dave deWolfe, the former cross country and track & field coach at GSB, wrote to me when I graduated. The last line was, "See you at the Olympic Trials!" I remember laughing about it at the time, but it planted a seed. 
 
During high school, I saw a direct correlation between my effort and my results. The harder I worked, the better my outcomes. I naively assumed, but I learned the hard way in college, that it doesn't always work that way. Running at Yale was an amazing experience—I met my best friends and made lifelong memories—but my personal results fell below my expectations for what I thought I was capable of athletically. I never qualified for the NCAA Championships on the track, never won a conference title, and only marginally improved from my best high school performances. 
 
I remember my college coach sitting me down one day and saying, "Your running doesn't have to stop when you graduate. You can keep doing this and competing as long as you want, whether you have a professional sponsor or not."  

I took her advice and kept running after graduation. I used my final year of NCAA eligibility while getting a Master's degree at the University of San Francisco, and in 2019, I achieved my next breakthrough. I made it to the NCAA Championships that year and ran personal best times in every event. My coach at the University of San Francisco still coaches me today, and he further instilled the belief in me that I could make it to the Olympic Trials. 
 
In 2021, I started running a new event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and I embarked on the next phase of my running journey, resulting in two appearances at the Trials! Now, I have new life factors—like having a full-time job and being more injury-prone in my late 20s. I'm still having a lot of fun with training and competing, and it adds a lot to my life. At 28, I'm the fastest I've ever been—I just broke 4:30 in the mile for the first time this July—and I hope to continue reaching for big goals into my 30s. 

How has the competitive landscape changed since your time at GSB? 

Women's track and field has deepened significantly since 2014, especially in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which only became an event for women at the Olympic level in the 2008 Beijing Games (men have been running it at the Olympics since 1920). My personal best in the steeplechase (9:46) would have placed me #7 in the country at the 2012 Olympic Trials. This year, that time ranked #16 at the Trials. As a fan of the sport, I love to see that growth. There have been many breakthroughs in sports science, and women are training differently now than they did 10 years ago—it's exciting! For a long time, women believed the myth that peak performance occurred in their mid-20s. Now we're seeing women run their lifetime bests into their mid-30s. I hope to be part of that movement and truly believe my fastest days are ahead of me. 

CJ Licata ’18 

What was the Olympic Trial experience like? 

The Olympic Trials experience was an awesome one. I competed against the top 24 shot put throwers in the United States at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. It was an experience that represented the culmination of many long and difficult years of training to get to this point. Specifically, this past year was the toughest one.  

Were there any obstacles you had to overcome to arrive at the Olympic level?  

Yes. I got reconstructive pectoralis surgery on my right arm in June 2023, which is a very brutal injury for a throwing athlete.  

I had to take the fall semester off from school to have full concentration on rehab and getting back to 100%. It was challenging, as pectoral injuries can take six months to return to normal activity, let alone throwing a shot put as aggressively as possible. However, I kept at it, and eventually I figured things out. Once I was back on the field, I had a breakthrough season that led to an Olympic Trials bid.  

Unfortunately, a week before the NCAA Championship meet, I got appendicitis. The resulting surgery put me in weaker health for both that meet and the Olympic Trials. It was a great experience, but I look forward to next time when I can compete at my peak. 

How has the competitive landscape changed since your time at GSB? 

The competitive landscape changed dramatically from GSB to college and then to the Olympic level. At the Olympic Trials, you are no longer a big fish in a small pond. Your competitors are represented by not just your fellow athletes in the NCAA but by athletes across the entire United States. There were athletes as old as 35 years old competing in the shot put, and to me, this is the best part about the sport. It does not discriminate on any factor. Distance is the objective.  

I look forward to competing for many more years, and I will always remember that GSB planted the first seeds of my track and field career.