Oklahoma's own Vernon Turner punches ticket to Paris Olympics, calls it 'amazing'
Yukon and OU alum will high jump for Team USA.
NORMAN — Vernon Turner woke up Sunday morning to his phone ringing.
He was annoyed at first — he went out Saturday night with friends and planned on sleeping late Sunday — but then he saw the call was coming from Erik Kynard. Why would one of the most decorated high jumpers in American history who is now working for USA Track and Field be calling on a Sunday morning?
Turner was suddenly worried.
"When I answered," Turner said as he sat on a high-jump mat at OU's indoor track facility Monday morning, "I didn't know what to expect."
But instead of something bad, Kynard had called with the news of a lifetime.
"Congratulations," Turner remembers him saying. "You're going to the Olympics."
It was quite the wake-up call.
Turner has had big moments throughout his high jump career. He became the national high school record holder in 2017 as a senior at Yukon. He became the NCAA indoor champ in 2022 as a junior at OU. But no accolade tops this.
Turner is an Olympian.
He leaves later this month for the Games in Paris.
"I don't think it's gonna be real until I'm there," he told me Monday after finishing a morning weight workout.
Still, Turner knew for more than a week before the congratulatory call that he was likely headed to the Games. That's because even though he didn't finish in the top three at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, normally the standard to make Team USA, the American contingent in men's high jump would be decided on a points system.
Turner describes it this way: "Every meet, you get a certain amount of points. ... You have to be top 32 to even be in the running to go to the Olympics. Top 32 in the world."
Since finishing his eligibility at OU last year, Turner has been competing professionally and primarily in the Diamond League, the world's top track and field league. He went to Olympic trials ranked 16th in the world, easily within the cutoff for the Olympics, and based on where the Americans ranked, Turner knew he only needed to beat one specific jumper to make Team USA.
"I could have gotten second-to-last, but if I beat him, I was going because of my world ranking," Turner said.
Still, he knew nothing was guaranteed at trials.
Turner had been to trials twice before, first in 2016 when was still in high school and then again in 2020, and he failed to clear the bar either time. Do that again, and he wouldn't be going to Paris.
But after his second "no height" trials in 2020, Turner made a vow to himself.
"There's no way I'm coming back again in four years and doing that," he thought. "I can't no height again."
Turner made good on his promise, clearing the trials' first bar (7 feet, 1/4 inches) on his second attempt. He failed, though, to clear the second bar (7-2 1/4) on all three of his attempts.
He didn't make the finals, a disappointment.
But he finished higher than the jumper who he needed to beat to be high enough in the standings. Having looked at the points and done the math, Turner was convinced he was headed to the Olympics.
Still, he didn't tell anyone. Just in case he'd missed something. On the off chance he was wrong.
"I didn't even tell my mom," he said.
He didn’t even mention that he'd gone through team processing at trials. That's when athletes try on all the gear they'll be given for the Games. Suits for the opening ceremony. Jackets for warmups. Uniforms for competition.
He took photos and videos on his phone, then showed no one.
But when the points updated and the standings finalized this past weekend, Turner's spot on Team USA was sure and Kynard called him with the good news.
After their call Sunday morning, Turner actually dozed off for a bit. He’s been training in Baton Rouge, so he doesn’t get to hang out with friends in Oklahoma City very often; Saturday was a late night. But when he finally came around, he realized the call hadn't been a dream.
He called his mom to tell her he is headed to the Olympics.
"She's screaming on the phone," Turner said. "My head's hurting."
He laughed.
"But it felt amazing," he said. "It took eight years. ... The trials and being in the Olympics is everybody's dream. It still doesn't feel real."