ST. LOUIS — When Brandon Miller was 11 years old, he was already dreaming about the Olympics.
"Every day I wake up, you know, I dream about it — being in the race, standing on the podium, getting the gold medal around my neck," the young boy told 5 On Your Side's Frank Cusumano in 2013.
At 79 pounds and 4 feet, 8 inches tall, the 6th grader at Fort Zumwalt Middle School had already heard from several schools. He had clocked the fastest time in the nation for his age for the 800 meter, the 1500 meter and the 3000 meter — and in the 800 and 1500, he clocked the fastest time in history for his age.
"There's a lot of kids in the United States of America. To know I'm from St. Louis and winning, the best one in the nation, that means a lot to me," he said.
Fast forward to 2024, and those childhood Olympic dreams became reality.
On Sunday, Miller qualified for the Paris Games in the 800 meters, finishing third in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and posting his fastest time ever at 1:43:97. The young man from John Burroughs is heading to Paris.
"It was surreal," the now 21-year-old said as he caught up with Cusumano on Wednesday. "It's something that I've been dreaming about since I was a kid, and when I crossed the finish line it was just like a whole bunch of emotions. I was so grateful to be in that position. ... For me to get one of those top three spots, it was really a dream come true, so I was so happy."
Just as happy were his parents, cheering him on from the sidelines.
"Once I saw him cross, I just lost it," his father, Derrick, said. "I just thought, what a wonderful accomplishment for Brandon. And we were so excited that I didn't care what camera was on me, I was gonna go crazy."
His mother Angela, who is also a former runner at the University of Missouri, was at the 200-meter mark cheering him on.
"When I saw him cross the finish line in third, it was amazing," she said.
A lifetime of training came down to less than two minutes on the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
"I think, you know, we see one minute and 43 seconds on the clock, but what people don't see is the years that went into it. It was really a process, even starting when I was 11 years old out here for the first time, saying that I wanted to be an Olympian," he said. "So for me, it was about just going back and looking at it, and being grateful for all the experiences and all the lessons that I learned leading up to that point."
Rarely are we at our best in life at the most important time. But in the most important race of his life, Miller ran the fastest time of his life.
"I give all the glory back to God," he said. "That morning, I was just sitting in my bed, like, 'Wow, this is a moment I've been waiting for my whole life.' You know, the Olympics happens every four years, so there's not a lot of opportunities when it comes to making an Olympic team.
"So I was like, either I could step up to the moment, or I could shy away... And I don't do no shying away."
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 through Aug. 11.
Watch Miller's full interview from 2013 below:
