For Endicott native Emily Mackay, the Olympics have been a dream a long time in the making.

“[The] first time I would say it was like a goal that I thought could be realistic was when I first signed with New Balance and joined my professional team,” Mackay said.

What You Need To Know

  • On July 26, athletes from across the world will begin the Summer Olympics in Paris

  • One of them will be Endicott native and distance runner Emily Mackay

  • After making the U.S. track and field team in the 1,500 meters, she's ready to live a dream of competing against the best in the world

That dream that became reality last month. On the last day of June, Mackay registered a top-three finish in the 1,500-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials, solidifying a spot on Team USA’s final roster.

“Realizing my dream in that moment was just it was so surreal," Mackay said. "Like, I can't even put it into words. But yeah, I was just running for my life the last 200 meters and I saw the light and I knew I was coming in second or third, and I knew I was making the team and just that moment I just had to celebrate.”

She said it's an opportunity to represent herself, Binghamton University — where she was a five-time USTFCCCA All-American and an eight-time America East Conference individual champion — and her hometown on the world's biggest stage.

“I'm a little bit of a homebody," Mackay said. "I'm very proud of where I'm from. I love the Binghamton area and just upstate New York in general. And I just have had so much support and love from the community throughout my entire running career so to be able to realize this dream and to become an Olympian and represent my hometown at the Olympics, it just means so, so much to me. And, yeah, they say it takes a village, which is like the most cliche saying ever, but it really is so true. I couldn't have done it without all the people who have supported me throughout the years.”

And a few family members may have pre-emptively booked their trip to France.

"They bought their flights to Paris before I even qualified," Mackay said with a laugh. "They didn’t tell me that, and I'm glad they did it because that just made me a little bit nervous. And they're obviously not trying to put pressure on me. And that's why they didn't tell me until after. But they're like, 'yeah, we already had our tickets booked because we knew you could do it.' ”

The physical training has been grueling, Mackay said, but she credits finding the right mental space as the key to her success on the track.

“I know that I can do this, but if I don't, it's OK because I know that no matter what, I'm going to give it my all," Mackay said. "There's never been a race where I've given up, I've never quit. I know I'm not going to quit on myself and I know I'm going to give it my best. And if that's not enough, then it's not. But I know that, yeah, I was going to be kind to myself either way, whether I qualified or I didn’t.”

And if she doesn't experience success in Paris this summer, she hopes she'll have another chance in the future, maybe even in 2028 in Los Angeles.

"That's something I've been thinking about a lot lately," Mackay said. "So if I have an Olympic experience under my belt, hopefully, the next time I go I'll have even bigger dreams and goals and more experience. And yeah, I'm allowing myself to dream big and think, 'What can I do four years from now?' "