\u201cMake \u2018em say your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words echo inside the mind of Olympian Azaria Hill ’20. Since the days of running her heart out on a Long Beach State track or those of speeding down an icy bobsled run, her former coach\u2019s motto reverberates within Hill\u2019s mental soundscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy time at Long Beach, good times, bad times, whether I won or whether didn\u2019t win, those definitely helped shape me to be resilient and determined and have that grit,\u201d Hill said. \u201cNow, finally having made an Olympic team and competing at the Olympics, there was just that motto that she had that still rang in my head: \u2018Make \u2018em say your name.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill, who recently returned to the United States from competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, is a sprinter-turned-bobsledder. She and teammate Kaysha Love advanced to the final heat of the two-woman bobsled event, claiming fifth place.<\/p>\n
Previously, Hill spent three seasons with Long Beach State\u2019s track and field team. She helped claim LBSU\u2019s first Big West conference title in women\u2019s track and field<\/a> in 2018 and still holds a share of the school record in the 4×100 relay<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEach relay, each anchor leg, she got better, and better and better,\u201d said Track and Field Director LaTanya Sheffield, whose motto still motivates Hill. \u201cIn major competition, she was never afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n Olympic aspirations<\/p>\n Hill comes from a family with an exceptional athletic tradition. Both of her parents, boxer Virgil Hill Sr. and runner Denean Howard-Hill, are Olympic medalists. The same is true of Hill\u2019s aunt, runner Sherri Howard.<\/p>\n Growing up in Santa Clarita, Hill decorated her bedroom with pictures of world-class athletes, including her mother and aunt. Unbeknownst to her at the time, her future Long Beach State coach also appeared on her wall; a coincidence made possible by Sheffield and Howard-Hill both competing in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI remember taking my visit to Long Beach State and meeting Coach Sheffield,\u201d Hill said. \u201cShe had so much energy, it just changed the atmosphere, the aura, the everything. I was like, \u2018Yeah, this is definitely where I want to make home.\u2019 Also, the fact that she competed with my mom in the Olympics and knew my mom, it just felt like home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheffield quickly recognized Hill\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always knew this was what her plan was,\u201d Sheffield said. \u201cTo be an Olympian. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n