Few would have looked at Yaseen Abdalla's performances at the NCAA Championships over the last two years as anything but successful.

If you're good enough to reach an NCAA final, you've done something right.  

But that's not necessarily how he viewed things. 

"I got the perfect amount of failure," Abdalla said. "I'm a very stubborn guy, and I had a lot of bad habits. Bad habits about this, about that. I just think at the perfect time -- I got 11th this last outdoor nationals, 12th, 12th, 11th. Two years straight. Each is a gut punch ... You learn, 'I did this wrong' and it's different things every time." 

At the very least, however, Abdalla proved he could hang with anyone in the country.

• Subscribe To FloTrack To Watch Track And Field And Cross Country All Season
• FloTrack Post-Olympic Awards: MVP, Best Kick, And More
• Olympic Final Session Recap: Glory for Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Faith Kipyegon

So when the Sudan Olympic Committee reached out to Abdalla with an opportunity to represent the country with its universality entry at the Paris Olympics in the marathon, it did not take him long to become sold on the idea that he could do it. After all, he had fixed his previous training mistakes. Failure (perceived or not) had made him stronger. 

It didn't matter that the 23-year-old had never featured in a marathon before. 

"The marathon is just a race," said Abdalla, who's the son of Amira and Ahmed Abdalla and one of four brothers, all with Sudan heritage, his brothers with dual-nationality with the U.S.. "I think Alberto Salazar said that back when he ran his debut in the 80s and 90s. It's completely true." 

While born in the U.S., Abdalla had once felt the feeling of wearing the Sudan name on his chest. He had featured for his parents' country in 2022 at the World Championships in Eugene. 

"I did one interview (before the Olympic marathon). I said, 'The U.S., they'll allow you to represent them, whereas Sudan, they want you to represent them." 

Abdalla silenced the doubters on August 10, clocking a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 41 seconds for 26.2 miles, finishing 33rd overall. He was the second finisher under the age of 25 and the youngest in the top 35. 

He was the youngest marathoner, in fact, outright, and one of three racers competing the age of 23.

"I was just jogging around the beautiful streets of Paris, with the GOATs, the best runners of all-time all around me. Kipchoge here. Bekele here. Cam Levins here. Bashir Abdi here. I was like, 'Super cool.'"

How He Accomplished The Feat

What's more, Abdalla secured that feature debut on a dogged course, one that showcased high grades over the second half and more than its fair share of quad-busting hills, including one incredible elevation gain from the 15th- to the 20th-kilometer, which netted out to a 436 meter climb. 

"Some people hit that hill and then blew up a mile later," Abdalla said. "Some people hit that hill and then blew up five miles later. They all blew up, I think I passed 20 people from the bottom of that hill to the end." 

To get there, Abdalla planned out a shorter build consisting of roughly eight weeks sometime beginning in June before the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

"It came right after making nationals outdoor," he said. "So it's not like I was starting from zero, and I know what my strengths are like. My strength has always been the aerobic side." 

He ran one long run every other week and kept every single run outside of those inside an hour. His focus never wavered, he said, because he had grown accustomed to heavy volume in college, like 20-by-1-kilometer interval sessions and long runs of 20 miles at Tennessee. His marathon training was no stark change. 

"I think I got really lucky where I was ready to capitalize on the opportunity," he said. 

When it came time for marathon day, Abdalla said he made sure to adjust. He moderated his effort over the hills, then made sure to execute on the downhills and straightaways. In the meantime, he enjoyed the elite competition around him. 

"I was just jogging around the beautiful streets of Paris, with the GOATs, the best runners of all-time all around me. Kipchoge here. Bekele here. Cam Levins here. Bashir Abdi here. I was like, 'Super cool.'"

Special Significance

Abdalla's finish was massive for another reason, too. He's still in college. 

The University of Arkansas transfer, one-time national champion (DMR, '22) and three-time All-American will spend his last two years of eligibility with the Razorbacks over the cross country and indoor track and field seasons. 

How often do NCAA athletes compete in the Olympic Marathon? 

The answer is seldom, if ever. 

Abdalla will make his debut for Arkansas this year after stints with Tennessee and Texas. He was an All-American in cross country for the Volunteers in 2022, finishing 33rd, and once more for the Longhorns, crossing the line in 32nd in 2021. He blew up on a difficult Charlottesville course in 2023, finishing 187th. 

What's missing is a podium finish, or even a national championship. 

While Abdalla will have recover from the marathon in time to contribute to an Arkansas team that looks loaded to content for a national title on grass, that ask isn't out of the question. 

"This last (cross country and track) season is to give myself a shot to see, 'OK, I think it was just the training piece I finally put together,'" Abdalla said. "If I put down some crazy times and finally perform well at the championships, then it's like, 'OK, I was right.' The training, I just finally figured it out."

But Abdalla, who runs a fast-growing YouTube channel about his life and training, isn't ruling out a return to the marathon even before the next year is out. 

He could see himself putting another training block heading toward a potential fall marathon in 2025. After his debut in Paris, he felt a rough conversion to his time was about three-to-four minutes. That would put him in 2:08 territory. 

"Definitely will keep everyone posted on YouTube," he said.

FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year

Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The Track & Field Conversation On Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloTrack
• Follow us on Instagram @flotrack
• Follow us on TikTok @flotracktv
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook